European Russia is unarguably the most powerful country in Europe. In fact, Russia is the second most powerful country in the world. Russia has all it takes to earn that title. For instance, no other country in Europe can match its military capacity. Russia has thousands of nuclear weapons in its possession. This is even enough to scare any country that might want to come against them. Russia is the country with the highest number of nuclear weapons.
For this reason, other countries usually form an alliance with Russia during wartime, while Russia always counts itself enough for its defense. Economically, though Russia does not have the best economy in Europe, its economy is one of the best. Although, countries like Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, and Norway are far wealthier compared to Russia. As far as I'm concerned, Russia is the most powerful country in Europe in terms of military capabilities and it has great diplomatic influence in other countries.