UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 14, 2017. MegaFon is presenting the public its new market positioning strategy. The goal is to show the telecommunications provider’s transformation into a new opportunities operator. Changes will involve all advertising communication channels, the company press service says. ‘This May, MegaFon presented its new strategy based on our new mission: Providing Opportunities. The goal is to become our customer’s best choice and a reliable partner that provides what is needed when it is needed. MegaFon has embarked on a large-scale transformation process with a focus

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 14, 2017. Ural Airlines are launching a direct flight from Moscow to Namangan starting September 15, 2017, the air carrier’s press service reports. Flights will be operated on Airbus 320 liners every Friday (departure from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport: 12:30 AM, arrival in Namangan: 6:35 AM). Prices start from 12,500 RUR (one way). ‘Namangan is Uzbekistan’s second biggest city, outstripped only by Tashkent. It is the center of Namangan Region. The city is famous for its ancient history, for example, for the ruins of Aksikent, a historic pre-Mongolian town. The

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 13, 2017. EVRAZ ZSMK’s Zapadno-Sibirskaya Thermal Power Station’s team won the All-Russian Cross-Connection Power Station Workers’ Contest, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s Corporate Relations Center reports. EVRAZ power engineers came second in the team contest, while the station’s Thermal Units & Measuring Equipment Repair Department’s Senior Engineer Vladislav Kotvitsky proved the Best Engineer. ‘Six teams from Russia’s leading power enterprises took part in the contest. They had four days to complete seven competition stages, that is, to prove their knowledge of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 13, 2017. URBD Finance Group came up with a performance report for the first half the year; the report was drawn up in accordance with the International Accounting Standards and showed improvements in all the primary parameters, the bank’s press service reports. The bank directed 54% less money to reserve funds in the first half of the year (the figure went down from 6.2bn RUR in the first half of 2016 to 2.8bn RUR in the first half of 2017). The reserve to assets ratio reached 3.6% in late June 2017, which was two times less than in the second quarter of 2016.

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, September 13, 2017. A number of unidentified offenders entered the private premises of Russian Copper Company’s Tominsky Ore Mining & Processing Enterprise in Sosnovsky District, Chelyabinsk Region, around 1 AM on September 11, 2017, the company press service reports. Using a bottle filled with incendiary oil on a pile of timber, these people conducted an arson attack, causing a fire that could have turned into a serious forest fire emergency. Law-enforcement officers arrived at the scene of the crime and detained one of the perpetrators, who had an entrenching shovel

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 13, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) expanded the range of e-banking services available to businesses, the bank’s press service reports. Companies can now apply for and get express bank guarantees needed to take part in government auctions remotely, using their Internet banking options or DiaDoc, an electronic paper flow system. ‘Introducing more new e-banking services is something we need to do in order to keep up with the times. As many as 74% of Russian businesses are using Internet banking this year, compared with around 60%

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, September 13, 2017. The final rounds of Russian Copper Company’s amateur workout championship were held in Chelyabinsk last week. People’s Championship ended at Yelesina Sports Facility on September 10, the company press service reports. Over a hundred athletes from Chelyabinsk, Kyshtym, Karabash, Korkino, Pervomayskiy, Kopeysk, Magnitogorsk, Yemanzhelinsk, and other Southern Urals’ towns took part in the final round of the event. All the contestants are winners of the championship’s selection rounds that took place at Russian Copper Company’s workout sites in Chelyabinsk,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 12, 2017. Zhukovsky International Airport and Ural Airlines are now offering their customers a new flight from Zhukovsky to Rome and back, the air carrier’s press service reports. The airline’s first such flight arrived at Zhukovsky Airport at 6 PM (Moscow time) on September 8, 2017. ‘A solemn water-arch ceremony was performed for Ural Airline’s opening flight, as is the airport’s custom. At the terminal, warmest welcomes, a cake, and some refreshments were all in store for all the passengers and crew. The airport’s top managers, a tourist agent’s

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 12, 2017. A new geo-steering unit VLD-1000 was recently launched at EVRAZ Raspadskaya Coal Company’s Yerunakovskaya 8 Mine, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s press service reports. The new unit is expected to make underground work safer and more efficient. ‘Geo-steering is a new, advanced gas-removal technology. It helps to filter methane from large-size coal beds, with increased depth and amount of gas extracted. To make sure our miners can keep up with their current coal output, all excess gas needs to be removed from the coal bed prior to start of the mining jobs. The

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, September 12, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works Group’s MMK Trading House sold 840,000,000 kg of goods in the eight months of 2017, which exceeded the figures for one year earlier by 14%, MMK Information & PR Department reports. The company set a new sales record in August, with over 145,000,000 kg of metal goods, rolled metal goods, and section-shaped goods shipped to customers in the course of one month. Warehouse sales also rose due to improved logistics and increased end-customer shipments. The company division in Schelkovo, Moscow Region, makes profiled

