October 31, 2014. Uralvagonzavod Corporation presented Russia’s first innovative tram at the ExpoCityTrans 2014 International Exhibition in Moscow, the corporation’s press service reports. The corporation’s stand, designed to look like a transport terminal of a metropolis, got a visit from Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin. Deputy Mayor for Transport & Road Infrastructure Development Maxim Liksutov had a look at the new tram and was informed about its technical parameters in the company of Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s DG Oleg Sienko. ‘Sergey Sobyanin wanted to know when R1 could start its

October 31, 2014. Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) determined that 31% of Sverdlovsk Region-based alcohol-selling companies do not entirely comply with the existing regulations, head of the agency’s Sverdlovsk Region Food Hygiene Department Natalya Sheluntsova announced at a press conference. ‘217 enterprises have underwent checks since the start of the year, and instances of non-compliance were detected in 31% of the businesses. 180 batches of strong drinks (some 2,000 liters altogether) had to be confiscated. Mostly, non-compliance had to do with discrepancies between

October 31, 2014. Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ) now manufactures non-standard length weldless pipes: this is part of the plant’s strategy to provide for the Russian companies’ needs for high quality home-produced tubing, ChTPZ Group’s press service reports. The plant manufactured 140-mm pipes (wall width 12 mm) made of 09G2S steel that was produced at its very own steel-smelting facility, Iron Ozone 32. These products are over 11 meters long. The order was particularly challenging in that the enterprise’s production technology is normally suited for making pipes that are up to 10

October 31, 2014. Travelsystem, a tour operator, is no longer a player on Yekaterinburg market: the company cut back on the number of flight offers and is to close down its local representation on November 1, 2014. The decision was taken in order to cut costs after demand for Europe-bound trips had sagged, Travelsystem’s website states. At the same time, the company’s Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, and Samara branches go on with business as usual. ‘The European business standards Travelsystem rests upon leave no room whatsoever for dumping, artificially boosted sales, or

October 31, 2014. EVRAZ announces its Nizhyaya Salda Metallurgical Plant (NSMZ, owned by EVRAZ’s independent subsidiary Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Works) has been sold to OOO Businessinvest, the holding’s official statement goes. ‘The transaction in question is in full compliance with EVRAZ’s current strategy, namely, selling unprofitable and non-core assets. NSMZ made 62m RUR worth of losses in 2013, which had been brought about by a considerable decrease in the demand for its produce. EVRAZ Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Works will stop the production process at the plant on November 1, 2014,

October 30, 2014. ChTPZ Group is going to display several job counseling stands at WorldSkills Hi Tech, a national blue-collar jobs championship, at Yekaterinburg EXPO on October 30. The Group will also make a presentation of the so-called The Future of White Metallurgy Program that is offered at ChTPZ Group Training Center, the Group’s press service says. Visitors to the stand will be able to talk to experts and Training Center students and get all the details on the current programs and courses. ‘Throughout the five-day championship, one can enjoy a spectacular performance: every high

October 30, 2014. In 2015, Electromachine (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is going to co-invest in education of thirty school-leavers and students so that they can get jobs at the company later. 17 students are to study for their Bachelor’s degrees and on five-year programs, the rest of these students are getting into grad school,’ the corporation’s press service reports. Electromachine’s Personnel Training & Development Director Natalya Fersovitch says that this is not the first time the Chelyabinsk-based plant has launched such a program, but next year’s program is

October 30, 2014. Omsktransmash (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is preparing for the heating season and thus replaced over 800 m of pipes in the heating supply system. According to Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service, the company prepared for winter both with the help of its own resources and with that of ten contractors. The most labor-intensive and costly jobs were carried out at substation RP 6, where the automatic circuit breakers were fully replaced with the new, Electroshchit ones, and at the plant’s primary boiler house. Omsktransmash Deputy Chief Engineer

October 30, 2014. Every one in ten working Russians is going to take additional days off during the November break, Superjob’s research center reports. This year, both the official public holiday November 4 and the previous day (a shift from the public holiday on February 24) are going to be days off for the employed. A survey involving 1,600 working Russian citizens indicates that 10% of respondents are planning to take days off or a short-term vacation on November 5-7 in order to get a longer fall break. 61% of respondents have no such plans, 9% of those surveyed work shifts and just can’t

October 30, 2014. The trial of Stanislav Silkin, who is accused of taking part in the murder of Director of Yekaterinburg Meatpacking Plant Alexander Kuleshov, begins in Sverdlovsk Region Court on October 30, 2014. The 43-year-old Khakasia-born Silkin is charged with aiding and abetting in a hired killing (Article 105 (Part 2) and Article 33 (Part 5) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code) and with organized, collusive illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition (Article 222 (Part 2) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code). ‘The inquest team believe the accused was an accomplice in the

