The academy head, Colonel Vladimir Lugovoy, briefed the President on the training process arrangements. Dmitry Medvedev, accompanied by Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, watched parachute jumps and special simulator training. Mr Medvedev also watched demonstrations of hand-to-hand combat.
A demonstration of new generation small arms was organised for the President.
Mr Medvedev laid a wreath at the obelisk to the academy’s graduates who lost their lives defending their fatherland or in local armed conflicts.
The academy’s history dates back to 1918, when infantry training courses were first organised in Ryazan for Red Army officers. In November 1996, the academy was named in honour of Vasily Margelov, who commanded the Soviet Union’s paratroops for almost 25 years. The academy counts 45 Heroes of the Soviet Union and 69 Heroes of the Russian Federation among its graduates.