At a surveillance centre in Kaliningrad, monitoring teams are keeping a close eye on the city.
Sitting at their computers, staff are studying CCTV images from more than 700 security cameras. Another 1,200 cameras have been installed at Kaliningrad Stadium, where England play Belgium on 28 June.
With the latest face-recognition technology, individuals are checked automatically in a police database within seconds of being caught on camera. Similar security systems are in operation in the other World Cup host cities.
“In terms of anti-terrorism, this system will help locate suspicious individuals,” says Sergei Evstigneev from the Kaliningrad regional government. “It will allow the police to monitor their movements and react to any situation.”
But security cameras are just the first line of defence.
In Kaliningrad, local security forces have been training to react to a possible terrorist attack during the World Cup.
In one exercise, elite units – the “Spetsnaz” – parachuted into the football stadium to deal with a hostage scenario.
In a dramatic training video released by Russia’s internal security service, the FSB, special forces armed with Kalashnikovs are shown battling to secure the venue.
Source: BBC news
