Sverdlovsk Region Federation of Trade Unions is going to take part in the All-Russian protest demonstration whose first tour has been scheduled for April 10, 2007 and will take form of pickets aimed at bringing the minimal pension payments in accordance with the cost of living no later than December 1, 2008 and at making sure the payments make up at least 40% of a former worker’s salary.

Yekaterinburg State Fire Surveillance Department reports that order 93 given to Koltsovo airport on March 12, 2007 concerns violations of fire safety norms and regulations and demands for their elimination within a certain period of time. The order, however, does not make it obligatory to close down the check-in zones in question temporarily or permanently, since it is only the court that is entitled to decisions of this sort. The covering letter has no such power either, as it only lets the airport know what may happen if they fail to meet the safety requirements in time, says the letter of

A committee responsible for coordinating the upcoming meeting of the Military-Industrial Committee under the Russian Federation President scheduled for April 17-18, 2007 met in Yekaterinburg today, reports the spokesperson for the Governor of Sverdlovsk Region. The committee consists of representatives of the regional executive and legislative branches, defense industry executives, and members of the central working team headed by Sergey Shlyaev, First Deputy Director of Rosoboronzakaz (the state defense contracts agency). Deputy Head of Government Sergey Ivanov, First Deputy Chairman of the

URSA Bank’s car loan portfolio exceeded 3 billion RUR in March 2007. The bank is currently offering its customers a total of seven borrowing schemes, with Hand-Over scheme apparently becoming the ultimate winner in terms of popularity. This offer makes it possible to acquire a car directly from a private individual and thus avoid all the extra commission payments. Another scheme known as Auction is meant specifically for customers willing to purchase a quality car directly from an auction held in Japan or any other country. In addition, clients are encouraged to use the bank’s special offers

National Health Project in Sverdlovsk Region is going to get 10% more investments in 2007, reports the regional Ministry for Health. ‘These additional subsidies will come from both regional and federal budgets. The investments haven’t been distributed yet, but we already know that more money is to be given for all the expense items,’ says the spokesperson for the Ministry.

Balance of natural person deposits of Ural Bank of Sberbank of Russia came to over 100 billion RUR in February 2007; the number of deposits reached 22 million. ‘Our bank offers its clients 19 deposit types that cater for different customers’ needs,’ says Natural Person Deposit Director Marina Papakova. ‘Old-age pensioners, for instance, can use our deposit schemes that provide for a higher than average interest rate with only moderate amount of money needed to put in an account. Entrepreneurs are offered our Special deposit that combines the interest rate offered on a deposit account and the

Sverdlovsk Region Court of Arbitration stated that HydroSpetsStroy Ltd. (general contractor of Noviy Grad, the developer) should go through bankruptcy proceedings with Olga Rushitskaya as the trustee in bankruptcy. Ms Rushitskaya now has to hold a meeting of the company’s creditors and decide upon a self-regulating organization whose members would then appoint the trustee in bankruptcy themselves. ‘My predictions have come true: I knew there was no other way for HydroSpetsStroy Ltd. but to go through bankruptcy proceedings, as it appears impossible to restore the company’s solvency,’ Ms

The press officers of Ural Airlines dealt with their clients’ most frequently asked questions on March 15, 2007. A lot of questions had to with the possibility of renovating Koltsovo airport without inconveniencing the passengers. ‘Back in the 80s, the airport used to service twice as many passengers even though it had neither the second international terminal nor the check-in zones 5 and 6. It somehow managed to operate efficiently. The airport could invest time, efforts, and money in improving passenger service rather than in making life difficult for a more successful rival,’ the press

Sverdlovsk Region Ministry for Building, Housing Maintenance, and Utilities underwent restructuring, reports the ministry’s press officer Elena Tolmacheva. ‘Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s decree 138 provided for the setting up of an executive body named Sverdlovsk Region State Construction Surveillance Administration; the regional government now has to approve of the new authority, determine the number of staff, and make proposals in respect of the would-be Head of Administration,’ the press officer says. ‘The new authority is going to control all the buildings currently under construction;

Mikhail Shreer, Criminal Offenses Director of Yekaterinburg Department of Internal Affairs, announced at a press conference that 945 cars were stolen and 1,178 cars were hijacked in Yekaterinburg last year. ‘We managed to solve 96 cases related to car theft or hijacking in 2006 and 89 cases out of 1,011 in 2005,’ Mr. Shreer said. ‘Automobiles are usually stolen from ‘half-legal’ parking areas and from parking lots provided by trade centers. The most commonly stolen cars are VAZ-made ones and Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota RAV4,’ he observed.