May 13, 2015. A group of Brazilian businesspeople currently on their MBI course paid a visit to Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (a member enterprise of ChTPZ Group) within the framework of Russian-Brazilian cultural exchange program. The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with the host country’s business culture, the plant’s press service reports. ‘The exchange program and the trip to the Urals get coordinated by Saint Petersburg State University. The idea is to give the two countries’ representatives a chance to get some new experience and start some cross-cultural interaction. A tour of

May 13, 2015. Director-General of Uralvagonzavod Corporation Oleg Sienko has been appointed Vice President of Defense Enterprises Support League (LSOP). The corporation’s press service says the news was announced by the association’s President, First Vice President of Russian Machine-Builders’ Union and First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Industry Committee Vladimir Gutenev. ‘We have already nominated four LSOP Vice-Presidents out of six. These are Deputy Head of Russia’s Military & Industrial Commission Oleg Bochkarev, who is already an active league member, President of United

May 12, 2015. Thanks to Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s company newspaper Mashinostroitel Elena Dementieva, the company’s long-service employee, learned about what happened to her brother, seventy years after the war’s end. According to the corporation’s press service, Memorium, a Moldavian NGO that did some excavation work in Sološnica, Slovakia and found some dead soldiers’ personal belongings, asked the newspaper to assist in locating the relatives of nineteen Nizhniy Tagil natives. ‘Sergeant Timothy Kosarev’s nephew Valeriy Kuzminykh called the newspaper the very next day; Kuzminykh works at

May 12, 2015. Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant, ChTPZ Group’s two pipe-manufacturing enterprises, invite seventy-five war veterans and 1,300 home front workers to take part in the their Victory Day celebrations, the Group’s press service reports. ‘Our veterans are a striking example of unbelievable courage, strong spirit, and selflessness. Both during and after the war they proved through their daily efforts that our metallurgists can be relied on,’ says ChTPZ shareholder and BOD Chairman Alexander Fedorov. A session at the Defenders of the Fatherland Memorial, a

May 12, 2015. The Russian Federation Government allocated over 85m RUR to have the practice site of Yekaterinburg-based Uralmash Stadium reconstructed, the official website states. It is reported that all in all, 253m RUR have been allocated for the World Cup 2018 preparations in this year’s budget. Sverdlovsk Region Physical Culture, Sports & Youth Policy Minister Leonid Rapoport said earlier that the stadium would be commissioned in the summer. ‘The stadium is more than 80% complete, the only things left to do are interior jobs and organization of public services and amenities,’ the

May 12, 2015. An average Russian family needs 68,900 RUR a month to live ‘OK’, Romir, a research center says. ‘1,100 urban residents in the representative sampling of the 18+ age group were surveyed in April 2015. They were asked to say how much money they feel a three-person family living in their home town needs a month to keep up with ‘normal’ living standards,’ the center explains. Just like in the previous years, the two biggest shares of respondents (27% and 28%) chose the 45,000 RUR to 60,000 RUR range and the 60,000 RUR to 90,000 RUR range, respectively. This means that more than one

May 12, 2015. 69% of Russian drivers believe the new changes in the third-party insurance regulations lack efficiency, Levada Center’s research findings indicate. According to the center sociologists’ data, 90% of Russian car drivers are aware of the changes which came into effect on April 1, while only 35% of pedestrians can boast the same. Over one half of respondents (53%) feel the new insurance policy is just another kind of tax that fails to provide actual insurance (this feeling was shared by 74% of drivers and 34% of pedestrians). Russians believe the third-party insurance neither

May 8, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation is celebrating the 70th Victory Day, with over 4m RUR directed for the purpose, the corporation’s press service reports. Special events have been organized for the war veterans in Kirov, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhniy Tagil, Nizhniy Novgorod, and other cities where the corporation’s member enterprises operate. The company museums renovated their exhibitions dedicated to the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. In fact, there are events targeted at all age groups, with a special focus on the youth: schoolchildren, college students, and plant

May 8, 2015. Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (ChTPZ Group’s pipe-manufacturing member enterprises) paid 10.4bn RUR in income tax to all the budgets and non-budget funds, the Group’s press service reports. This was 44.5% more than the 7.193bn RUR paid in 2013. The increase in tax payments had to do with greater sales revenues in 2014. The two plants paid 4.9bn RUR to the federal budget, 2.4bn RUR to Chelyabinsk Region budget, 807m RUR to Sverdlovsk Region budget, 246m RUR to Chelyabinsk budget, and 135m RUR to Pervouralsk budget. Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and

May 8, 2015. Ten employees of Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (a member enterprise of ChTPZ Group) were awarded with Sverdlovsk Region Industry Ministry’s honorary certificates for their many years of hard work, the plant’s press service reports. The solemn awarding ceremony took place at the local Government House. The plant’s delegation proved the largest one at the event. ‘The workers who were awarded the certificates today actually do their job better than others. They are all very enthusiastic about our output. This certificate is meant to emphasize these efforts; moreover, it gives the

