"The mind," Hedrick Smith wrote of Russia, "is little equipped to comprehend the meaning of a nation that encompasses eleven times zones." Within that almost half-a-world in one country: the opulent glories of Czarist architecture; the vast Kremlin; Siberia's sacred Lake Baikal; bewitching St. Petersburg; and, almost half a planet away, the wilderness of Kamchatka.

• TOTAL AREA: 17,075,200 sq km

• LAND AREA: 16,995,800 sq km

• WATER AREA: 79,400 sq km

• POPULATION: 142,893,540

• RELIGIONS: Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2%

• LANGUAGES: Russian, many minority languages

• GOVERNMENT TYPE: Federation

• CAPITAL CITY: Moscow

• OFFICIAL CURRENCY: Russian ruble (RUR)

• TIME ZONE: GMT/UTC +3, GMT/UTC +2, GMT/UTC +4, GMT/UTC +5, GMT/UTC +8, GMT/UTC +10, GMT/UTC +12