Eastern Europe is the section of Europe that lies east of Central Europe. It now occupies approximately the same are that the former Soviet Union states. In terms of geography, the Eastern Europe is basically one large unit, the Eastern European Plains, stretching from the Carpathians to the Ural Mountains, from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea. The climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. The amount of precipitation decreases as we progress from west to east.