Tatar National Cultural Autonomy of Sverdlovsk region, governed bythe elected chairman M.M.Sharafulin, has finished the organization of expert group to develop the concept of counteraction to national strife provocation. This theme is of high actuality in the region and is traditionally associated with the religious radical extremist activities. Therefore, speaking of settling interethnic conflicts, education and tolerant religious interpretation are considered to be the first measures. Formation of the expert anti-terrorist group took autonomy managementover four years. It includes

February 13, 2013. Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation was declared the best charity provider of the year in Nizhniy Tagil in 2012 in the Industrial Enterprises category, Uralvagonzavod’s press service reports. This is the second time the corporation has won the award: in 2011, the plant was also given the same deserving title. All in all, 99 different municipal organizations and enterprises competed for the title, but only 11 of them were actually awarded the Charity Provider diplomas in various categories. All in all, Uralvagonzavod donated over 250m RUR to charity last

February 13, 2013. Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Evgeny Kuivashev was elected Chairman of the Titanium Valley Special Economic Zone’s Supervisory Board on February 12. The same meeting resulted in electing Deputy Chairman and Executive Secretary, the Governor’s Information Policies Department reports. Kuivashev’s candidacy was supported by all the Supervisory Board members present at the meeting. The attendees elected Sverdlovsk Region Vice Premier Alexei Orlov as the Deputy Chairman, while Director-General of the Titanium Valley Special Economic Zone Artemy Kyzlasov was elected Executive

February 13, 2013. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) keeps expanding into Tyumen Region. On February 11, the bank launched its fourth branch in Nefteyugansk, Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Region. The branch will offer its customers a full range of services for private individuals. This is actually the bank’s 13th branch in Tyumen Region, the bank’s press service says. The bank has already set up outlets in shopping centers in Tyumen, Nizhnevartovsk, Surgut, Langepas, and Noyabrsk. The UBRD is also going to open more branches in Surgut and Noyabrsk in late February as

February 13, 2013. Sravni.ru’s analysts drew up a rating of Russia’s largest banks in terms of lending to private individuals as of February 1, 2013. Only three Sverdlovsk Region-based banks made it to the top twenty, including SKB-Bank, the lending institution’s press service reports. The volume of loans offered to private individuals exceeded 60.96bn RUR, which was 47.3% more than a year earlier. However, the speed at which the bank’s lending portfolio gained in volume did not affect its quality in any way: SKB-Bank can boast a less than 3% overdue debt ratio on its consumer loans, which is

February 13, 2013. On February 4, the customs officers of Yekaterinburg’s Koltsovo Airport detained 3,900 kg of watches and foreign perfumes from a supplier who was trying to import them to Russia from the UAE without any declarations, the press officer of Ural Customs Administration reports. It was discovered during the clearance control of a freight aircraft arriving to Yekaterinburg from Al Fujairah (UAE) that some of the cargo (185 items weighing a total of 3,900 kg) was not accompanied by the necessary transportation documents. It is reported that the supplier was trying to take watches