How big is Russia? It’s actually the world’s largest country in terms of area. With an estimated population of over 146 million people, it is hard to overstate the size of this behemoth. The biggest city is Moscow, which has a population of over 12 million inhabitants. Despite being one of the largest countries on the planet, Russia manages to keep a low density of population. This is due to the sheer size of the land mass.
Russia is bordered by 18 sovereign nations including the Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Its territories include the Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean. To put this in perspective, the United States spans an area of about 24 million square miles. However, the majority of the country is located in the western hemisphere.
One of the more interesting facts is that Russia is the world’s second-largest exporter of military hardware. They have a total of 1600 deployed warheads, the most impressive being the Tsar Bomba, which yielded a staggering 50 megatons of TNT. In terms of nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union was the undisputed leader in the 1980s. Not only did the Russians get the best of the West, they caught the Americans later on.
For comparison’s sake, the United States boasts a total landmass of about 347 million sq km. Despite the fact that the US has more troops than its next closest neighbors, it also maintains a worldwide network of military bases. Moreover, the US is home to some of the world’s most impressive aircraft carriers, the most notable of which is the carrier navy’s Blue Angels. Similarly, despite having a population smaller than the Grand Canyon, the US has more helicopters than the entire rest of the world combined.
As the most populous country in the world, the US has a lot of to do, but the most important task is ensuring security for world trade routes, which is the reason why it has the most modern military arsenal. The most recent example was Russia’s incursion into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in which it was estimated that 150 thousand troops were deployed. During the campaign, Russia’s missile deterrent and its arsenal of lethal and less lethal weapons was effective at regaining control of the Ukraine and ensuring that the country’s territorial integrity is not eroded in a manner which would allow for the formation of a proscribed zone in the west. Despite all this, the US’s defense budget is a fraction of Russia’s. Nonetheless, Russia is the world’s second-largest supplier of nuclear weapons, and is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a group of 16 countries that have signed a treaty to ensure peaceful coexistence among them.
A comparison of the US and Russia isn’t easy, especially when it comes to the most sexiest, most technologically advanced, and most militarized nation in the world. Nevertheless, it is worth asking yourself how big is Russia compared to the US.
