Derbent, August 15, 2014. "Derbent’s 2,000th anniversary is not just a holiday, but our respect for the history we share," said Russian minister of North Caucasus affairs Lev Kuznetsov at a meeting in Derbent which he was visiting as part of his two-day stay in Daghestan. He inspected a number of facilities under construction and reconstruction carried out within preparations for celebrating the 2,000th anniversary of the city.

Now, they are building sewage treatment facilities in the city and reconstructing city parks: the Nizami Ganjavi Park and the Military Honour Park. Inside the Nizami Ganjavi Park, they plan to build a wrestling hall, a swimming pool and a few more facilities. They’ll renovate the park and the adjacent Heydar Aliyev Str. – roof and facades of the houses here will be repaired.

Later, the delegation toured the ancient Naryn-Kala fortress which is also to be restored. Here, they plan to reconstruct the fortress walls and citadel’s towers. Lighting, walkways, and the lawn flooring will be renovated, too.

Inspection results were the topic of the follow-up meeting in the city hall. Lev Kuznetsov pointed to the need of preserving the city’s architectural style, so that all new construction must be done strictly in line with the law and in accordance with the existing unique architecture. Summing up the meeting, the minister said they had a lot of work to do, so they needed to stick to the schedule at a qualitatively high level.