UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 19, 2016. Sverdlovsk Region’s cattle stock amounted to 263,200 head of cattle by the end of April 2016, which was 6.2% less than one year earlier, Sverdlovskstat reports. The number of cows dropped by 4.5%, down to 118,800 head of cattle, while that of sheep and goats declined by 5.6%, down to 78,000 head of cattle. Poultry stock rose by 6.9%, up to 14m head, pig stock rose by 5.7%, up to 350,200 head.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 19, 2016. MegaFon Ural Infrastructure Director Anton Shcherbakov took part in a round table discussion on the development of Russian and global broadband access technologies markets, 4G/5G expansion, and ways of improving telecommunications services. The speakers also talked about the global experience in LTE development, the prospects of 5G networks, ways in which the ISP/carrier and the subscriber can improve the quality of service, and mobile data transfer and this market’s current demand and supply ratio. ‘Sverdlovsk Region’s is a highly competitive market, as

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 19, 2016. EVRAZ Consolidated West Siberian Plant/EVRAZ ZSMK supplied its first batch of R50 rails for Baku Underground; it is reported the batch amounts to 1,000,000 kg. ‘The CIS member states have always bought large amounts of our rail goods, and we are now happy to take our cooperation with Azerbaijani partners to the next level. Baku Underground is our first-time customer, but we are confident that our rich experience in making underground rails for other cities on the post-Soviet territories will ensure a great partnership,’ says the plant Managing Director

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 19, 2016. Electromachine (a member enterprise of Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation) opened an interactive study lab for NC machine operators and technicians in Chelyabinsk, the company press service reports. To equip the lab, numerically controlled Fanuc, Siemens, and Heidenhain machines were purchased for eight students’ workplaces and one trainer’s workplace, as well as manuals and textbooks. The would-be NC machine operators will be able to learn the standard ISO G-code programming as well as the modern dialog programming. Besides, the plant intends to buy the exact

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 19, 2016. 1,467,139 passengers have flown with Ural Airlines since the start of the year so far, which is actually 19% more than one year earlier, the air carrier’s press service reports. The number of flights operated by the airline rose by 14% against last year, with 12,157 flights operated in the four months of 2016 (7,567 domestic ones, 2,817 flights to or from the CIS member states, and 1,773 international ones). The company’s passenger turnover reached 3.33m passenger-kilometers in January-April 2016, exceeding the figures for a year earlier by 19%. Ural

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, May 19, 2016. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works/MMK sheet-rolling department made 1,540,000 kg and shipped to customers 1,591,000 kg of zinc-coated pipes in April 2016. This is a record-setting figure throughout the department’s entire history of making hot-rolled galvanized products, the company press service reports. The last time a record was set was in February, when the department produced 1,461,000 kg and shipped to customers 1,514,000 kg of zinc-coated pipes. Last year, the output came to 6,700,000 kg, while this year, the output reached some

UrBC, Moscow, May 18, 2016. Russia’s GDP declined by 1.2% in the first quarter of the year compared with one year earlier, Rosstat’s data indicate. ‘The GDP physical volume index has preliminarily been estimated at 98.8% of last year’s amount,’ the agency reports. In fact, the country’s GDP already dropped by 3.8% in the last quarter of 2015 and by 3.7% in the year 2015 altogether.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 18, 2016. 76% of Yekaterinburg-based job-seekers are faced with cash flow problems while on the lookout for a job, HeadHunter’s research findings indicate. Based on the results of the survey, financial trouble is felt very keenly by two-thirds of the respondents, while the rest appear to be coping. Only 5% of those surveyed never face any shortage of funds and live on their savings or their family’s income during their employment-seeking period. They do admit, however, that this safety cushion or family support would only be enough for no longer than three months’

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 18, 2016. Ural Airlines will operate more flights to the Crimea this summer, the air carrier’s press service reports. For one, a new flight will be available from Astrakhan. Astrakhan-Simferopol flights will be operated every Tuesday starting from May 31, 2016. On the same day, the air carrier will also resume its Kirov-Simferopol flights on Tuesdays and Thursdays. ‘The Crimea as a summer holiday destination is a great opportunity to enjoy the magnificent landscapes and climate of the peninsula as well as to rest, mentally and physically, at local health resorts. The

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 18, 2016. Kamenskoye Farm, a member of Sinara Group and one of the Mid-Urals’ largest agricultural businesses, embarked on this year’s sowing campaign recently, the company press service reports. This year, 14,000 hectares of farm fields will be used to sow over 7,000 hectares of grains (3,000 hectares of wheat, 3,200 hectares of barley, and 800 hectares of oats), 80 hectares of potatoes, and cattle feed-stuffs. This season will be a bit unusual in that 500 hectares of land will be used for growing rapeseed for the first time. The farm got ready for the seedtime in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 18, 2016. Kamensk-Uralsky Foundry Plant/KULZ (a member enterprise of Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation) Director-General Anatoly Barabanov was awarded a thank-you letter from Governor of Sverdlovsk Region, the company press service reports. The letter states that it has been issued in recognition of ‘many years of conscientious work efforts, impressive contribution to the development of Sverdlovsk Region’s industry, and supporting the Russian Federation’s defense potential.’ ’Anatoly Barabanov came to work at the plant with a fresh degree from Ulyanovsk Polytechnic forty

