Makhachkala Naval Base (Port-Petrovsk)

Makhachkala Naval Base lies on the western shore of the Caspian Sea at Makhachkala, capital of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is the country's southernmost naval anchorage on the Caspian and stands on a coast without an enclosing bay or estuary, the port working directly onto the open sea.

The installation adjoins the Caspian Sea International Port, which operates around the clock and handles crude oil, petroleum products, construction materials, grain, general cargo and timber. A railyard within the port connects the berths to the North Caucasus Railway, giving rail access for bulk and heavy loads to the Russian interior; the port also maintains sea communications with Iran, Turkey, Central Asia and the Caspian and Black Sea littoral states. Uytash Airport, immediately south of the city, provides the nearest fixed-wing airfield.

The wider Makhachkala area served as a Soviet naval testing station, work associated with the ground-effect vehicle and missile trials conducted from the coast at neighbouring Kaspiysk, where the resulting offshore test structure remains.