‘The number of claims returned by the Court of Arbitration went down .7% against 2005 (and the number of all applications decreased by 4.9%). So, 1,811 applications were returned in 2006 altogether,’ Irina Reshetnikova, Chief Justice of Sverdlovsk Region Court of Arbitration announced at the press conference. ‘The number of cases solved dropped as well; the figure fell short of the data for 2005 by 7.2%, which means that there 36,700 cases adjudicated in 2006 altogether. The Russian average, however, declined by 40%,’ Ms Reshetnikova said. ‘This has to do with the fact that quite a few claims

‘The multinational retail networks operating on the regional grocery market have very few precuts by local agricultural producers on their shelves,’ Alexei Podolyako, CEO of Alliance Non-Commercial partnership, said to UrBC. ‘This can be explained by the terms of delivery contracts that these multinationals offer: these terms are so unattractive that no regional producer would ever think it sensible to accept them. A producer is generally known to decide on whether to cooperate with a particular retail chain using economic criteria. If doing business with a particular grocery store is going

The Economic Crimes Division of Sverdlovsk Region Department of Internal Affairs sent a group of officers to UralTransBank’s headquarters today. According to the Department’s press officer Valeriy Gorelikh, the bank is now under investigation related to criminal suits involving some clients of UralTransBank. ‘The investigative action is connected with the accusations of large-scale tax evasion and avoiding insurance payments to state non-budgetary funds,’ Mr. Gorelikh noted. The actions of the law-enforcement officers have been approved of by the regional public prosecution authorities. Mr.

According to the spokesperson for the Governor of Sverdlovsk Region, Governor Eduard Rossel and Petr Latyshev, Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District, are to pay a one-day visit to Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous Region on February 15, 2007. Their delegation is planning to take part in the 2007 Ural-Yugra exhibition currently held in Surgut, and to sign a cooperation agreement with SurgutNefteGaz. Eduard Rossel and the company’s General Director Vladimir Bogdanov signed the agreement shortly after the opening of the exhibition.

Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development has recently introduced a large ‘investors-friendly’ office at 44 Kraul St. The office welcomes visitors from 9 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and offers them the full range of the bank’s investment services. One can play the market using such Russian exchanges as RTS and MICEX there or use the trust management service, set up an unallocated bullion account or precious-metals deposit as well as join any of the bank’s united banking management funds. Customers will also be consulted on brokerage or updated on the bids, rates of exchange of currencies and

Starting February 15, 2007, ATMs of Severnaya Kazna (the bank and the insurance company) no longer accept UnionCard or STB-Card since the company’s agreement with UnionCard was cancelled, reports the spokesperson for the bank.

The 2007 Ural-Yugra exhibition is going to be held in Surgut, Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous Region. About 100 enterprises from Sverdlovsk Region as well as from the other regions of Ural Federal District (including Kalinin Machine Building Works, Uralvagonzavod, Uraltransmash, Uralelectrotyazhmash-Uralgidromash, Chelyabinsk-based Uraltrac, N.A. Semikhatov Scientific Production Association (Automatica), Ural Electro-mechanical Works, Pipe Metallurgical Company, and many others) are going to exhibit their produce. The regional delegation will be headed by Governor Eduard Rossel; among the other

‘Only 20% to 30% of local residents can afford to buy a place, even if you take into account the mortgage lending programs,’ reports Petr Latyshev, Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District. This is why the experts from the Plenipotentiary Representation of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District have already decided to analyze the price-forming mechanisms, and it is possible that the local government will spend more money on putting up economy class housing.

Fourteen participants of the project known as the School of Managing Director supported by Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Nizhniy Tagil (part of Evraz Group) have recently taken part in a workshop devoted to legal aspects of nature conservation in Russia, reports the spokesperson for Evraz Group. The company’s middle level managers, who have been undergoing intensive managerial training, must attend this obligatory environmental workshop in order to complete their two-year program. The seminars were conducted by the faculty of the leading Ural colleges and the company’s environmental

‘We are happy about Federal Antimonopoly Service approving of the merger of RUSAL, SUAL, and Glencore,’ says Alexei Prokhorov, SUAL Holding’s PR Director. ‘The enlarged company will definitely obey all the requirements set by Federal Antimonopoly Service. We don’t think they are going to hinder the successful implementation of our plans or business development, moreover, we do believe these regulations will have a positive impact on the Russian market as a whole,’ Mr Prokhorov observes. The Russian Federation Antimonopoly Service has recently approved of the merger of RUSAL, SUAL, and