How did Russia become huge?
Over the course of five centuries the tsars made Russia the world's largest country. They created a state defined by its physical geography, with a national identity rooted in territorial expansion, culminating in the conquest of Siberia. But it was the Soviets who shaped modern Russia's economic geography.
Why was USSR so big?
Over the next two decades, the USSR became the world's largest country (building on what was already the world's largest country, Russia) as new republics were added from the lands that surrounded Russia and that had made up the old Tsarist empire.
Why is Russia so big on the map?
A Mercator projection, which grossly distorts objects near the poles, makes Russia look a lot bigger than it is, but on a globe, Russia shows as the immense country that it is. It's nearly 2x as big as the US, more than twice as big as the continental (lower 48) US.
Why is Russia so powerful?
It has been widely described as an energy superpower; as it has the world's largest natural gas reserves, 2nd-largest coal reserves, 8th-largest oil reserves, and the largest oil shale reserves in Europe.
How big was old Russia?
Was Alaska sold for $1?
Why did Russia sell Alaska?
What if Russia never sold Alaska?
Who made Russia so big?