Derbent is a small city by Russian standards, with a population of just over 100 thousand people, but outstanding in many other respects. This is one of the oldest cities not only in Russia, but also in the world – recently it formally turned 2,000 years old, but archeological finds indicate that the first settlements arose here at least 5,000 years ago. The convenient location of Derbent – in a strip where the mountains of the Greater Caucasus come close to the Caspian Sea – made it the most important point of the Great Silk Road: the “Caspian Gate” connected Eastern Europe and Near Asia. The old part of Derbent is included in the UNESCO Heritage List.

Today, Derbent is actively developing as a tourist center. In 2019, an international competition for the master plan of the city was organized, and this fall a comprehensive development plan for Derbent until 2025 was approved, under which the city will receive new infrastructure and social facilities. The biggest of them are: the embankment, a ropeway to the Naryn-Kala fortress, as well as the Sports Palace.