April 14, 2015. Ural Federal District-based federal constituencies (Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Region and Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Region) proved Russia’s richest territories, while Sverdlovsk Region was only given the 27th position in the rating, RBC reports. Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Region and Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Region’s average monthly pay to minimum living wage ratio stood at 5.6 and 5.2, respectively, in 2013-2014. RBC research findings indicate that the highest average monthly pay (90,400 RUR) is found in Nadym, Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Region. At the same time,

April 14, 2015. New homes prices went up by 3.7% in Sverdlovsk Region in the first quarter of the year; the prices on the existing homes market rose by 0.2%, Sverdlovskstat reports. Prices increased for all types of housing, with average quality apartments growing 5.2% more expensive, enhanced quality ones growing 3.1% more expensive, and premium segment ones growing 2.7% more expensive. As for the existing homes, prices went up by 0.3% for enhanced quality apartments and by0.6%for premium quality ones, whereas low and average quality homes grew 1.3% and 0.1% cheaper, respectively. According

April 14, 2015. The number of credit/debit card transactions made abroad decreased by 20% in the first quarter of 2015 against a year earlier, the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s press service says. According to the bank experts, 76,500 transactions were performed in January-March compared with nearly 96,000 a year earlier. UBRD customers usually use their bank cards abroad to pay for their purchases (65,000 transactions) and, less frequently, to take out some cash (5,000 transactions). ‘A drop in the number of foreign transactions was to be expected: tour operators said as

April 14, 2015. Three tanks made at Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant, namely, T-34-85, T-72B3, and T-90C, are going to take part in the Victory Day Parade in Nizhniy Tagil, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘Uralvagonzavod vehicles joining the parade has already grown traditional. Our T-34-85 first entered the streets of Nizhniy Tagil on May 9, 1985. The tank was made at the plant in 1945 and mounted on a pedestal next to the main entrance in 1946. In 1985, the tank was driven off the pedestal and (after a quick repair) onto the streets. This vehicle and a number of others have

April 14, 2015. 386,500 used cars were sold in Russia in March 2015, which was 24.3% less than a year earlier (when 510,300 automobiles were sold), Avtostat reports. The used cars market shrank by nearly 20% in only three months and now comes to 1.1m units. 32.5% of all the used cars on the market are LADA makes, especially VAZ 2107, Samara, and 2110. Toyota is still the most popular foreign car, with 40,300 automobiles (over 10% of the entire number) sold in March. Nissan and Chevrolet are the second and third best-selling used cars on the market, respectively. Ford, Hyundai, Volkswagen,