Russia, (formerly the central power of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and now of the Commonwealth of Independent States) occupying the northern part of Asia and the far eastern part of Europe, has an area of 8,649,538 sq. mi. (17,075,450 sq. km.) and a population of 146.2 million. Capital: Moscow. Exports include machinery, iron and steel, oil, timber and nonferrous metals. ,The first Russian dynasty was founded in Novgorod by the Viking, Rurik in 862 A.D. Under Yaroslav the Wise (1019-54) the subsequent Kievan state (Kyiv?s Rus?) became one of the great commercial and cultural centers of Europe before falling to the Mongols in the 13th century, who ruled Russia until late in the 15th century when Ivan III threw off the Mongol yoke. The Russian Empire was enlarged and solidified during the reigns of Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, and by 1881 extended to the Pacific and into Central Asia.,, ,Assignats, the first government paper money of the Russian Empire, were introduced in 1769, and gave way to State Credit Notes in 1843. Russia was put on the gold standard in 1897 and reformed its currency at that time.,, ,All pre-1898 notes were destroyed as they were turned into the Treasury, accounting for their uniform scarcity today.,, ,The last Russian Czar, Nicholas II (1894-1917), was deposed by the provisional government under Prince Lvov and later Alexander Kerensky during the military defeat in World War I. This government rapidly lost ground to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Democratic Labor Party. During the Russian Civil War (1917-1922) many regional governments, national states and armies in the field were formed which issued their own paper money. ,After the victory of the Red armies, many of these areas became federal republics of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic, or autonomous soviet republics which united on Dec. 30, 1922, to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R). Beginning with the downfall of the communist government on Poland (1989), other European countries occupied since WW II began democratic elections that spread into Russia itself, leaving the remaining states united in a newly founded Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.). The U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet voted a formal end to the treaty of union signed in 1922 and dissolved itself. Rulers:, ,Catherine II (the Great), 1762-1796 ,Paul I, 1796-1801 ,Alexander I, 1801-1825 ,Nicholas I, 1825-1855 ,Alexander II, 1855-1881 ,Alexander III, 1881-1894 ,Nicholas II, 1894-1917 Monetary System:,,, ,1 Ruble = 100 Kopeks, until 1997,, ,1 Chervonetz = 10 Gold Rubles,,