"We are well aware that the border service, especially in remote regions of the country, is one of the most difficult," Dmitry Medvedev told officers at the Kremlin.
This year, Russia marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the country's border troops. Border Guard's Day was first celebrated in Russia in 1994, when May 28 was declared a professional holiday in a presidential decree.
The Federal Border Service (FPS) became part of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2003.
President Medvedev said: "It is important that Russia's borders are open for business cooperation and the development of friendly cross-border contacts, but it should be safe from terrorists, transnational crime and drug trafficking, and from those who threaten our seas and biological resources."
Medvedev added that the frontiers demonstrate the country's ability to 'protect national interests and guard its citizens, economy and culture from threats.'
Russia's borders are a complex system of modern barriers, CCTV and movement detectors. Russia has established cross-border cooperation and partnerships with 32 countries.
