Lev Kuznetsov: Derbent can teach us to live in harmony and peace

The city of Derbent, where people of different cultures, social classes and religions have perfectly coexisted since its founding, should become an example to us of how to live in harmony and peace, the Minister for the North Caucasus, Lev Kuznetsov, told a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza during a concert in the Kremlin Hall of Moscow named 'Potter's Wheel: from the Derbent Fortress to the Gates of the Kremlin', dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of Derbent.

"Perhaps it is significant that only yesterday we celebrated the Day of People's Unity and today we celebrate the 2000th anniversary of Derbent on the main stage of our country. Because this city already in ancient times has united people of different cultures, social classes and religions," he said.

"I think the most important achievement of the current stage is that the very people of the city were able to look at Derbent differently. A few years ago, unfortunately, the citizens did not appreciate or understand what city they live in," he complained.

"The most important thing is the overall work being carried out today in Derbent, Dagestan and the Caucasus on the basis of the significance of this macro-region for Russia as a whole, in terms of both the Asian and the European world," Lev Kuznetsov concluded.