Are Russians Considered Asian? Ethnicity vs. Geography

Russia spans Eastern Europe and Northern Asia (Ural Mountains divide). However:

• Ethnically: ~80% of citizens are ethnic Russians — an East Slavic (European) people culturally, linguistically, historically.
• Geographically: ~75% of territory is in Asia (Siberia, Far East), but ~77% of population lives in European Russia (west of Urals).
• Self-identification: Russians overwhelmingly identify as European; culturally tied to Orthodox Christianity, Cyrillic script, European arts/science.

Minority groups in Asian Russia (Yakuts, Buryats, Tuvans, etc.) are Indigenous Asian peoples. "Russian" = European ethnicity; "Citizen of Russia" = multi-ethnic nationality.