December 29, 2014. Omsktransmash (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) won the annual national Golden Idea Prize, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘The Omsk-based company’s team won the third prize in the Successful Production of Military Goods and Introduction of Advanced Technologies and Innovative Solutions category for design, production, and export of heavy-duty flame weaponry. Omsktransmash Director-General Igor Lobov received the well-deserved award from Assistant to the Russian Federation President for Military & Technological Cooperation Vladimir Kozhin and

December 29, 2014. Ural Airlines have offered their services to 5,000,000 passengers within twelve months for the first time this year, the airline’s press service reports. The 5,000,000th passenger checked in for his flight on December 26, 2014. This was Andrei Ostrikov, who took his family to Sochi on the U6 219 flight from Yekaterinburg. The company representatives welcomed the special passenger at Koltsovo Airport and upgraded his entire family to business class as a present. It proved quite symbolic that the 5,000,000th passenger flew with the company on the eve of the year 2015. ‘It has

December 29, 2014. Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) held an extraordinary general meeting by absentee voting on December 25, 2014, the company’s press service reports. The shareholders decided on the distribution of profit made in six months of 2014 and on the payment of dividends (393,786,159.48 RUR in six months of 2014). Dividends are paid to shareholders in proportion to the number of ordinary registered shares they own. The list of those entitled to dividend payments stands as of January 12, 2015.

December 29, 2014. Sverdlovsk Region division of the Federal Antimonopoly Service reports they get three to five complaints about food price increases daily, the division head Dmitri Shalobodov announced at a press conference. ‘Customers mainly complain about buckwheat, bread, and vegetables growing more expensive. Every case is looked into. According to the data we have, the price of cabbage has gone up 40% since August, that of buckwheat is up 100%,’ Shalobodov said. He also pointed out some foods became less expensive: for one, pork prices dropped by 6.5% compared with August 2014, butter

December 29, 2014. The amount of taxes and levies owed to Sverdlovsk Region budget (including fines and fiscal sanctions) rose by 2.64bn RUR (9.6%) in the eleven months of 2014 and amounted to 29.984bn RUR, Sverdlovsk Region division of Russia’s Federal Tax Service reports. Head of the Debt Settlement & Bankruptcy Proceedings Department A. S. Balyura says 972,000 payment requests were sent out to taxpayers, the total sum being 26.729bn RUR. Around two-thirds of these payment requests have to do with the payment of property tax by private individuals. The debt collection efficiency

December 26, 2014. Sverdlovsk Region Ministry for the Environment & Natural Resources carried out an expert examination of the amount of mineral and fossil resources in 24 deposits. The examination proved positive in all of the cases, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. Thus the amount of stone (the primary material for making macadam) in deposits was estimated at 320m3, which was 16 times more than was extracted throughout the year. The estimated deposits of sand and tile stone were increased by 12m m3, which was 100 times more than was extracted

December 26, 2014. ChTZ Uraltrac (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod) produced its first B11.80000 tractor with a Chinese engine and hydro-mechanical transmission. ‘The launching ceremony was attended by representatives of the Chinese manufacturer, the country’s largest machine-building corporation WeiChai Holding Group. Our Chinese partners were in charge of the assembly and did more than just supervise our local experts’ work, they actually took part in the process themselves,’ the corporation’s press service says. The plant designers managed to fit the units in the serially produced

December 26, 2014. Uralvagonzavod Corporation was declared the top charity supporter of Nizhniy Tagil: the enterprises and organizations which contributed greatly to the city’s development and to socioeconomically important projects were awarded at the Mayor’s end-of-year reception, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘What is more, Mayor Sergey Nosov also gave the plant the highest award introduced this year, the Nizhniy Tagil No.1 Charity Supporter Award. This silver plate is given to organizations and enterprises that have become top charity-doers thrice,’ the press service says. In

December 26, 2014. The investigative division of Yekaterinburg Department of Internal Affairs completed their inquiry into a criminal case involving theft of 5m RUR from bank cards. All of the suspects have been detained, the Department’s press service reports. According to the inquiry team, the head of the organized crime group elaborated a scheme for stealing money from bank cards and bought equipment for making bank card duplicates. His 21-year-old brother, who was good at computers, became his accomplice and, together with three more ‘partners’, used Yekaterinburg- and Sverdlovsk

December 26, 2014. Ural Airlines was once again awarded with a thank-you letter from Governor of Sverdlovsk Region and Sverdlovsk Region Government for its noticeable contribution to charity projects in the area, the airline’s press service says. The authorities commented on the company’s great corporate social responsibility and specific help to those in need this year. In fact, the airline has received numerous government awards for its charity efforts before. In 2014, Ural Airlines directed over 565m RUR to sponsorship and charity projects, with most of the money spent on funding child

