ST.PETERSBURG. April 11 (Interfax-AVN) - A special motorized unit of the Northwestern district of the Interior Ministry troops will maintain law and order during the 300th anniversary celebrations in St. Petersburg.
"Due to the unit's upcoming involvement in anniversary celebrations, along with accomplishment of patrol missions, serious attention is paid to practicing actions of the personnel in case of complications and emergencies. The unit is being trained in preventing mass disorder, and other measures are being taken," the unit's commander Colonel Vadim Pavlov said an interview published in the Zashchitnik Rodiny newspaper on Friday.
The servicemen will need these skills while maintaining law and order during sports and cultural events timed to the city's anniversary.
Corrections to the unit's service mode have already brought positive results, Pavlov said.
For example, patrolling service efficiency doubled in January and February of 2003 against the same period of 2002.
"This year, servicemen of the unit detained 5,719 people for administrative violations and 127 people suspected of committing crimes in two months, and in the first two months of 2002, the unit's patrols stopped criminal activities of 222 people," Pavlov noted.
According to him, "the unit cooperates more closely with police departments of the St. Petersburg and Leningrad region this year."
"In particular, servicemen and policemen have carried out several joint exercises and five special operations aimed at checking hot spots and crowded areas in various districts of the city," Pavlov stressed.
Russian Minister of Interior Boris Gryzlov earlier told reporters that St. Petersburg would have more law enforcement personnel during the celebration. "We plan to involve 2,500 additional staff with a reserve of 850 personnel. We also think of reserve detachments from other areas of the Northwestern District. We will engage cadets of Interior Ministry colleges; we are preparing 100 cadets speaking foreign languages for border checkpoint missions. The Defense Ministry will also provide additional forces," the minister said.