Kazakhstan, also spelled Kazakstan, (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, IPA ; Russian: Казахстан, Kazakhstán), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of northern and central Eurasia. Its territory of 2 717 300 km² (bigger than Western Europe) is partially located to the west of the Ural River in eastern-most Europe. It has borders with Russia, the People's Republic of China, and the Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and has a coastline on the Caspian Sea. Prior to full independence, Kazakhstan existed as the Kazakh SSR republic in the Soviet Union. It is now a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.