UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. Rosset’s Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems (FGC UES) had nearly 5,000 hectares of woodland paths under its electric main lines in Western Siberia cleared this year, FGC UES Western Siberia’s PR & Media Group reports. The company coordinated over eighty emergency drills involving its power substation personnel and the Department of Emergencies’ rescue teams. Together with other fire safety measures, these drills helped prevent fire outbreaks at the company’s power stations in Western Siberia this year. Fire safety improvement measures also

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. New 2,000-ruble bills that came into circulation this fall can already be found at SKB-Bank’s outlets and ATMs, the bank’s press service reports. SKB-Bank’s cardholders can get the new bills when taking money out of a cash machine, or at cash desks when cashing in their deposits or with the change resulting from their transactions. To make the thing more convenient for customers, there are notes at every outlet with a description of what the new bill looks like and how to check if it’s a valid banknote. Besides, all the details on the new notes and

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, December 29, 2017. A new hopper crane was recently launched at the coal preparation shop of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) coke and by-product process department, MMK Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. ‘This is the fifth such crane that was put up at the company as part of our crane facilities reconstruction program (under way since 2005). The program covers for replacing all of the shop’s six cranes. The first four units were bought from the Czech company KCI Konecranes, and the fifth one was made by the Serbian firm GOSA FOM,’ the Department

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 29, 2017. South Urals Chamber of Commerce & Industry adopted an international events program for the year 2018, the CCI’s press service reports. The events are directed at finding new business partners and investors and developing trade and economic relations. The Chamber’s Foreign Economic Activity Center will begin next year with a number of official and business visits of Chelyabinsk Oblast delegates to Israel and Uzbekistan in February. In March, delegates will go on business missions to Tajikistan and the South African Republic; also, a group of Chinese

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. 2,256 people living in Sverdlovsk Oblast paid off RUR 371m of their debts altogether starting from January 1, 2017 in order to be allowed to travel abroad, the constituency’s division of Federal Service of Court Officers reports. ‘A ban on leaving the country was imposed on some 70,000 people with unpaid debts this year, their accumulated debt at around RUR 60bn. 12,000 of them are parents who fail to pay their child support allowances (this debt amounts to RUR 2bn all in all),’ the division says.

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, December 28, 2017. An employee conference was held at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) today to adopt the Collective Agreement for the years 2018-2020 between the company management and the workers, MMK press service reports. MMK Director-General Pavel Shilyayev presented his report on the plant’s production and social performance during the conference and also spoke about the company’s development strategy, environmental policy, and current CSR programs. Interestingly, Forbes magazine declared MMK Russia’s best employer in October 2017. There were actually four

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2017. A new project was embarked upon at EVRAZ Holding’s Evrazruda’s Abagurskaya Processing Plant to boost the grinding department’s productivity, the holding’s press service reports. Four grinding mills will get replaced with the more efficient ones, and a new, fifth mill will be added. The assembly and startup jobs will all be finished in the summer of 2018. The project’s overall cost is estimated at RUR 140m. These upgrades are expected to increase primary concentrate output by 200,000,000 kg a year (up to 6,500,000,000 kg altogether). Abagurskaya

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2017. Krasnodar Territory-based Bazel Aero airports named their best partners throughout the summer 2017. Ural Airlines won awards in two different categories, the air carrier’s press service reports. Ural Airlines won as the Company with Best Domestic Passenger Traffic Dynamics in Krasnodar Airport and also was awarded for Contributing to International Flights Development in Sochi Airport. Bazel Aero’s punctuality and service quality ratings have been carried on a a yearly basis since 2015; the goal is to distinguish the most punctual and the most

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 28, 2017. ChTPZ Group shareholder Andrei Komarov is now a member of Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory’s board of trustees and recently attended the board meeting for the first time, the Group’s press service reports. ‘ChTPZ Group and Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory have been collaborating for a few years now. The company supports the conservatory’s Opera House. Last year, its musicians opened the Group’s annual Snezhnost Children’s Charity Festival and performed Classics for Children, a special musical program for younger spectators. By joining the board,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2017. The exhibition’s coordinating committee received its first application/proposal to design EXPO Park in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast’s Information Policy Department reports. The names of the applicants haven’t been disclosed yet. They have until February 21, 2018 to complete the project proposal itself. The selection procedure for EXPO Park concept proposals opened on December 22, 2017. Local architects, designers, and builders were all invited to take part. The coordinating committee will consider all proposals submitted before January 21, 2018. The

