December 11, 2013. The 11th charity event for children called Snezhnost was finished off with Once upon a Time, a comedy by Tyumen Drama Theater. The festival is held by ChTPZ Group every year with some help from Chelyabinsk Region and Sverdlovsk Region Governments, the company’s press service reports. ‘Every year, the company’s good tradition gathers together increasingly more little friends: some 14,000 young spectators got to see twenty happy-ending shows in Chelyabinsk and Pervouralsk (where ChTPZ Group’s member enterprise Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant is located) while the 11th Snezhnost

December 11, 2013. The volume of investments in Sverdlovsk Region’s fixed capital amounted to 190.7bn RUR in January-September 2013. This is 5.8% less than a year earlier in comparable figures, Sverdlovsk Region Economics Ministry’s press service reports. ‘About a half (48.8%) of the companies’ investments is directed to industrial development. This is followed by real estate, housing operation and management, scientific research and development, and the tertiary sector, which get 19.3% of all investments. Then comes the transportation and communications sector (16.7% of all investments by

December 11, 2013. Electromachine, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation, is looking into the results of its upgrade program that was carried out on a particularly large scale this year. The technological upgrades were financed from two investment sources: the national programs and the company’s own funds. By now, the company’s own investment funds have been used up by 60%. Two Sodick EDM units, Amada band machine, and a spot welding unit have already been purchased and installed at various departments. The permanent mold casting section has been

December 11, 2013. Head of Yekaterinburg Administration Alexander Yakob thanked the residents of the city for their support in the competition for the right to host the World Universal Exhibition EXPO 2020, the official city portal states. ‘In the course of this two-year-long challenging and strenuous competition, Yekaterinburg outstripped some very strong rivals and was only beaten by Dubai in the final round. The city’s application campaign was carried out on a great level primarily because the idea of holding the World Exhibition was supported by both country leaders and the city residents

December 11, 2013. Heads of the cities that will be included in the Urals’ Precious Stones Ring as well as ministers of Sverdlovsk Region Cabinet conducted a meeting to discuss the steps to create the necessary infrastructure for a tourist route, Sverdlovsk Region Government’s Press Service & Information Department reports. The Urals’ Precious Stones Ring is 647km long and circles through Yekaterinburg, Berezovsky, Rezh, Artemovsky, Irbit, Alapayevsk, Murzinka, Nizhniy Tagil, and Nevyansk. This route unites most of the local landmark and is expected to become a new economic growth point

December 10, 2013. The second professional and performance skills contest for young workers called Woman of Labor was held at Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s head plant, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘This year, twelve young women working as crane operators, lab assistants, engineers, electricians, assemblers, and so on competed for the title of the most gifted and charming employee. All of them went through the two selection rounds and took choreography and acting classes for a month with the best teachers from I.V. Okunev Palace of Culture; they also

December 10, 2013. In the first half of 2013, the public prosecutors for transportation detected 1,491 bribery-related offenses in the Urals during a number of inspections. According to the spokesperson for Ural public prosecution authorities for transportation, 251 warrants were issued and 63 administrative lawsuits were instituted to deal with these violations of the law; 333 executives had to face disciplinary and administrative liability. What is more, 83 criminal lawsuits were instituted this year, with charges related to bribe-taking. In 2012-2013, the public prosecution authorities for

December 10, 2013. Every one in three Russian companies will spend more on New Year parties this year than last year, Superjob.ru’s research findings indicate. The number of businesses that will have to give up on the idea of a New Year party due to financial troubles is lower than in 2008, so for three years in row, such businesses only make up 3% of all the companies. In 2008, almost every one in five companies had to cancel parties (18%), whereas a year later, the figure went down by three times; now only 3% of companies don’t arrange parties at New Year. ‘The scale of the event directly

December 10, 2013. Ural Airlines’ passenger turnover went up by 26% in ten months of 2013 compared with ten months of 2012, the airline’s press service reports. Since it was set up twenty years ago, the air carrier has flown 25m passengers, with 4,000,000 passengers using the airline since the beginning of 2013 (This was a record-setting figure for the company). Ural Airlines are planning to both continue doing something special for the millionth passengers and offer its services to more than 5m people from all over the world.

December 10, 2013. In November 2013, the consumer price index for all the goods and services in Sverdlovsk Region was 100,7% against October 2013, Sverdlovksstat officially reports. The food items index was 101% including strong drinks and 101.1% excluding them. Alcohol prices went up by 0.3% compared with October 2013. The non-food items and services grew 0.4% and 0.6% more expensive, respectively.