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 17, 2016. Ural Airlines is introducing a weekly Moscow-Venice flight starting from June 11; the flight will be operated every Saturday, the air carrier’s press service reports. Prices start from 10,640 RUR (one-way) and 18,802 RUR (round trip), all fees and charges included. Tickets can be booked on the company website www.uralairlines.com, with UralAirlines app, over the phone (8-800-7700-262), or at any booking office. ‘Venice is a miraculously beautiful city which is deservingly considered one of this planet’s most romantic locations. It is believed to be one of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 17, 2016. Gazprombank Leasing signed an 896-million-ruble lease contract with Karabashmed (a member enterprise of Russian Copper Company), so the latter will now be using 300 new tank railcars made by a Russian manufacturer, the company press service reports. Karabashmed (Karabash, Chelyabinsk Region), produces blister copper from processed copper concentrate and from recycled copper-containing materials. The railcars will be used for transfer of sulfur acid, a byproduct of blister copper production. The lease contract will hold for the next seven years; the funding

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 17, 2015. EVRAZ Consolidated West-Siberian Metallurgical Plant (EVRAZ ZSMK, a member of EVRAZ Holding) shipped over 6,000,000 kg of A500S reinforcing bars and rolled wire to Tajikistan; these were needed for the construction of Dushanbe 2 Power Station, EVRAZ PR Department reports. The company is currently the primary reinforcing bar supplier for the project and expects to keep shipping its produce to Dushanbe until everything has been completed. A500S bars enjoy good demand on the Russian and CIS member states’ market due to its improved plasticity and durability

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 17, 2016. UVZSHOP.ru now sells various toy-size replicas of Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s armored vehicles to interested customers, the company press service reports. ‘Until recently, these collector’s pieces were only available at our (offline) licensed outlets in Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, and Nizhniy Tagil. Now everyone can get the small-scale copies of our famous tanks without setting foot outside one’s home,’ the press service says. The online store features nineteen different makes that were produced at the corporation’s member enterprises throughout the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 17, 2016. Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation/UVZ took part in the international InterMuseum Forum in Moscow on May 13-16, the company press service reports. The corporation’s stand was dedicated to their company museum Tankprom. The museum is expected to be fully finished by 2020, in time for the Russian tank industry’s 100th anniversary celebrations. ‘Nizhniy Tagil will become home to Russia’s only tank industry history museum. The exhibits will probably be donated not only by the corporation’s head plant (the only tank manufacturer in this country) but also its other

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 13, 2016. The average asking price comes to 68,819 RUR per m2 on Yekaterinburg existing home market at the moment, down 0.5% against four weeks earlier and down 2.7% against the start of the year, Ural Real Estate Chamber reports. Prices declined most noticeably for centrally located apartments, where the price of a square meter declined by 2.5% in the last four weeks and currently comes to 93,744 RUR. Homes in the second priciest locations did not grow any cheaper (73,713 RUR per m2), while those in the third most expensive districts grew 0.5% to 0.7% less expensive,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 13, 2016. Sverdlovsk Region-based employers owed their workers 12.383m RUR in unpaid salaries and wages as of May 1, 2016, which was 2.9 times more than one year earlier, Sverdlovskstat reports. The unpaid amounts came to 6.112m RUR in the processing industries sector, to 4.359m RUR in the communal housing services and utilities sector, and to 1.912m RUR in the water collection and purification sector. At the moment, 594 employees are waiting to be paid.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 13, 2016. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development and VUZ-Bank are organizing a business party in Yekaterinburg on Tuesday, May 24, the bank’s press service reports. According to UBRD representatives, a hundred entrepreneurs will be able to do talk over and develop functional business models that work in today’s market – all this in a role-playing game format – and do some useful networking. Invited are all the businesspeople looking for new ideas on business promotion and interested in an express evaluation of their existing thoughts. A business party is a

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, May 13, 2016. The team of miners from Yerunakovskaya 8 Mine (the asset of Raspadskaya Coal Company), headed by foremen Alexander Lyane and Mikhail Menshov, was the first among EVRAZ Holding teams to produce 1,000,000,000 kg of coal this year, the company press service reports. The company management congratulated the miners on their success. ‘This is the first time a team from Yerunakovskaya has achieved the 1,000,000,000 kg target figure in just four months. The miners are working smoothly, manage to avoid accidents and emergencies, and thus set an example for the entire