I am from the United Kingdom. I consider myself European but many British people consider themselves British and not apart of Europe. If the Russian is from Moscow, Saint Petersburg or Kalinigrad. They’re european, but if they are from let’s say Vladivostok, then they are definitely not european, they’re right next to the border of China and North Korea, both Asian countries. Whatever, if they’re from the Asian side, then they are Asian. I think most would consider themselves Russian though. I have many European Russian friends. Unforuntately, the time difference between me and Asia is very big and most of the Asian Russians seem to be from Vladivostok, I think I’m better off speaking to people from Alaska, which I may remind you, was stolen from Russia because the CIA snook into Russia and stole the paper work so Russia can’t say that it is apart of three continents.

Most Russians do look European, although, I think in the eastern side, you’ll find more brunettes than in the east. In the north, there will be more blondes and their noses will be bigger in the far north (Science so they can warm up the air before it reaches their lungs). It’s weird near the border of China though. In Russia, they are ‘white’ and average at 5’9 (male) but just a couple miles south, the colour goes from white to oriental brown (Can I say that? I’m not sure what to say) and average height shrinks 3 inches. But I say that and although North Koreans may look similar, their average height is even less! Another three inches shorter.

The world is a strange place isn’t it? We have one massive country that looks similar all over and only a couple feet in one direction and everything has changed. It’s not just Russia though, the blood lines just seem to stay very similar without changing much through the course of history.

2) Russian is a country.

3) @Adam Nelson, I’m from that city you mentioned (Vladivostok) and I’m white, apparently. That lady you spoke to could have some Korean background (as we have many asian looking people on Sakhalin island, whose grand dads came from Korea) or she could be of some aboriginal ethnicities from North-East, but not likely as not so many of them live in other regions than in their own (Buryatia, Yakutia, etc).

I am Russian, caucasian looking and consider myself as Eastern European as we share European religion and culture, and originally came from Western Part of Russia. Would be strange to call myself an Asian only because I live in Eastern part of Russia. I don’t say that Asian culture didn’t affect Russian mindset, but historically it was stronger connection with Europe, not with Asia

Russians aren’t Asian, but Russia is imperialist in Asia, in all the area east of the Ural mountains, usually called Siberia and the Russian far east. The indigenous population was originally physically Asian in the entire area (appropriately) but it was conquered by Russia over time. They didn’t really fully conquer the far east until the late nineteen century.

Currently, ethnic Russians are the majority in most of the districts; often they’re vastly more numerous than the locals. So today, many Russians are born in the Asian part of Russia, and thus they’re Asian, but they’re of direct European origin, and for many people their ancestry from European part is somewhat recent.

Many of those “Russians” who actually look like Asians simply are Asians and have a different ethnicity than Russians from European Russia. Like Buryat, Sakha, Altai, Tuvan, Nenets, Khakas, Evenk, Chukchi and many other ethnicities. There are also some Koreans and Vietnamese in Russia, but they have recent foreign origin.

Just to complicate things, within European Russia there are also Asian minorities, like Kalmyk and Nenets, and also Turkic minorities and many others.

There isn’t much confusion about the term “Americans”. People in Argentina call us Americans too, and they’re in one of the “Americas”. So I don’t agree that it’s ironic to use the term Americans when asking this question. There’s no contention regarding that term, and everyone knows which continent “Americans” reside on.

All I was doing was asking why things were the way they are, not stating that one standard or another should be applied.