Europe

....one of my trick questions at parties....:now that east and west Germany are once more combined ...what is the second largest country in Europe...realising of course that Russia, or the new name The Russian Federation is by far the largest country in Europe as well as the World.
Usually, the answer to my trick question is..Germany. Or England..France...Spain..
All wrong actually.
The second largest European Country is the Ukraine, former component of the Soviet Union.