December 9, 2013. Russian Vice Premier Arkady Dvorkovitch paid a visit to the stand of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation at the 7th International Exhibition/Forum Russian Transport on the second day of the opening. ‘The corporation’s Deputy DG for Railway Vehicles Andrei Shlenski showed the Vice Premier an innovative project on an underground train; this project is being developed in cooperation with Bombardier Transportation; Shlenski also reported on how the corporation was getting ready for a tender on the delivery of underground carriages for Moscow Underground,’ the

December 9, 2013. 712.2013. Ural Airlines added more perks to its Wings loyalty program, the air carrier’s press service reports. A change in the price of premium tickets and more bonus points for all the club members were the primary new additions. This means passengers can now save up for a bonus trip even faster. Besides, some changes were introduced for the elite silver and gold card holders; for one, they can now present their bonus rubles to other Wings Club members and get even more bonus points for flying on their birthday. ‘You can join the club by applying via the company’s official

December 9, 2013. The mechatronics experts from Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ) and Moscow-based artists created an interactive piece of art called Sludge Worm. This was done within the framework of Science Art Lab (a joint project of PNTZ, a member of ChTPZ Group, and Pervouralsk Palace of New Culture), the company’s press service reports. The idea took root in the mind of two artists, Dmitri and Elena Kavarga. The plant’s team was headed by a mechatronics teacher from PNTZ Training Center Vyacheslav Aprodu, who acted as the co-author of this kinetic interactive object called Sludge Worm.

December 9, 2013. Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation is now taking part in the 7th International Exhibition/Forum Russian Transport that is coordinated within the framework of Transport Week 2013. According to the corporation’s press service, Head of the President Administration Sergey Ivanov and Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov were shown the project of a new train for Moscow Underground that was designed in cooperation with Bombardier Transportation ‘The stand features a virtual reality decision-making unit, so visitors to the forum could enjoy the full 3D format to

December 9, 2013. MegaFon retail outlets started selling the tablet computer called Login 2 for 2,990 RUR, the telecommunications provider’s press service reports. ‘MegaFon is offering a full-fledged mobile device with plenty of functions that can be a great New Year present for any modern gadget lover for less than 3,000 RUR. Dual core processor and the up-to-date Android 4.1 operation system as well as 3G support and micro SD slot that is fit for up to 32 Gb make it possible to download a lot of music, films, and photos as well as enjoy high-speed Internet connection. The computer is very

December 6, 2013. Sverdlovsk Region public prosecution authorities for transportation are now looking into UTair Aviation Company's compliance with the consumer rights legislation, the spokesperson for Ural public prosecution authorities for transportation reports. The investigation began after the airline's Boeing 757 that was to have operated Flight 5 139 from Yekaterinburg to Phuket was delayed by nearly 24 hours. The incident occurred on December 2-3, 2013. It was determined in the course of the investigation that the cause of delay was a technical fault in the aircraft. Yet a

December 6, 2013. Nordwind Airlines Yekaterinburg-Phuket flight has been delayed at Koltsovo Airport for a few hours now. 'Nordwind Airlines chartered flight was supposed to have taken off as early as 4:15 AM. At the moment, the departure has been put of till 1 PM. The delay had to do with the fact that no actual aircraft was provided by the time of departure,' Koltsovo Airport's press service reports. The airport representatives also explained that the said Boeing 767-300 arrived from Phuket to Yekaterinburg and was then redirected to Ufa, where Norwind Airlines planned to

December 6, 2013. As of December 1, 2013, there are 31 shopping malls in Yekaterinburg comprising 42% of all the shopping areas in the city, Yekaterinburg Council's press officer says. On average, a shopping mall in Yekaterinburg is approximately 38,000 sq m big. Greenwich and Mega are the biggest malls of 100,000 sq m each. Out of the 31 shopping malls operating in Yekaterinburg 10 are focused on trade and entertainment and 8 are focused on furniture and interior design. There are 3 parking spaces per every 100 sq m of shopping area. However, the regulations state that the figure should

December 6, 2013. Experts from Kommersant economics supplement drew up a rating of Russian banks based on their asset volume, with primary attention paid to the volume of the banks' own funds and to how quickly it was growing. According to the supplement, Bank Koltso Urala is Russia's 123d largest bank and Yekaterinburg's 3d largest bank in this respect, that is, out of 400 banks featured in the rating, the bank's press service reports. According to RIA Rating's calculations, 650 banks managed to build up on their own funds in the third quarter of 2013; this actually

December 6, 2013. Russian Copper Company is going to hold bilateral meetings with the RCC Group bond holders at the 11th Russian Bond Congress on December 5-6, 2013. The company representatives are planning to speak about their achievements and the company's future plans. There are 2 issues of RCC corporate bonds currently in circulation – Series 4-03-36219-R (3,000,000,000 RUR) and Series 4-04-36219-R (5,000,000,000 RUR). The corporate bond issues were coordinated within the framework of the company's borrowing portfolio diversification program. Russian Copper Company is actually