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2017. The telecommunications provider MegaFon’s analysts presented their Urals-based business customers with a number of new useful services to help them function effectively during the upcoming New Year’s break, the company press service reports. According to Superjob’s recent research findings, nearly 14% of Russians keep working during the break in order to get paid at a double rate for doing overtime. These are mostly people in the sales and service sectors. MegaFon reports text messaging proved both the easiest and the most efficient way to promote one’s

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2017. Russian Copper Company was given the Donors Forum Association’s certificate for introducing new social technologies that help involve local communities in urban improvements. According to the company press service, the awarding ceremony took place during the association’s general member meeting in Moscow on the eve of the Donors Forum’s 15th anniversary. The meeting covered a report on the association’s charity projects in Russia this year and the action plan for 2018. This year, Russian Copper Company implemented a number of social programs involving

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2017. More than 1,500 employees of ChTPZ Group were able to attend New Year’s shows and performances this week, the company press service reports. The performances were given in M.I. Glinka Opera House in Chelyabinsk and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant’s Culture Palace in Pervouralsk. ChTPZ Group’s shareholders Andrei Komarov and Alexander Fedorov, the company Director-General Boris Kovalenko, Deputy Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast Ruslan Gattarov, Mayor of Chelyabinsk Evgeny Teftelev, Mayor of Pervouralsk Valery Khorev, the Group’s top managers, and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2017. Head of Yekaterinburg Council Alexander Yakob said they would consider other options apart from Yekaterinburg Underground extension in case the city gets chosen as the host for EXPO 2025. Yakob announced the news during his interview to Open Studio. According to the official, they will have to decide whether it makes sense to introduce a second line to Yekaterinburg Underground once all the layout planning for Expo Park has been completed. In 2019, provided the city does get to host the exhibition, they will start working on public transit planning and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2017. 9.7% of Sverdlovsk Oblast-based bank loan-takers were over sixty years old as of November 2017. According to the National Credit History Bureau, the constituency comes 28th in the overall national rating of borrowers in the 60+ age group. In Russia on the whole, the share of senior-age borrowers amounted to 10.4% in November. This was 1% more than one month previously, which was the greatest increase among all age groups. The shares of successful loan applicants also went up by 0.4% in the under-25 age group, by 0.5% in the 30-39 age group, and by 0.1%

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 26, 2017. Russian Copper Company is going to implement a large-scale action plan next year intended to prevent occupational health hazards and accidents at work, the company press service reports. To make this possible, the company signed a job safety cooperation agreement with 3M Russia for the year 2018. The paper was signed during the corporate job safety conference attended by Russian Copper Company Group’s job safety experts. The conference covered a report on the experts’ performance in 2017 and a roadmap for the year 2018 that included projects to improve

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 26, 2017. Yekaterinburg’s Akademicheskiy District and Ural State University of Economics signed an agreement to set up a Chair for Communal Housing Services & Utilities on December 25, 2017, RSG-Akademicheskoye’s press service reports. According to the company, the new district’s engineering infrastructure keeps growing, new technologies are being used, so there’s great demand for skilled workers, who are hard to find. The agreement was signed by RSG-Akademicheskoye’s Director-General Viktor Kisselev and Rector of USUE Yakov Silin.

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, December 26, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Metallurg Charity Foundation coordinated a special event for its charity project participants, MMK Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. 60 multiple-children families (270 people altogether) gathered together at Jazz Cinema in Magnitogorsk. ‘Our project to support families with special-needs children is one of Metallurg’s oldest programs. This includes paying for the children’s medications, lab tests, medical treatment, and their therapy at the medical and social support centers, helping these

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 26, 2017. SKB-Bank signed three government contracts with Novosibirsk Oblast, promising to provide RUR 500m in credit lines on each contract within three to four years’ time, the bank’s press service reports. According to Novosibirsk Oblast’s Finance Ministry, the interest rates were set at 10,43% to 11.21% a year. The funds will be directed to offsetting temporary cash shortages and to paying off current debts in compliance with Novosibirsk Oblast Budget Act. ‘It is delightful to have a sovereign-rating borrower on our loan book now. We hope to keep on

UrBC, Moscow, December 26, 2017. Russians spent RUR 4.4 trillion on new and used cars this year, Avtostat reports. According to the agency’s data, 1.3m new cars were purchased (average price of a car: RUR 1.329m), which amounted to over RUR 1.7 trillion all in all. The used cars market proved nearly twice as large, with RUR 2.7 trillion spent on 4.8m used cars (average price: RUR 554,300). Moscow market was Russia’s No.1, with revenues at RUR 565bn. Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk were the country’s second and third largest car markets, with revenues at RUR 260bn and RUR 52bn, respectively.