Command and staff exercises on Caspian enter final stage

Command and staff exercises on the Caspian in Dagestan, a republic within the Russian Federation, have entered their final stage. An anti-terrorist operation against a possible attack on the republican capital's "air gates" was practiced at Makhachkala international airport on Monday morning. The "capture" of the airport was repelled by units of the interior troops, the Interior Ministry and the Emergencies Ministry of Dagestan, as well as other services specialising in fighting terrorism.

Also on Monday, similar exercises were carried out to protect the effluent treatment facilities of the town of Kaspiisk.

Held after a long period, the Caspian exercises coincided with the 280th anniversary /August 1722/ of the Persian maritime campaign by the Russian navy commanded by Peter the Great. In honour of the tsar, the creator of the Russian navy, a new town on the Caspian was named Port Petrovsk. Now it is Dagestan's capital Makhachkala.