Eastern Europe/Asia.

The Russian Federation is divided into 11 time zones.
Kaliningrad: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Moscow, St Petersburg, Astrakhan: GMT + 3 (GMT + 3 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Izhevsk and Samara: GMT + 4 (GMT + 5 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Perm, Ekaterinburg, Surgut: GMT + 5 (GMT + 6 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Omsk and Novosibirsk: GMT + 6 (GMT + 7 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Abakan, Norilsk, Tura: GMT + 7 (GMT + 8 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Bratsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude: GMT + 8 (GMT + 9 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Mirnyy, Tynda, Yakutsk: GMT + 9 (GMT + 10 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk: GMT + 10 (GMT + 11 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Magadan, Chirskiy: GMT + 11 (GMT + 12 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Anadyr, Petropavlosk-Kamchatskiy: GMT + 12 (GMT + 13 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

17,075,400 sq km (6,592,850 sq miles).

140 million (2009 estimate).

8.3 per sq km.

Moscow. Population: 12.6 million (2009 estimate).

The Russian Federation covers almost twice the area of the USA, and reaches from the enclave of Kaliningrad in the west over the Urals and the vast Siberian plains to the Sea of Okhotsk in the east. The border between European Russia and Siberia (Asia) is formed by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River and the Manych Depression.

European Russia extends from the North Polar Sea across the Central Russian Uplands to the Black Sea, the Northern Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. Siberia stretches from the West Siberian Plain across the Central Siberian Plateau to the Lena River and takes in the Sayan and Yablonovy ranges in the south. East of Siberia stretches the Russian Far East, a region almost as big as Siberia itself, running to the Pacific coast and including the vast Chukotka and Kamchatka peninsulas.

Republic since its independence from the USSR in 1991.

President Dmitry Medvedev since 2008.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin since 2008.

When former President Vladimir Putin stood down from the presidency in 2008 due to a constitutional limit on holding the office for more than two consecutive terms, his anointed successor and long-time protégé, Dmitry Medvedev won a landslide victory, becoming Russia's third president and appointing Putin as his Prime Minister shortly afterwards.

While many political commentators initially saw Medvedev as a loyal servant of Putin, expecting the Prime Minister to hold the presidency in all but name, the world financial crisis has rather upset the political applecart in Moscow, with Medvedev publicly criticising Putin's running of the economy as Prime Minister and the two men's rival power bases increasingly believed to be working against each other.

The economic crisis has exposed serious flaws in Russia's once-booming economy as oil and gas prices have dropped and the lack of infrastructure, investment and financial reform has become gruesomely exposed to the outside world. While the Russian government still has impressive financial reserves as a result of vast oil and gas revenue over the past few years, much of this has gone on propping up the weakening Rouble.

Russian is the official language, although there are over 100 other languages. English is widely spoken by younger people as well as some educated older people.

Mainly Christian with the Russian Orthodox Church being the largest Christian community. Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish minorities also exist.

220 volts AC, 50Hz; Russia uses a standard two-pin European plug.

It is customary to shake hands when greeting someone, though never across a threshold. Company or business gifts are well received. Conservative wear is suitable for most places and the seasonal weather should always be borne in mind. Smoking and drinking is acceptable unless stated otherwise.

Photography: It is prohibited to take photographs of any military installation and/or establishments or sites of strategic importance. Failure to abide by this could result in police arrest.