UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 15, 2018. SKB-Bank was one of Ural Federal District five largest banks in terms of asset volume last year, the bank refers to Interfax 100 rating as stating. SKB-Bank came fourth in the rating of Ural Federal District-based banks, with assets amounting to over RUR 110bn. The bank also proved Sverdlovsk Oblast’s second largest bank. Twenty-five Ural Federal District-based banks were featured in Interfax CEA’s rating as of December 31, 2017. The rating presents data on the banks’ assets and liabilities, capital, and profits and losses.

UrBC, Moscow, February 15, 2018. Mercedes’s official representative on the Russian market Mercedes-Benz RUS is calling 1,480 Mercedes-Benz V-Klasse and VITO units off, Rosstandart’s website states. The automobiles that are being called off are the ones sold in 2014 and 2015; the reason behind the decision is the possibility of airbags reacting to ‘false alarms’. ‘The driver’s airbag might get activated due to an electro-static discharge if the steering head doesn’t get earthed properly and the wiring tracks inside the wound springs in the understeering switches also get damaged. The driver

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 15, 2018. Sverdlovsk Oblast came 11th in the living standards rating for Russian Federation constituencies; the rating was carried by RIA Rating for the year 2017. The constituency went one position up compared with the year earlier and is now only 0.2 points away from Kaliningrad Oblast, which is currently No. 10 in terms of living standards. ‘The rating was based on a whole range of various parameters that indicated the actual condition of this or that aspect of living standards and the social sector situation. Based on these 72 indicators, a unified rating

UrBC, Moscow, February 15, 2018. The sales of gold items rose by 43% on the Russian jewelry market on February 10-11 compared with February 3-4, 2018, online cash desk maker Evotor reports. All in all, people bought 54% more jewelry on the said days. In certain categories, earrings, bracelet charms, and necklaces were among the bestsellers, with sales up 38%. At the same time, the amount of rings sold declined by 40% compared with the previous period. ‘As for men’s gifts, the sales of military-themed goods doubled (which may have to do with the upcoming Defender of the Fatherland’s Day on

UrBC, Moscow, February 15, 2018. Russia’s Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said at a recent Federation Council meeting that he hoped a bill would be adopted allowing the national security, defense, and law enforcement agencies to down drones in the restricted areas prior to the beginning of the World Football Championship (takeoff at eleven Russian cities on June 14), Kommerant reports. According to the minister, it is imperative that ‘drones operating illegally in restricted areas should get registered as offenders and also stopped’ to make sure restricted-entry facilities stay secure. The