FCS Russia head Valery Pikalev inspected the road checkpoints Yaragh-Kazmalyar and Tagirkent-Kazmalyar in Dagestan on the Russia–Azerbaijan border — hubs of the international North–South transport corridor that carry a major share of Russian foreign-trade freight. Source: FCS Russia.
North Caucasus Customs chief Nikolai Dzugaev joined the visit. At Yaragh-Kazmalyar, Pikalev met Azerbaijan State Customs Committee chairman Shahin Bagirov; the parties toured the crossing infrastructure, reviewed inspectors’ work and discussed possible joint steps.
To reduce congestion risks, Moscow and Baku agreed in 2023 on a systematic mechanism for managing vehicle build-ups at border crossings. Yaragh-Kazmalyar now handles mainly trucks and remains the busiest checkpoint on this route: with a design capacity of 300 lorries per day, actual traffic is twice the norm and triple in peak periods.
Reconstruction has been under way since 2020; once completed, daily throughput will rise to 1,400 vehicles, including lorries, cars and coaches. In the first half of 2026, more than 2 million tonnes of goods crossed here — 14.5% above the same period last year.
Tagirkent-Kazmalyar serves as a pilot site for a new checkpoint model aimed at cutting typical customs inspection time for freight to ten minutes, as instructed by the President of Russia. The delegations focused on operation of the portal inspection complex and the integrated passage system.
This crossing also runs several times above design limits: about 257 lorries cross daily against a planned 50, with a 2026 record of 458 vehicles (the previous high was 417 at the end of 2025). A new 2026 peak was also set for the entire Russia–Azerbaijan border section — 1,396 freight vehicles in a day, exceeding the 2024 record of 1,371.
