Eurasia

Eurasia is the largest continental area on Earth, including all of Europe and Asia. Some ways of looking at the world treat Eurasia as one big continent because of how the land is shaped. Long ago, people in antiquity thought of Europe and Asia as separate lands, but the line between them can change depending on history and culture. For instance, the ancient Greeks once thought Africa was part of Asia but saw Europe as its own land. Eurasia links to Africa at the Suez Canal, and together they form the biggest connected land area on our planet, called Afro-Eurasia.

History

Main article: History of Eurasia

Eurasia has been home to many ancient civilizations, such as those in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China. During the Axial Age, which was in the middle of the first millennium BCE, a line of civilizations stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This area played a big role in world history for over 2,000 years.

Later, new connections formed between different parts of Eurasia. After the Age of Discovery, new sea routes were found, and the Suez Canal was finished in 1869, making travel easier. This led to a time when Western European countries had strong influence in Africa and Asia until the middle of the 20th century. Then, the Soviet Union had a big effect on Eurasia until the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Geography

Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, Eurasia stretches from Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula in the west all the way to the Russian Far East in the east. It reaches from the Russian Far North to Maritime Southeast Asia in the south. Eurasia is bordered by Africa to the southwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Indo-Mediterranean to the south.

Eurasia is the largest land area on Earth, covering about 55 million square kilometres, which is around 36% of all land. It is home to over 5 billion people, making up about 70% of all people in the world. Humans first lived here when they moved out of Africa around 125,000 years ago. The land includes many peninsulas such as the Arabian Peninsula, Korean Peninsula, and the Italian Peninsula. Because it is so big, Eurasia has every kind of climate, from very hot to very cold, and many different kinds of plants and animals live there.

Russian geopolitical ideology

"Eurasia" is a big word that talks about land. It means the huge area made when you put together the lands of Europe and Asia. Some people think about Eurasia in special ways when they talk about power and countries.

A famous writer named Zbigniew Brzezinski said that whoever controls Eurasia controls a lot of the world's wealth and people. He said that about 75 percent of the world's people live there, and it has many important resources.

In history, Russia used the idea of Eurasia to talk about its land and its links with nearby countries. The word Eurasia also appeared in a famous book called 1984 by George Orwell, where it was part of a big, powerful country.

Regional organizations and alliances

Eurasia has many groups that help countries work together. Some of these groups are markets where countries trade with each other, like the Eurasian Economic Space, European Single Market, ASEAN Economic Community, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. There are also special meetings and organizations that bring countries together.

One example is the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM), where most Asian and European countries meet every two years. The Commonwealth of Independent States is a group of countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union. It helps these countries work together on important issues. The Eurasian Economic Union is like a team of countries, including Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, that work together to make trade easier. There are many more groups like these that help countries in Eurasia cooperate and grow.

Use of term

History of the Europe–Asia division

Main article: Boundary between Asia and Europe

Long ago, people thought of Europe and Asia as two different lands. The idea comes from old stories and maps. Even today, people argue about where to draw the line between them. Some say it should be along certain mountains or valleys. One old idea from the 1700s suggested drawing the line through many places like seas and rivers.

Soviet states after decentralization

Later, some people began to think of Eurasia as one big area, including parts of Europe and Asia. This idea became popular in some countries, especially after big changes in government. Today, many schools, banks, and groups use the word “Eurasia” in their names. For example, in Kazakhstan, a big university even has “Eurasian” in its title. Some leaders even talked about building a new water path to help ships travel more easily.