MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday that although significant progress has been made in counter-terrorism efforts, the country still faces a major terrorist threat.

The most recent large-scale terrorist attack in Russia was the Beslan school siege of September 2004, in which 333 hostages including 186 children died. Sporadic small-scale terrorist attacks and militant clashes with police and troops remain common in Russia's North Caucasus republics, although the active phase of the Kremlin campaign to fight militants and terrorists in Chechnya is officially over.

"Serious blows have been dealt to terrorist leaders and networks. But we should be aware that this threat remains - it is very serious," Vladimir Putin told the inner cabinet during discussions on a federal anti-terrorism program.

He said "tens of billions" of rubles in government funds would be provided for the program.

"A major focus will be placed on prevention of crimes related to terrorism and extremism," he said. The measures will continue a program that was wound up last year.

"The sole priority of this work is to improve security for civilians," he said.

Along with the Beslan hostage crisis, Russia's worst terrorist attacks were the Moscow theater siege of October 2002, when 129 hostages died, and the September 1999 apartment bombings in Moscow and two towns, which killed nearly 300.