usually "central europe" is how people from post-socialist countries call eastern europe: and i guess 32k is in the high bracket there
You are confusing eastern block with eastern Europe.
That was my first thought when I read that. We Czechs are especially guilty of [over]using "central", because the country is very much wedged into Germany, which is decidedly western, so I hear it pretty often.
On the other hand, the European part of Russia is so huge that yes, nothing except maybe Ukraine is really on the eastern third.