Philip Johan von Strahlenberg (1676–1747) was a Swedish officer and geographer of German origin who made important contributions to the cartography of Russia.

Von Strahlenberg, based on his studies, proposed a demarcation line between the European and Asian continents that starts from the Arctic Ocean, including Novaya Zemlya and the Yugorsky Peninsula in Europe, runs along the Ural Mountains, then follows the of the Emba River to the coasts of the Caspian Sea and finally crosses the Kuma–Manych Depression, ending in the Sea of Azov.

[3] The geographer of Peter the Great, Vasily Tatishchev, had a notable role in the choice of the Eurasian border line, giving it a historical-naturalistic justification.

[4] Russian intellectuals and statesmen were enthusiastic about the line proposed by von Strahlenberg, which was understandable given the ideals of Westernization that were increasingly spreading in Russia in the first half of the 18th century, due to the policies of Peter the Great.

The previous conventional line in fact placed the border between Europe and Asia along the course of the Don River, in the heart of Russia, and this was now considered unacceptable.

In 1730, this continental border was officially approved by Anna of Russia and validated by the biologist Peter Simon Pallas and the geographer Carl Ritter, based on their geological research, botanical and faunal.