February 24, 2015. Kamensk Uralsky Foundry Plant (KULZ, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is going to invest about 1bn RUR in reconstruction of friction discs used in its special-purpose machinery. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service reports the repairs are part of a special-purpose government program that is co-financed by the state budget funds (60%) and KULZ itself (40%). The project is to be completed by the end of 2017. ‘The program’s primary goal is to ensure import replacement. KULZ is to replace their Ukrainian supplier of friction discs, which is why building

February 24, 2015. Ural Airlines are going to launch a new scheduled flight from Chelyabinsk to Saint Petersburg in early March, the airline’s press service reports. The flight from Chelyabinsk will be operated on Mondays and Thursdays starting March 12; starting April 4, another flight on Saturday will be available as well. The return flight from Saint Petersburg will be operated every Thursday and Sunday (starting from March 12) and every Friday (starting from April 4). ‘The new flight offers Chelyabinsk residents a convenient timetable for tourist and business trips to Saint Petersburg as

February 24, 2015. Last year’s yield of local potatoes will disappear from Sverdlovsk Region markets in April, Sverdlovsk Region Agriculture Minister Mikhail Kopytov informed UrBC. He explained this had to do with lack of refrigerating equipment to store all the vegetables. ‘Our potatoes and carrots will have to leave the market between April and July: we don’t have any refrigerators in our warehouses, all things are stored at room temperatures,’ the minister said. Apart from potatoes, local cabbage and carrot supplies were also said to be insufficient. According to the minister, Sverdlovsk

February 24, 2015. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service ruled that MTS Bank’s advertising was unfit for the purpose, the service’s press service reports. The advertisement for the bank’s Hot Deposit offer was distributed in Moscow Underground in the form of 20x40cm and 30x40cm stickers in September and October 2014 and on billboards in several Russian cities, including Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. The large print read, ‘Hot Deposit, interest up 12% p.a.’ The other terms of the deposit offer (the ones affecting the final income a customer would make) were given in small, white print against

February 24, 2015. Yekaterinburg came fifth on the list of Russian cities most popular with tourists, the city council refers to TripAdvisor’s data as stating. ‘Ten cities were featured in the rating based on the website users’ ratings of landmarks, hotels, and cafes and restaurants. Moscow and Saint Petersburg are predictably at the top; Yekaterinburg was ahead of Yaroslavl, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Krasnodar, and Suzdal. The rating’s authors said Yekaterinburg, with its plethora of theatres, museums, libraries, and quite a few monuments (including some very unconventional ones) was a place for