Russia strengthens security measures after unrest in Dagestan

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia will boost security measures after protests at an airport in the Dagestan region, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Peskov said the measures were approved at an Oct. 30 meeting of the Russian Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin.

He noted it was decided to strengthen measures to counteract the "interference from outside," including external manipulation by the media, exploiting it as a pretext for different events, including the situation in the Middle East.

The events at the Makhachkala airport will be analyzed to minimize or exclude the possibility of repetition, he said.

On Oct.29, the airport of Dagestan's administrative center in Makhachkala, was rocked by civil unrest.

Several hundred demonstrators broke into the airport building and airfield to protest the arrival of a regular flight from Tel Aviv amid Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip.

More than 20 people were injured, including police officers, and over 80 rioters were detained. Authorities and religious figures condemned the incident, calling it a "provocation."

- Russia considers UN 'uncontested international mechanism'

Russia considers the UN system an "uncontested international mechanism," despite its inefficiency in addressing several issues on the world agenda, said Peskov.

Türkiye's proposal on UN reform demands and international consensus, which is unlikely to be achieved at the time of "critical contradictions" and changes that the world is experiencing, he said.

Turning to a "special procedure" for companies from "unfriendly states," leaving Russia, Peskov said it was introduced due to a "quasi-war" that the West is waging against Russia.

Russia continues creating comfortable conditions for the work of foreign companies but "there can be no 'free exit' from the Russian Federation for companies from unfriendly countries," they will leave on conditions defined by the governmental commission, he said.

Asked about the volatility of the ruble, Peskov said its course is subject to fluctuations like many currencies and it is a "normal economic process."

Commenting on the arrest of a Russian businessman in France, Peskov said if Aleksey Kuzmichev asks for Moscow's assistance, he will get it "as a citizen of Russia."

Kuzmichev was detained Monday in Paris on money laundering and tax evasion charges, and his house in Paris and villa in Saint-Tropez were searched.

In March 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on Kuzmichev for the conflict in Ukraine, after French authorities seized two yachts belonging to the entrepreneur. Kuzmichev then filed a lawsuit with French customs and by the end of the year, the detention of the yachts was lifted.