December 25, 2014. ITERA O&G Company (a member enterprise of Rosnef) and Uralvagonzavod Corporation signed a natural gas supply agreement, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘The ten-year agreement will come into effect on January 1, 2015. Our agreement on a long-term partnership with ITERA means we’ll be able to cut costs on natural gas supply for Uralvagonzavod’s needs and also means we manage to keep on cooperating fruitfully with Rosneft,’ the press service says. For one, an agreement on oil and mineral products supply cooperation was signed in the course of Saint Petersburg

December 25, 2014. First Deputy Director-General Alexander Grubman was appointed the new Director-General of Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ). Grubman is going to succeed Vitaliy Sadykov, who used to run both of ChTPZ Group’s divisions, the pipe-manufacturing one and the O&G servicing one. Following his leave of office, Sadykov will focus on the development of Rimera. As the plant’s new Director-General, Alexander Grubman will be in charge of developing and implementing the company strategy: enhancing the business performance efficiency and the company’s competitiveness and

December 25, 2014. Novouralsk-based AMUR Car Factory might become the property of Sverdlovsk Region Government, hints the constituency’s Prime Minister Denis Pasler. ‘We might take AMUR out of its current bankruptcy proceedings in order to make it the Region’s property so that it could be sold to investors in 2015,’ Pasler said at a press conference in Yekaterinburg. According to the official, AMUR still has a production site that is suited for making automobiles and special-purpose vehicles. AMUR Car Factory is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, whereas the factory’s former DG

December 25, 2014. Skoda raised prices for all of its car makes by an average of 7% on December 23: the price increase will thus come to between 40,000 RUR and 100,000 RUR per item, Avtostat reports. For one, Skoda Roomster is now 60,000 RUR more expensive and costs 806,000 RUR. Skoda Yeti also grew 60,000 RUR more expensive. The increase in the price of Skoda Rapid will depend on the options you are buying: Rapid Active will become 40,000 RUR more expensive, Rapid Ambition will become 46,000 RUR more expensive, and Rapid Elegance will become 50,000 RUR more expensive. The base price now

December 25, 2014. Sverdlovsk Region’s law on the constituency’s budget in 2015 and the constituency’s government internal loan program Sverdlovsk Region to take out some budget loans next year, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. Just like a year earlier, loans from non-state institutions will be made in the form of credit lines, which will allow for faster decision-making; the actual borrowing policy will depend on the budget revenues within a particular time period. All this will allow the borrowing party to cut debt servicing costs. The interest rate for

December 24, 2014. Uralvagonzavod Corporation, UVZ Logistic, and Sberbank Leasing signed a major contract on the lease of railway rolling stock in December 2014, the corporation’s press service reports. Sberbank Leasing handed more than 10,000 railway carriages (including 1,800 innovative gondola cars) over to UVZ Logistic. The fifteen-year contract’s total worth (considering the lease payments) comes to about 40bn RUR. The funding is secured by Sberbank of Russia’s Moscow branch. The rolling stock in question comprises tank cars 15-156-04, 15-156-03, 15-150-04, 15-5103-07, and 15-157;

December 24, 2014. Prof. Georgy I Zakamennykh, PhD, member of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences and Director-General of Burevestnik Central Scientific Research Institute (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) was awarded the title of the Honorary Citizen of Nizhniy Novgorod Region, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘This is a very high estimate of the institute and its head’s contribution to the area’s socioeconomic development. The institute team, headed by Prof. Zakamennykh, is engaged in a wide range of scientific studies and experimental design

December 24, 2014. A Ukrainian proved the most proactive contributor to the Tankopedia Project in December 2014; in fact, he was No.1 in the previous months as well. The fifteen-year-old expert on armored vehicles became even more active after his first prize-winning event in November: he contributed 99 entries in September and October and as many as 70 in November alone. All of the entries are on Armored Vehicles, Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service reports. Tankopedia has received some 1,200,000 page views since the day it was launched. There are 3,069 articles on the website

December 24, 2014. Yekaterinburg’s average monthly pay figures and per capita retail trade turnover figures are much higher than the country’s average as well as than the figures in other large Russian cities, Head of Yekaterinburg Council Alexander Yakob announced at an end-of-year conference. He says most of the macroeconomic performance indicators have remained moderate throughout the year: the city’s industrial production index in January-October 2014 was 5% lower than in January-October 2013, the industrial production index for the processing industry went down by 6.7%, and the volume of

December 24, 2014. ChTPZ Group Chairman of the BOD Alexander Fedorov and Rector of South Ural State University Alexander Shestakov signed a strategic cooperation agreement on December 22; the enterprise and the college will work together in the areas of vocational education and scientific research, ChTPZ Group’s press service says. The two parties aim to equip college students with skills needed to work at a modern industrial enterprise, to provide the plant with enough skilled engineers, to improve ChTPZ Group employees’ cadre potential, to improve pipe-manufacturing equipment and