Because of its huge territory, Russia must devote a great deal of attention to security.

It is painful to talk about it, but even with its 110,000 elite soldiers, the Soviet Union never managed to gain control over the entire Afghan territory.

Moscow has been helping the Northern Alliance because "the Taliban was openly supported by Pakistan... until last week, Pakistani servicemen had taken part in war operations on the Taliban side.

Russia sees itself as a country that is self-sufficient.

The Baltic countries are sovereign nations. They have the right to decide which military and political bloc they want to be a part of.

When it comes to culture, religion and mentality, most Russians identify with Europe.

We have put the Cold War behind us. We no longer count our divisions and our warheads. And I am Russia's first civilian defense minister in many centuries. We have become more pragmatic.

I'm the first one in line to go watch "Spider-Man," but there's definitely something in me that makes me want to go to a movie and see something that makes me feel good about life.

I've never learned to drive because I get lots of ideas when I'm a passenger in a car. I love to get in a car with a driver and just think and work things out.

I like to sing with people, whether they're good or not.

Did people waste time before the internet existed?

The authority of the civil defense ... issued a warning to the civilian population not to pick up any of those pencils because they are booby traps.

I really don't have that many run-ins. People by and large are very nice to me.

The script - and a good one - tells you everything that you need to know.

If you absolutely love it more than anything in the world, don't give up. You gotta keep working hard because it's a lot tougher than it looks.

What are you going to do with your freedom?

The theater commitment is hard, especially in conjunction with a television commitment. That's a big, long commitment.