Russia is clearly the larger of the two: about 17,098,246 km² against 7,741,220 km², roughly 2.2× at true size. Drag one onto the other on the map above to feel the gap.
Australia sits in Oceania, Russia in Europe. On the old Mercator map the latitude gap distorted how large each felt beside the other; at true size the answer is simply 2.2×.
The old map muddied it further: Mercator inflates Australia about 1.2× and Russia about 6.1×, so on a Mercator-style map this pair appears 10.9× apart instead of the true 2.2×.
Australia fits 2× into Russia.
Australia vs Russia: key figures
| Measure | Australia | Russia |
|---|
| True area | 7,741,220 km² · #6 | 17,098,246 km² · #1 |
| Mercator inflation | 1.2× | 6.1× |
| Apparent on Mercator | 9,544,924 km² | 103,611,951 km² |