MURMANSK, May 12. /TASS/. The number of terrorism-related crimes in northwestern Russia grew by more than a quarter last year, the Security Council's Secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, told a conference on crucial national security issues on Wednesday. The most complicated situations were in St. Petersburg and the Kaliningrad region.
"Last year the number of registered terrorism-related crimes in the Northwestern Federal District was up by 28%," he stressed.
"The most complicated situations were in St. Petersburg and the Kaliningrad Region, where a terrorist attack against an electric power substation was prevented," he said. "The current situation indicates extra measures along these lines must be taken."
The presidential representative in the Northwestern Federal District, Alexander Gutsan, said that in the first quarter of this year 24 terrorism-related crimes were registered. False messages about acts of terrorism showed no reduction despite tighter criminal punishment.
"Last year 279 such crimes were registered last year," he said.
The activity of different terrorist and extremist organizations remained on the list of the main threats to state and public security in the Northwestern Federal District and in Russia in general, he warned.
"Currently the risk of terrorist crimes remains high, which requires all bodies of power take systemic steps to resist terrorism and improve measures to maintain public security," Gutsan said.