Deputy Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government for Social Policy Vladimir Vlasov chaired a meeting of the regional Healthcare Committee to discuss their performance in 2006 and plans for this year. The authorities spent over 22 billion RUR on the so-called state-funded guarantees; the total number of investments in the national projects and state programs amounted to 26 billion. The population loss went down 8%, or to 20,000 people, birth rate rose 3% and reached the point of 10.7 infants per 1,000 people, with the town of Aramil reaching the level of the stable year 1996 (15.4 infants per 1,000

The average price of a square meter of a Yekaterinburg-based dwelling comes to 56,000 RUR at the moment. This figure can be applied to both existing homes and buildings under construction, Deputy Mayor Vladimir Kritskiy announced at a press conference. ‘I believe the introduction of a number of mortgage lending programs was one of the key factors that determined the dramatic increase in housing prices in 2006. So, I don’t think the same hype is likely to occur in 2007; the prices will probably go up 20% to 25%. Even now, the price growth rate tends to slow down and the market appears to be

Yekaterinburg is going to host the 5th International Conference on Heating Equipment Restoration, Maintenance, and Repair on March 28-30, 2007. According to the spokesperson for Ural Turbine Plant, the conference is aimed at information exchange and experience-sharing. The participants (executives of RAO UES of Russia, territorial power generating companies, power stations, contractors, and machine-building enterprises from Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, Europe, and Japan, as well as faculty of industrial colleges) are to discuss the ways of upgrading equipment, using advanced

‘The reason for canceling our contract with IKEA Torg (Trade and Real Estate) Ltd. was zero profitability. IKEA only offers disadvantageous working terms; their prices don’t keep up with the inflation rate (12% in 2006 plus the statistical inflation), which made us lose about 30% of profits,’ Sales Director of Urallesprom Evgeniy Perov said to UrBC. ‘What is more, the raw stuffs and electricity prices soared last year; besides, our outgoings went up due to pay rises. IKEA Torg, however, refused to consider these factors, and we had to cancel our contract with them,’ Mr. Perov explained.

‘The decision of Chelyabinsk Tube-Rolling Plant’s shareholders to pass a dividend for 2006 may have been caused by their wish to reinvest the profits in order to get better dividends in the future. If the shareholders choose to reinvest, they thus declare that their company has some excellent investment opportunities, but the ROE (return on equity) coefficient of Chelyabinsk Tube-Rolling Plant does not look like it. It’s actually lower than the average figures in this branch,’ maintains Vsevolod Chaschin of Blagodat Securities Investment Company. The Board of Directors of Chelyabinsk

A meeting of Union of Sverdlovsk Region Entrepreneurs and Manufacturers took place in the Government House of Yekaterinburg on March 22, 2007, reports the spokesperson for the Governor of Sverdlovsk Region. In his report, Chairman Vladimir Semenov said that the gross regional product had gone up 400 billion RUR over five years (from 200 billion in 2002 to 600 billion in 2007). The investments in the Ural companies’ fixed capital rose to 133.8 billion RUR; the average wage of an industrial worker increased from 3,200 RUR to 13,900 RUR a month. The volume of foreign investments amounted to

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel held a meeting devoted to the development of the region’s rural areas on March 22, 2007, reports the Governor’s press officer. The local players sold us 7,000 tons of milk last year; the figure is expected to rise to 10,000 tons this year and to 20,000 tons in 2008; the producers are also estimated to supply 20,000 tons of meat in two years’ time. ‘There are 239,732 agricultural households in the Mid-Urals today, but only 65,000 rural dwellers actually raise cattle. This is obviously very little. There are a few reasons for this: for one thing, the

‘The discussions of a possible ban on the use of IL 86 planes for flying Russian tourists to Egypt have been going on for the last five years, but the decisions have always been favorable for these airplanes since Egypt itself is interested in our travelers,’ says the spokesperson for Ural Airlines. ‘There are two possible outcomes right now: according to the first scenario, Russian aviation authorities, including the Department of Transport, will negotiate for the use of IL 86 planes, as this is what quite a few Russian carriers and their customers want. The second scenario means the planes

The division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) in Yekaterinburg summed up the results of its activity in 2006. The agency received more than 2,000 complaints from the local residents, which is almost twice the previous year’s number. Complaints regarding unsuitable living conditions experienced a particularly dramatic increase. The city dwellers are mainly concerned with the poor state of entrances, hallways, and basements in their apartment blocks as well as low quality of cleaning and garbage collecting and lack of regular overhauls. People are also unhappy about the

‘A company has to undergo bankruptcy proceedings after it has been found insolvent in order to pay off its debts to creditors. All the actions a trustee in bankruptcy takes are targeted at satisfying the creditors’ claims, possibly through putting the company’s assets up to auction,’ Irina Kaleeva of Jus-Cogens Ltd. said to UrBC relating to HydroSpetsStroy Ltd. (general contractor of Noviy Grad, the local developer). ‘People who invested their money in the would-be buildings now need to apply for the contract annulment, claim their money back, and demand that they be included in the list of