May 8, 2015. Russian Copper Company member enterprises are getting ready to celebrate the 70th V-Day, the company’s PR & Social Policy Department reports. ‘On May 6, the plant organized a little concert for thirty-two Great Patriotic War veterans and home front workers, who came to Karabash Health Resort to share their wartime memories, listen to some war songs, and get their 100-gram ‘front shots,’ the department says. Karabash will celebrate Victory Day on May 9, just like the rest of Russia. As usual, the V-Day Parade will start off from the monument dedicated to Hero of the Soviet

May 8, 2015. This year, it will cost 5% to 15% more to take a break at Sverdlovsk Region-based health resorts compared with a year earlier, Executive Director of Ural Tourism Association Mikhail Maltsev told UrBC. ‘Nearly all the popular resorts have already been fully booked for the summer. Prices vary, in some cases a stay gets booked through a travel agent, sometimes the companies make their offers directly to customers. As it happens, the share of visitors whose stay has been covered by their employer has shrunk this year. At the same time, end-customer sales have grown more popular,’

May 7, 2015. A monument dedicated to Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky was unveiled in Volgograd on the eve of the 70th Victory Day. It was the commander’s family who appealed to the city council, asking for the monument to be erected. Uralvagonzavod Corporation acted as one of the sponsors for the project. ‘The monument stands in the place where Rokossovsky crossed the ice-covered Volga in order to support General Vatutin. The legendary marshal is portrayed wearing his dress uniform, the one he was seen in at the V-Day Parade in 1945. The sculptors – father and son

May 7, 2015. Governor of Kirov Region Nikita Belykh awarded Gennady Mamayev, Director-General of LEPSE (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) and Chair of the Russian Union of Machine-Builders’ Kirov Region division with the Compassion & Charity decoration. According to the corporation’s press service, Mamayev was proposed as a candidate for the award by an NGO called Brothers in Arms. ‘They stated Gennady Mamayev has been involved in charity projects for many years now. As the head of the area’s major machine-building enterprise and Chair of the Russian Union of

May 7, 2015. Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) inspected 63,000 kg of dairy foods last year and found 15,000 kg unfit for sale. This was 2.5 times more than in 2013, the division’s deputy head Dmitri Kozlovskikh said at a press conference. ‘The increase in faulty items percentage mainly has to do with the fact that some 5,000 kg of foods with an incorrect date of manufacture stated on them (‘foods from the future’) were found at Manchazhskaya Dairy,’ he explained. 46% of faulty items had an incorrect manufacture date on them, 44% failed to meet

May 7, 2015. People in the medical profession and wholesale traders proved the most wanted jobs on Yekaterinburg labor market in the first quarter of 2015, E1.Rabota says. IT specialists and blue-collar workers are next on the list. The most difficult-to-get positions in Yekaterinburg are those in the top managerial tier, Human Resources sector, and office clerks.

May 7, 2015. Customer traffic went down by 15% to 20% in Yekaterinburg shopping malls, head of Ural-Hermes Alexander Zasukhin told UrBC. ‘The unfolding economic crisis touched upon the entire commercial estate market, including shopping malls. Our customer traffic decreased by 15% to 20%. Adding to the problem are the people’s shrinking incomes,’ he said. The rental rates have gone down by 10% compared with mid-2014, which is another negative trend. At the same time, the share of vacant shopping areas for rent still comes to the typical 3%.

May 7, 2015. Fitch Ratings changed Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) long-term Issuer Default Rating outlook from Negative to Stable and confirmed the rating at BB+. ‘The rating is reflexive of MMK’s strong position on the Russian market; the company sells a wide range of steel products with high value-added. The recent changes in the rating outlook indicate a considerable decrease in the company’s leverage last year,’ the agency explains. Fitch says MMK’s consolidated debt dropped by $0.6bn in 2014. Compared with 2011, this debt decreased by $1.8bn and is expected to keep going down

May 6, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant assessed the efficiency of its collective agreement in 2014. The agreement is valid through 2017 and was signed in accordance with the Russian legislation. The set of socioeconomic and other projects it lays out is targeted at meeting output figures, staff recruitment and retention, and enhancing labor productivity, the corporation’s press service reports. The company directed 12.2bn RUR to workers’ wages, with the average monthly pay coming to 32,842 RUR, which exceeds the figures for a year earlier (30,254 RUR) by 8.6%. Besides, this

May 6, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant in Nizhniy Tagil saved 197m RUR last year due to the introduction of new equipment, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘The plant kept implementing its technical upgrades program last year in order to build up on its competitive advantages. 577 new machines with the total cost of 2.9bn RUR were installed at the plant,’ the press service says.