--- a/debian/control
+++ b/debian/control
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ Source: fail2ban
 Section: net
 Priority: optional
 Maintainer: Yaroslav Halchenko <debian@onerussian.com>
-Build-Depends: debhelper (>= 9), python3, python3-pyinotify, dh-systemd
+Build-Depends: debhelper (>= 9), python (>= 2.6.6-3~), python-pyinotify, dh-python
 Homepage: http://www.fail2ban.org
 Vcs-Git: git://github.com/fail2ban/fail2ban.git
 Vcs-Browser: http://github.com/fail2ban/fail2ban
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ Standards-Version: 3.9.6
 Package: fail2ban
 Architecture: all
 Depends: ${python3:Depends}, ${misc:Depends}, lsb-base (>=2.0-7)
-Recommends: iptables, whois, python3-pyinotify
-Suggests: mailx, system-log-daemon, python3-systemd
+Recommends: iptables, whois, python-pyinotify
+Suggests: mailx, system-log-daemon, python-systemd
 Description: ban hosts that cause multiple authentication errors
  Fail2ban monitors log files (e.g. /var/log/auth.log,
  /var/log/apache/access.log) and temporarily or persistently bans
--- a/debian/rules
+++ b/debian/rules
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@
 # Uncomment this to turn on verbose mode.
 #export DH_VERBOSE=1
 
-export PYBUILD_DISABLE_python2=1
+export PYBUILD_DISABLE_python3=1
 
 %:
-	dh $@ --with python3,systemd --buildsystem pybuild
+	dh $@ --with python2 --buildsystem pybuild
 
 DESTDIR=$(CURDIR)/debian/fail2ban
-PYVERSION=$(shell py3versions -dv)
+PYVERSION=$(shell pyversions -dv)
 
 override_dh_clean:
 	rm -rf fail2ban.egg-info
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ override_dh_install:
 	: # Install bash completion
 	install -d $(DESTDIR)/etc/bash_completion.d
 	install -m 644 files/bash-completion $(DESTDIR)/etc/bash_completion.d/fail2ban
-	: # Install systemd files
+	: # Install systemd files, even in backport version just in case even though
+	: # other systemd preparation activities are not carried out
 	install -d $(DESTDIR)/lib/systemd/system
 	install -d $(DESTDIR)/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d
 	install -m 644 files/fail2ban.service $(DESTDIR)/lib/systemd/system