Russian Railways CEO Vladimir Yakunin reported on the fulfilment of the instruction issued by the President following his visit to the Kievsky railway station in Moscow and noted, in particular, that railway stations in Moscow and St Petersburg have been equipped with metal detectors, that passenger security has been tightened at 5,000 major transport infrastructure facilities, and that a joint group has been set with assistance of the FSB and Ministry of the Interior to draft suggestions on improving transport security.
Transport Minister Igor Levitin reported on the comprehensive transport security programmes currently being implemented.
The subject of the speech by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak was a resolution recently adopted by the Government on counterterrorism protection at public places. In particular, these measures concern security requirements applied since the commencement of design phase for certain infrastructure facilities. According to Mr Kozak, it is envisaged that similar requirements should be applied nationwide to buildings of mass public attendance already in operation.
President Medvedev emphasised that despite extra funding required, all of the programmes in question must be certainly and fully implemented, as the terrorist threat in the country is truly severe.
In addition, Mr Medvedev noted that transport security may only be ensured through exceptional alertness of the industry employees and close cooperation between the police and private security companies hired within the transport infrastructure system. The scope and format of such cooperation should be determined by the Ministry of the Interior.
Dmitry Medvedev also drew the attention of the Government and supervising bodies to the fact that all equipment involved must not only be of high quality, but be reasonably priced too, and suggested that manufacturers delivering counterterrorist devices under state procurement programmes should be subjected to strict audit.