UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 8, 2010. An Israeli company Taldor Arie Rimini might be contracted to create Sverdlovsk Region’s e-government, the regional officials decided during their recent visit to Israel. The delegation comprised the region’s First Deputy Economics Minister Vitaly Nedeslsky and the Counselor to the Minister of Economics Dmitry Kalayev. It has been decided that the Israeli IT experts could consult the project developers on the launch of a product that is unique to Russia for the time being. The Russian officials also visited the technological institute Technion during

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 8, 2010. ‘Our sales of Chrysler automobiles plummeted when the recession began. This is why, in order to avoid financial risks, our company started working with individual orders rather than stocking. Depending on the logistics, one’s car will arrive in something between two weeks and three months,’ the Sales Department of Asmoto, a car show based in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Sverdlovsk Region, told UrBC. In the meantime, ZAO Chrysler RUS reports they are going to set up another dealership in Yekaterinburg. ‘The rumors to this extent have been circulating for a long

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 8, 2010. Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin met Chairman of Riga Duma Nil Ushakov to discuss the two territories’ cooperation potential in the field of trade, science, education, culture, and tourism (including the introduction of a direct flight from Sverdlovsk Region to Latvia). The Governor said a positive trend could be noticed in the development of Sverdlovsk Region and Latvia’s relations. Nil Ushakov said in his turn that a direct Yekaterinburg-Riga flight would promote tourism, given especially the fact that Latvia’s airport is a great

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 8, 2010. The story of a well-known Russian hockey player Pavel Datsyuk responding to the participants of the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s essay contest for children took a new turn. The famous player, who is, in fact, an alumnus of Yekaterinburg hockey school and one of the National Hockey League’s top ten players as well as a multiple Olympic and World champion and winner of the world’s most valuable hockey trophy, the Stanley Cup, wrote some letters to the contestants. The letters are addressed to five children who go in for hockey and who

UrBC, Moscow, December 8, 2010. The international rating agency placed X5 Retail Group N.V. BB- long-term credit rating on CreditWatch, with Negative rating outlook; this means the ratings could be demoted or affirmed. At the same time, Standard & Poor's placed OAO Kopeika Trade House’s B- long-term credit rating and ruBBB national scale rating on CreditWatch with Positive rating outlook, which means the ratings could be promoted or affirmed. ‘Both companies’ ratings were placed on CreditWatch after X5 Retail Group reported it had bought a 100% shareholding in Kopeika,’ the agency’s