Russia is the largest of the 15 former Soviet republics by area.
The Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991, leaving 15 independent states. Russia inherited the largest territory by far, covering about 17.1 million square kilometres across Eastern Europe and northern Asia.
Kazakhstan was the second-largest former Soviet republic and the largest one located entirely in Central Asia. Ukraine, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are also among the larger successor states, but none approaches Russia’s area.
The former Soviet republics are commonly grouped geographically into Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Russia’s enormous territory reflects the historical expansion of the Russian Empire and the later administrative boundaries of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union itself was larger than today’s Russia because it included all 14 other republics.