Russia - Asia or Europe? The border between Europe and Asia in Russia

We live in a world where everything changes very quickly. The only constant, to which we are all accustomed, is the location of states on the world map. About them, we seem to know absolutely everything since the school days. But here, as it turns out, we are periodically waiting for surprises. Where do you think Russia is located - in Europe or in Asia? This question still excites many scientific minds, each theory has its opponents and supporters. In addition, we should not consider this topic only in terms of geographical location. After all, the cultural traditions of Russia also have their roots in Europe and in Asia. What part of the world influenced us the most?

Continent of Eurasia: the geographical location of Russia

Russia is an amazing country. It stretches over vast expanses, the area of which exceeds seventeen thousand square kilometers. At the same time, we managed to be at the intersection of two great cultures - the West and the East. This significantly affected many events in the history of our country, because multinationality and tolerance for other religions were grafted to Russians in connection with the extraordinary geographical location of the state.

Eurasia is the largest continent in the world, and Russia occupies more than one-third of its area. At the same time, an amazing fact is that only twenty-three percent of our country is located in the European part of the continent. But the remaining seventy-seven percent of the territories are in the Asian part. But the population of the country in its majority - and this is more than eighty percent of all residents - is concentrated in the European part. In this regard, scientists of all times and ranks are tormented, trying to determine what Russia is - Asia or Europe. After all, it's hard to imagine that some people can equally be a European and an Asian.

Borders of Russia

It is not surprising that the peculiarities of the geographical situation are the determining factors in the country's foreign and domestic policy. After all, its borders stretch for twelve thousand kilometers and often pass along waterways and mountain ranges.

Europeans seem quite natural that the border of Europe and Asia in Russia runs somewhere inside the country and is displayed on the map. The average European is hard to realize that one country can be so huge and be part of Europe and Asia at the same time, without having a real boundary separating these parts of the world.

The movement of borders between Europe and Asia from ancient times to the present day

To understand how the conditional border of Europe and Asia appeared on the territory of Russia, it is necessary to learn the history and prerequisites of this division. Even in the days of Antiquity it was known that the boundary between the two parts of the world exists. But by today it has undergone significant changes. For example, the ancient Greeks were sure that it passes right in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. That's what the world looked like to them. A little later, the Greek astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy authoritatively stated that the border runs through the Don River and the Kerch Strait. This information was recognized as the only true, and up to the eighteenth century, scientists adhered to this theory.

In the Middle Ages, Europeans had rather vague ideas about geography, so they did not even think about where Russia still is - in Europe or Asia. The very presence of Russian people in Eurasia quite surprised Europeans. Moreover, they saw no sense in carrying out conditional boundaries within one state - this is still the privilege of modern philosophers and scientists.

Only in the eighteenth century a theory emerged that the border between Europe and Asia in Russia passes through the Ural Mountains. And the need to accept this conditional border has been contested in the scientific community for a long time. Even Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov did not agree with this theory and believed that the border should pass along the Volga and the Don.

Modern world: a conditional border between Europe and Asia

In the modern world, it is generally accepted that the division between Europe and Asia on a single continent, which is Eurasia, is simply inadvisable. But the conventional boundary still exists, it is considered to be a hypothetical line passing along the Ural ridge, starting from the Kara Sea. And a part of the Russian regions and cities remains in Europe, while the other already belongs territorially to Asia.

Russia: Asia or Europe? The opinion of the Western world

If the conditional border between Europe and Asia, we still found out, it will be interesting to find out what the representatives of Western civilization think about this problem. How do they see this hypothetical border? And do they recognize it at all?

Surprisingly, on geographical maps printed in the US before the collapse of the USSR at the end of the last century, there was a very real line dividing Europe and Asia. It passed along the western border of the USSR, and our country was wholly and completely related to Asia. And everything that was outside this framework was Europe. According to this division, even Turkey, which in our understanding is a truly eastern country, was considered part of Europe. This suggests that the real border is in people's minds, not on maps. The mentality of the Europeans laid deep confidence about the existence of some "barbarian Asian Russia". And this confidence has not been erased until now.

If on the streets of any European state you start to be interested in what Russia is - Asia or Europe, you will be surprised how much the answer depends on the attitude to our country. Opponents of Russia will argue that we are Asians, and our supporters recognize that we are an integral part of Europe. So who are we really?

Which civilization does Russia belong to - Europe or Asia?

How to judge the mentality of the people, which is scattered over a vast territory located at the crossroads of the two greatest civilizations? In many cases, as Europeans think, we are true Asians. But the paradox of the situation is that Russians themselves can not determine their belonging. This is indeed an unprecedented fact, because every Chinese or Frenchman will answer the question of his belonging more than definitely. Let's try to shed some light on the historical influence of European and Asian civilization on the formation and cultural traditions of Russia.

European civilization: characteristics and characteristics

It is difficult to determine whether Russia is Asia or Europe, without understanding the special and striking features of these civilizations. First of all, it is necessary to understand that European civilization is a complex fusion of rules, traditions, cultural values and religion. In spite of many differences, Europeans relate very much. The main distinguishing feature of European civilizations is the ability to cooperate among themselves. The main part of this system is the family, but all issues can be resolved through the unification and voting of many families. Therefore, in Europe democratic freedoms are so valuable - without them the Western world does not think of its existence.

Asian civilization: what is it?

Asian civilization, which is often written and said, does not exist in principle. It consists of many different worlds, having absolutely different religious backgrounds, but influencing each other in the process of historical development. There is little in common in these worlds, but it can be said that clan thinking is typical for all Asians. The political structure of the Asian countries is based on the protection of clans, not individual individuals.

Russia: Asian or European heritage?

And yet, how to understand what is Russia? Asia? Or Europe? Surprisingly, it does not have the distinctive features of a particular civilization. It is absolutely original and extraordinary. It can not be said that we, as Europeans, value the family above all, or, like the Asiatics, we build our lives based on clan affiliation. All this allows scientists to come to the conclusion that, being at the crossroads of civilizations, Russia has managed to develop into a new type of civilization, different from all that was known before.

Perhaps, we finally summed up the more than 300-year-old dispute over the ownership of Russia. Occupying almost all of Eurasia, we did not become Europe. And we can not be called Asia. We are representatives of the Russian civilization, which has a rich history and unique cultural traditions.