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,

April 13, 2015. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is going to supply a set of eight tractors to one of Uzbekistan’s oil and gas companies. All the vehicles will be manufactured in April and shipped to customer in May, the corporation’s press service reports. According to the plant’s CIS & International Sales Director Alexander Sergeyev, it took the parties about a year to sign the contract. The plant and its dealer won the respective tenders in Uzbekistan and now has agreements on supplying as many as two sets of vehicles. Tractors from the

April 13, 2015. Kamensk Uralsky Foundry Plant/KULZ (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is now collecting applications from workers who’d like to go on holiday to Alushta, a health resort in the Crimea; the trip and the stay will be covered by the plant, which will cost the company nearly 2m RUR, the corporation’s press service reports. All the organization issues are taken care of by the company trade union. ‘We feel it is important to give our employees a chance to recharge their batteries and get a good rest. Besides, our CSR project also supports the Crimean economy. It’s

April 13, 2015. LSR.Nedvizhimost-Ural expects to get 87,000 m2 worth of new housing commissioned in Yekaterinburg this year, the company CEO Vladimir Kritsky said at a city council meeting. ‘Given the current sales dynamics, we decided that the commissioning of some of the apartment buildings in Michurinsky Complex in Shirokaya Rechka should be postponed till 2016,’ Kritsky said. Now the company introduced some 120,000 m2 of new homes in 2014. Kritsky announced in March 2015 that the target figure for 2015 was 100,000 m2. The figure has now been reduced down to 87,000 m2.

April 13, 2015. Yekaterinburg-based Glazurit, a car dealer that specialized in Opel and Chevrolet makes up to now, is going to switch to other brands. Glazurit explained to an UrBC reporter that the company management was currently negotiating with suppliers. The plan is to start selling some new brands after all the Opel and Chevrolet makes still left in stock have been sold. No announcements have been made yet as to which brands the company is planning on representing. In fact, most of Yekaterinburg motor shows are now putting their remaining Opel and Chevrolet pieces on sale. ‘We are now

April 13, 2015. Ural Airlines is going to offer free flights to the Great Patriotic War veterans and their companions in celebration of the 70th Victory Day. The company will cover flights operated on May 3-12, 2015, the airline’s press service reports. Ural Airlines offers free flights to war veterans every year to give them a chance to visit their relatives, friends, and fellow veterans. For more details, please go to our website,’ the press service says. The reimbursements are only offered to the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War veterans, so applicants need to provide a veteran certificate

April 10, 2015. 4,556 people were made redundant by Sverdlovsk Region-based enterprises between January 1 and April 8, 2015, Sverdlovsk Region Legislative Assembly Deputy Andrei Alshevskikh reports. The number of laid-off workers rose by nearly 3,000 people between January 28 and April 8; the number of those working part-time went up by 1,716. 7,692 employees found themselves on forced leaves by April 1 compared with 634 workers on January 28. The number of enterprises operating entirely part-time increased by 36 between January 28 and April 8 and now comes to 132 companies. The number of

April 10, 2015. Heavyweights that are over 12,000kg big will have to pay for using Sverdlovsk Region highways, the local government’s website states. The new system will be enacted after the Russian Transport Ministry’s bill on changes in the Russian Federation Fiscal Code has come into effect. ‘Under the new legislation, federal constituencies are allowed to decide whether to let heavyweights use their highways if they pay a compensation for the damage their cause,’ the website states. Sverdlovsk Region authorities are definitely going to use this option. According to Sverdlovsk Region

April 10, 2015. Ural Airlines are introducing new flights to Saint Petersburg: according to the airline’s press service, a Saint Petersburg-Chita flight with an en-route stopover in Yekaterinburg will be launched on May 25, 2015. Chita-Saint Petersburg flight will be operated at 4:45PM every Monday and Thursday; the return flight is operated at 7:55AM on Fridays. Starting from May 26, 2015, morning flights will be operated from Barnaul to Saint Petersburg on Wednesdays and Saturdays; the return evening flights to Saint Petersburg will be available on Tuesdays and Fridays. Additionally,

April 10, 2015. A pylon with a countdown timer for the 10th Russia Arms Expo was unveiled in Nizhniy Tagil; this year’s exhibition will take place at an exhibition center on September 9-12. The pylon is located in front of the town hall in the city’s main square. The solemn timer-setting ceremony was performed by Mayor Sergey Nosov. ‘We are looking forward to the event and are preparing for it. This is why the countdown for the nationally and locally important exhibition begins. An international arms, military vehicles and munitions exhibition is a motivating factor to grow and to get better.

April 10, 2015. The UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships is now over at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. Russian sports players won prizes as well as scored enough points to become eligible to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics in 2016. 153 riders from 30 different countries competed in the championship. Russia was represented by eight sports players from Udmurtia, Samara, Tyumen, Moscow, and Moscow Region. Three of the players on the Russian national team were members of Armada, a club sponsored by Uralvagonzavod Corporation: Alexei Obydyonnov, Nikita Nagnibedov, and Sergey

April 9, 2015. Sverdlovsk Region’s number of migrant workers has plummeted by 50% since the start of the year compared with a year earlier, Deputy Head of Russia’s Federal Migration Service Sverdlovsk Region division Vadim Lysakov said at a press conference. ‘We issued 4,900 work patents this year against 9,400 patents in 2014. Most of the foreign workers arrive from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan,’ Lysakov said. According to the official, the drop had to do with the recent legislative changes: for one, all foreign workers must now pass a Russian language test.

April 9, 2015. SOT/Rimera (a division of ChTPZ Group) supplied its first 50,000 kg of hot-bended pipe bends for the Power of Siberia Pipeline in March 2015. According to the Group’s press service, the 1,420mm bends (wall width 32mm) are made of K60 steel and have a corrosion-resistant Pk40 coating. Shipments will come to 500,000kg altogether and are expected to be all completed by May. Business Trend provides external auditors for the produce. ‘The Power of Siberia isn’t Gazprom’s only project to use SOT pipes in the second quarter of 2015. Rimera is also planning to make large shipments for

April 9, 2015. Volchansky Mechanical Plant (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is planning to expand its product range. The company manufactures railway cars and will soon start making Platform 23-5179 for transportation of rolled sheets, the corporation’s press service reports. Ural Railway Design Office (a corporation’s member enterprise as well) provides the design documentation for the new variety. This is not the first time the plant and the design office work together on the development, introduction, and serial production of special-purpose carriages. The platform is

April 9, 2015. Omsk-based Secondary School 122 and Omsk Transport Machine-Building Plant signed a support agreement to promote the two parties’ cooperation, Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service reports. ‘This agreement means our corporation’s member enterprise representatives can work with teens, contribute to their education, and provide job counseling for the plant’s potential employees. The school, in its turn, will offer in-depth training in the fields that are crucial for those who are planning to apply for tech schools,’ the press service says. Based on this agreement, the plant’s

April 9, 2015. Sverdlovsk Region residents are finding themselves forced to sell their ready businesses ever more often due to cash flow problems, Rmarket’s Andrei Seleznev told UrBC. ‘Many business people’s incomes dropped because of the devaluation of the ruble, while their spending went up at the same time. Besides, loans are now virtually unavailable in Russia. This means entrepreneurs just have considerably less money to keep on developing, so many of them have to offer their companies for sale. Some of them do it on their own through services such as Avito.ru and some use special