How Close is Turkey to Russia (The Location of Turkey and Russia on Map)

Recent events such as the Black Sea Initiative pop up questions like how close is Turkey to Russia and Turkey and Russia on map. Turkey is located in Anatolia where lies between Europe and Asia while Russia is located in Asia and Eastern Europe. The capital of Turkey is Ankara while Russia’s capital is Moscow. 

Borders and Neighbors

We need to understand the location of Turkey and Russia on map if we want to answer how close is Turkey to Russia question.

Turkey is surrounded by the Black Sea on the north, Georgia and Armenia on the northeast, Azerbaijan and Iran on the east, Iraq and Syria on the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea on the southwest and west, and Greece and Bulgaria on the northwest.

Russia shares borders with more countries than any other state in the world due to its large body. The countries that have land borders with Russia are Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. US and Japan also have sea borders with Russia as well.

How Close is Turkey to Russia?

Although, Turkey and Russia have no direct land borders they have a sea border due to being located on the coasts of Black Sea. To answer the question “how close is Turkey to Russia?” we need to look at some data. The closest distance between the two countries by land is approximately 380 kilometers from Hopa in Artvin to Adler in Krasnodar Krai. The closest way to go to Russia from Turkey is by taking a ferry from Trabzon to Sochi which is approximately 580 kilometers away.

The distance between the capitals of the two countries is however quite far. The birds flight distance between Ankara and Moscow can be calculated to be around 1,800 km and the closest driving route can be estimated to be about 2,850 km. The fastest way to travel however is by air. You can travel to Moscow from Istanbul in 5 hours costing about 5 to 7 thousand TRY.