Is Russia Europe or Asia?Residents of Moscow and Khabarovsk will probably answer this question in different ways. Is there a single correct and objective answer to it? Where is the geographical border of the European and Asian parts of Russia, where is the cultural-historical, and where is the political? We will try to highlight the various aspects of this particular topic in our article.
Europe, Asia ... These two terms are quite common.used in modern life. We meet them in books and on geographical maps. Politicians, sociologists, cultural figures, as a rule, oppose them, speak about them on television. Indeed, these are two completely different worlds with different views on life, different cultural traditions and religions.
The border between Europe and Asia is rather arbitrary.After all, if two neighboring continents are separated by an ocean or seas, then in the case of these parts of the world there are no obvious natural boundaries. Nevertheless, the “cordon” between them has been persistently and persistently trying to hold scientists and geographers for several centuries in a row.
Interestingly, the ancient Greeks called Europeonly the northern areas of their country - Ancient Greece. But over time, this name has spread to more significant spaces. As for the establishment of a clear border between Europe and Asia, this issue became relevant only in the middle of the XVIII century. The famous Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov proposed to conduct it along the Don River. VN Tatishchev went even further, suggesting that the Ural Mountains should be considered as such a boundary.
Today, the geographers of the planet, fortunatelycame to a consensus on this issue. And it is obvious that the border of two worlds passes just across Russian territory. In this regard, a logical question arises: is Russia Europe or Asia? Let's try to answer it.
From the point of view of modern political geography, Russia is a European state. It is on this basis that the country is a member of the Council of Europe.
If we consider this issue from the standpointphysical geography, it is difficult to attribute Russia to any of these parts of the world. About 70% of its territory is located within Asia, but the capital of the state, like most of its population, is located in the European part.
It is curious that on the old American mapsthe border between Europe and Asia was drawn along the western frontiers of the USSR. Today, overseas cartographers often conduct it across Donbass and Georgia, attributing Ukraine, Georgia, and Turkey to Europe. However, in this case we are talking more about the formal division of territories into Europe and non-Europe, proceeding from the so-called “zone of Russian influence”.
Which part of the world is closer to Russia culturallyand spiritually? According to the well-known historian A.S. Alekseev, Russia is a self-sufficient state, qualitatively different from both Western European civilization and from all Asian cultures.
When they talk about the border, in the imagination immediatelyappropriate images appear: barbed wire fences, harsh border guards and checkpoints. However, there are other types of borders in our world. And for their crossing a person does not need a passport or a visa.
The border between Europe and Asia is shown in manymaps. And on the ground, it is marked by dozens of special signs, obelisks and tablets, which we will talk about later. Within Russia, this border runs along the deserted expanses of the northern tundra, mountain slopes, through steppes, seas and forests. Its total length here is about 5.5 thousand kilometers.
The European-Asian border in Russia, according to generally accepted concepts, is carried out along the following geographical objects (from north to south):
Below on the map you can see how this line runs through the country.
The mountains that divide Russia into Europe and Asia areUral It is perfect for the role of the border. The mountain system stretches strictly from north to south for almost 2500 kilometers. This fact was noticed at the time by VN Tatishchev. It was he who first proposed to draw the Euro-Asian border in the Urals. In support of his proposal, the scientist pointed out the fact that the mountain system is an important watershed of the continent. In addition, the rivers flowing from it to the west and east differ significantly in their ichthyofauna.
Провести границу между частями света по Уралу turned out to be easy. The exception was its southern part, where all the mountain structures are fan-shaped. Until the 50s of the 20th century, the border ran along the watershed line. But later the International Geographical Union shifted it to the eastern foothills of the mountain range.
Within Russia, there are at least 50 such signs. And the largest number of them are in the Urals. These are all kinds of obelisks, steles and pillars of stone, marble, steel or simple wood.
Самый северный знак «Европа – Азия» находится у Strait Yugorsky Ball. This is a simple wooden pole with an anchor nailed to it. It was established in 1973 by workers at one of the polar stations. The largest monument - the obelisk of red granite - was opened in 2008 on the outskirts of Pervouralsk.
An interesting city in this regard isOrenburg. After all, he, like Turkish Istanbul, is simultaneously located in two parts of the world. And the Ural River, modest in width, divides it between Europe and Asia. The city has a pedestrian bridge connecting the center of Orenburg with the Zauralnaya grove. Locals often joke about this: they say, we work in Europe, and go to picnics in Asia.
Рассказ об этом символичном мосте в Оренбурге is an excellent conclusion to our article. So, is Russia Europe or Asia? Obviously, the country is incorrect to attribute to any of these parts of the world. It would be more correct to call Russia a Eurasian state - unique and self-sufficient.
