UrBC, Moscow, December 29, 2015. Russia’s GDP dropped by 4% in November 2015 compared with January 2015 (by 3.8% in October 2015 compared with the start of the year), Prime refers to the Economic Development Ministry as stating. ‘The preliminary data we have for November indicate a downward economic trend. The country’s GDP declined by -.3% on the previous month, seasonal factors notwithstanding,’ the ministry says. It is reported all the economic indicators went down last month: the industrial production sector shrank by .6% after a short-lived slight growth period, the agricultural sector

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2015. Yekaterinburg residents decided not to try and save any money on natural or artificial New Year tree expenses this year. One of the city’s New Year tree bazaars reports their sales grew very good around New Year’s Eva. Russian regular and silver fir trees (60 cm and up) are the most popular choice. Locals mostly spend between 1,000 and 3,000 RUR per tree. In the meantime, the demand for artificial fir trees has been growing stably over the last few years. Novogod-shop.ru, the online service, reports customers have been buying increasingly more expensive

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2015. Sverdlovsk Region was not on the list of Russian federal constituencies with the best socioeconomic climate in 2014. The list was drawn up by the Russian Government for the purpose of subsidies distribution (5bn RUR) for next year. The Cabinet’s official website states the money has been distributed among twenty constituencies with the best socioeconomic performance figures. Tula Region, Arkhangelsk Region, and Leningrad Region were the top three.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2015.Head of ChTPZ Group Training Center Andrei Saltsev, Director of Pervouralsk Metallurgical School Elvira Korovina, and Director of Pervouralsk Lyceum 21 Lyudmila Demakova signed a trilateral cooperation agreement on educational programs for the Center’s prospective applicants/students, the Group’s press service reports. The goal is to improve the quality of educational services available in Pervouralsk and to ensure its cadre growth. First and foremost, the three parties will engage in joint training projects for school-leavers applying for Pervouralsk

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2015. A 2015 performance report for Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s head plant was presented in the course of a solemn ceremony at I.V. Okunev Palace of Culture in Nizhniy Tagil last week. According to the company press service, Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Igor Kholmanskikh, Sverdlovsk Region’s Vice Premier Alexei Orlov, Mayor of Nizhniy Tagil Sergei Nosov, and Nizhniy Tagil Duma deputies offered the plant workers their New Year greetings. In his welcoming address, Kholmanskikh wished the employee