Which European country is the largest by area?

Russia is Europe's largest country by area. It is a transcontinental state spanning eastern Europe and northern Asia, with a total area of about 17.1 million square kilometres.

The conventional boundary between Europe and Asia follows the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, and the Caspian region before continuing through the Caucasus area. Russia lies on both sides of that boundary, but its European portion alone is larger than any other European country. Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia's two largest cities, are both in the European part of the country.

Russia's enormous territory extends across eleven time zones, from the Baltic region to the Pacific Ocean. Its landscape includes Arctic coastlines, vast forests, grasslands, mountain systems, and the Siberian interior. The country's scale is a major reason it ranks first globally by total area as well as first in Europe.

A common qualification is that Ukraine is the largest country located entirely within Europe. France can also create confusion because its overseas territories give it land outside Europe. For the standard question asking for Europe's largest country, however, Russia is the accepted answer.