<P> Located in the north , west and east latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere , most of Russia is much closer to the North Pole than to the equator . Individual country comparisons are of little value in gauging Russia 's enormous size and diversity . The country 's 17.09 million square kilometers include one - eighth of the Earth 's inhabited land area . Its European portion , which occupies a substantial part of continental Europe , is home to most of Russia 's industrial activity and is where , roughly between the Dnieper River and the Ural Mountains , the Russian Empire took shape . Russia includes the entire northern portion of Asia . </P>
<P> Located in the north , west and east latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere , most of Russia is much closer to the North Pole than to the equator . Individual country comparisons are of little value in gauging Russia 's enormous size and diversity . The country 's 17.09 million square kilometers include one - eighth of the Earth 's inhabited land area . Its European portion , which occupies a substantial part of continental Europe , is home to most of Russia 's industrial activity and is where , roughly between the Dnieper River and the Ural Mountains , the Russian Empire took shape . Russia includes the entire northern portion of Asia . </P>
is the soviet union north or south of the equator
is the soviet union north or south of the equator
North
North