October 29, 2014. Burevestnik Central Scientific Research Institute (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) hosted a meeting of heads of Volga Federal District-based defense industry enterprises. The meeting was chaired by Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Volga Federal District Mikhail Babich. The corporation’s press service reports the meeting was dedicated to looking into the ways of meeting the target figures for import replacement of spare parts that are used for design, production, and operation of Russian arms and special vehicles. The

October 29, 2014. Uralvagonzavod Corporation is going to present its R1 tram at the international exhibition ExpoCityTrans in Moscow, the corporation’s press service says. ‘Visitors to the exhibition can form their opinions of the exterior and interior design, ask the tram designers their questions, and look at the solutions that haven’t yet been presented to the general public,’ the press service says. R1 is Russia’s first 100% low-floor three-sectional tramway that was developed jointly by Uraltransmash (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) and Atom Design Office. ‘The design

October 29, 2014. Sinara Transport Machines (a member enterprise of Sinara Group) delivered its diesel-locomotive shunter TEM7A to the customer, Center for Terrestrial and Space Infrastructure Maintenance (a part of Roscosmos Federal Space Agency), Sinara Group’s PR Center reports. The locomotive was made at Lyudinovsky Locomotive Plant (a member enterprise of Sinara Transport Machines). Before the year ends, the plant is to deliver one more TEM7A shunter to Vostochny Cosmodrome. These vehicles will be used both while the launching site is being constructed and after the site has been

October 29, 2014. 56,833 new passenger and commercial vehicles were sold in Yekaterinburg between January and September 2014, which is 19% (13,224 units) less than in the three quarters of 2013, Auto Dealer Yekaterinburg reports. The agency says sales dropped by over a quarter in September. This time, the decrease stood at 26%: 6,235 automobiles were purchased in Yekaterinburg (2,240 cars fewer than in September 2013). Renault was the only brand among the top ten best-selling makes whose sales actually improved last month. ‘September is typically a successful month for Yekaterinburg’s car

October 29, 2014. Sverdlovsk Region Economics Ministry came up with a provision on the forecast for the area’s socioeconomic development in 2015-2017, acting Economics Minister Anna Uskova said at Sverdlovsk Region Government meeting. According to Uskova, there are currently two possible scenarios for the economic development of Sverdlovsk Region: a moderately optimistic one and the basic one. Under the optimistic scenario, the constituency’s gross regional product would grow by an average of 3.9% a year, with industry going up by 3.5%, agriculture going up by 8%, retail trade turnover going

October 29, 2014. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) mastered a technology for making hot-dip galvanized rolled products with premium (Group C) surface quality using its cold-rolling facilities at Sheet Rolling Department 11, MMK Information & PR Department reports. The rolled products in question are meant for making outer parts of automobiles. Russia’s largest carmaker, Avtovaz, is currently their key consumer. In fact, foreign automobile giants with factories in Russia also appear to be interested in the rolled goods with premium surface quality: Volkswagen, Ford, Renault, and

October 28, 2014. Two cooks and two pastry chefs from Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant in Nizhniy Tagil won first prizes in the local professional skills contest for canteen staff, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘The plant employees competed with cooks and chefs from Corpus Group Ural and sole traders N.V. Yurk and I.V Sidenkova; these prepare meals for EVRAZ NTMK, Vysokogorsky Ore Mining & Processing Enterprise, and OAO KRZ, respectively,’ the press service says. Head of Nizhniy Tagil Council Consumer Market Development Tatiana Semikolennykh chaired the panel of judges.

October 28, 2014. ChTZ Uraltrac (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) presented its joystick-operated B14 bulldozer at Surgut Oil & Gas 2014 International Exhibition, Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service reports. ‘The sample presented in Surgut can easily compete with its foreign counterparts. The operator of this powerful machine (workload up to 15,000 kg) does need to apply any physical force to control the pulls and levers. One joystick serves to set the direction and speed of the bulldozer, the other one controls the dozer blade and the ripper,’ the press service

October 28, 2014. Starting on November 15, Czech Airlines and Ural Airlines are going to operate code-shared flights from Rostov-on-Don to Prague and back. According to Ural Airline’s press service, flights will be offered thrice a week, on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The return flight from Prague to Rostov-on-Don will be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Tickets for the flight to the Czech capital can already be booked at a special rate (from €150 for a one-way ticket and from €300 for a round trip one, plus the fees). Tickets are available via the airline’s website

October 28, 2014. Aeroflot’s low-cost subsidiary, Budget Carrier, is going to operate two flights from Yekaterinburg to Moscow and back every day, the airline’s official website states. According to the website, the following flights will be operated: DR 403 from Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport to Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg (departure time: 5:45 PM, arrival: 10.10 PM) DR 404 from Koltsovo Airport to Vnukovo Airport (departure: 11:00 PM, arrival: 11:35 PM) DR 405 from Vnukovo Airport to Koltsovo Airport (departure: 12:50 AM, arrival: 5:10 AM) DR 406 from Koltsovo Airport to Vnukovo Airport