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 12, 2017. Russian Copper Company’s Novgorod Metallurgical Plant in Velikiy Novgorod recently bought a new Linde fork lift, the company press service reports. ‘Linde H-50-80 (capacity: 4,500 kg) has a hydrostatic system to ensure enhanced productivity, decreased fuel spending, and low maintenance costs. The design of the fork lift, its comfortable operator cabin, and operation ease all make it very safe and ensure less tiresome working conditions for the vehicle operator,’ the press service says. The new appliance cost 4.5m RUR. The fork lift has already been

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 12, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) reduced interest rates on loans and improved lending terms offered to small businesses, the bank’s press service reports. The interest rate on Business Privilege Loan (with any liquid assets such as real estate, automobiles, and goods as security) currently comes to 12.5% a year. In addition to this, express loans issued with real estate as security were extended to 5m RUR rather than 3m RUR, while the loan period was extended to five years rather than three. Both the property you currently own

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 11, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) joined the Central Bank of Russia’s All-Russian Financial Literacy Days for Schools Program, the bank’s press service reports. The first budgeting classes were given to students of Bashkortostan’s schools on September 7. UBRD experts coordinated open-to-all workshops on handling money at Ufa’s Education Center 76 and Salavat’s School 4. Similar classes will soon be given at schools at other cities where the bank runs its offices and branches. ‘As is well known, quite a few habits, including

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 11, 2017. Ural Airlines are holding a special price offer this weekend, the air carrier’s press service reports. On September 8-10, 2017, you can book tickets for flights to be operated between September 8, 2017 and March 24, 2018 at a 30% discount. The tickets on offer are for the following flights: Moscow-Irkutsk, Moscow-Chita, Moscow-Tomsk, Moscow-Omsk, Moscow-Novosibirsk, Moscow-Salzburg, Moscow-Munich, Moscow-Lisbon, Moscow-Bishkek, Saint Petersburg-Vladivostok, Saint Petersburg-Kemerovo, Saint Petersburg-Tomsk, Saint Petersburg-Chita, Saint

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 11, 2017. Footballers from Russia’s Football Premier League are going to coordinate a workshop for winners of Metroshka, a children’s amateur football festival held by Russian Copper Company, the company press service reports. Metroshka was the last round of the competition among children’s amateur teams. Thirty-six teams made it to the finals. ‘The festival has been coordinated by the Metro 74 newspaper for the 16th time this year; the event was held in seventeen towns in Sverdlovsk Region, Chelyabinsk Region, Bashkortostan, and - for the first time this year —

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 11, 2017. Nearly a quarter (23%) of Sverdlovsk Region-based employees feel they are at risk of losing their job, HeadHunter’s research findings indicate. According to HeadHunter, the figure stood at 27% last year. These days, workers in the IT sector feel the most secure, as do those in the tourist and hotel businesses. People employed in the banking industry, however, are afraid of getting fired. ‘Our survey respondents said it is hard enough to find a good job in Sverdlovsk Region these days. Only 4% of those surveyed are positive they will have no trouble at

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 11, 2017. 306,100 m2 of new housing got commissioned in Yekaterinburg in the first half of the year, which was 24.8% less than one year earlier, Yekaterinburg Council’s monitoring results indicate. This figure includes 32,000 m2 of private housing (down 37.6% on one year earlier). 42.9% of all of Sverdlovsk Region’s new apartment buildings were put up and commissioned in Yekaterinburg. Still, Yekaterinburg only came fourth in the national rating, outstripped by Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, and Kazan. One year earlier, Yekaterinburg was Russia’s No 3. On average,

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, September 8, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) ore mining and processing facility turns 86 this year, MMK Information & PR Department reports. The facility comprises Rudnik, an ore processing plant, a sintering plant, a crushing and calculating shop, and a sintering mix treatment shop. ‘We keep upgrading our existing equipment and launching new units. For one, we had our Sulphur-Trapping Unit 4 reconstructed: as a result, our exhaust gases are 90% sulphur-dioxide free, which means our atmospheric emissions were reduced considerably. The decrease is

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 8, 2017. Europe-bound travelers can now fly with Ural Airlines from Moscow to Salzburg and back, the air carrier’s press service reports. Flights will be operated from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport every Saturday starting from December 30, with an additional flight every Tuesday during the New Year’s break. Prices start from 10,000 RUR (one way) for Promo tickets and from 11,700 RUR for Economy tickets (one way, one piece of luggage and one set of skiing appliances, all taxes included). ‘It makes sense to start picking your winter break skiing resort now and book

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 8, 2017. Greenwich Cinema will be selling tickets for only 99 RUR on its opening day September 8. According to Obschestvo Malysheva 73’s press service, the offer holds throughout the entire weekend (September 8-11). The idea is to let as many people get acquainted with the new movie theater as possible in the very first days of its opening. ‘We expect this really low price to attract plenty of people and to give locals a chance to see more than just one movie currently on offer. This also gives those who cannot afford to pay for regular-price tickets a chance to