February 4, 2015. MegaFon recently expanded the range of Login smartphones it offers to customers. On February 1, the mobile carrier started selling MegaFon Login+, a phablet that combines the best properties of a smartphone and a tablet computer. The new gadget is available for the price of 4,990 RUR – the best price in the phablet category, the company’s press service reports. The best thing about the new phablet is the large, 5.5” screen (quite suitable for Internet surfing, watching videos, and reading e-books). Unlike a tablet computer, this device is rather compact (15.5x7.5 cm), which

February 3, 2015. The Titanium Valley Special Economic Zone received the necessary approval from Sverdlovsk Region government expert board to put up an aircraft parts production facility within the zone, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. The plant is expected to be launched by the end of the year; the costs of the project are estimated at 1.1bn RUR. The goal is to increase the production output and introduce deeper-level processing of titanium products in order to come up with virtually ready-made aircraft parts. The Valley received a 650-million-ruble

February 3, 2015. The construction of Nevyansk Poultry Factory came to a standstill in September 2014 due to economic difficulties, states a letter that was written in response to Sverdlovsk Region Legislative Assembly Deputy Andrei Alshevskikh and signed by Sverdlovsk Region Prime Minister Denis Pasler. According to this letter, the project has required 128m RUR worth of investments altogether, with no funding provided from the constituency’s budget resources. ‘Nevyansk Council let Nevyansk Poultry Factory seven construction sites for 2014-2017; two sites are owned by the enterprise itself,’

February 3, 2015. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development won the grand-prix as the Best Bank 2014; the contest was coordinated by BankInformService, the bank’s press service reports. The bank also won in the Popular Deposits 2014 category, as its deposit offers enjoyed great demand last year. The UBRD was also among the top three nominees in two more categories; the bank came second in the Popular Loans 2014 category and third in the PR Index category (a bank’s PR index is based on its spokespeople’s activity throughout the year). Winners were selected on the basis of

February 3, 2015. A ferroconcrete chimney stack collapsed at Bogoslovsky heat and power station (a member enterprise of United Company RUSAL) the other night. Sverdlovsk Region division of the Emergency Ministry’s press service reports the rescue team was informed of the accident at 8:40 PM on February 1; no casualties were involved. The residents of Krasnoturinsk receive their heating and electric power as usual; Bogoslovsky smelter is operating in the normal mode,’ the press service says. The Emergency Ministry’s rescue team, the city council representatives, and the station’s management

February 3, 2015. Two bulldozers made at ChTZ Uraltrac (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation), namely, DET400M and B14, are going to join the emergency train vehicles parade. The corporation’s press service says the two bulldozers’ capacities will be demonstrated to railway workers at a practice ground near Tula, where Russian Railways Emergency Monitoring & Coordination Center will conduct an experience-sharing workshop on February 17-19. ChTZ is getting its vehicles ready for the demonstrations, so as to send them to the destination point (the base of Moscow Railways

February 2, 2015. Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev gave out awards to winners of Russian Government Quality Prize. In 2014, ten Russian companies, including Uralvagonzavod Corporation, were awarded the prize. ‘All of the winners have impressive product quality indicators, continually increase their production output and investment and spend increasingly less time on mastering new product types. Dmitri Medvedev pointed out that all the winners had one thing in common: they proved to be highly efficient businesses with high-level professionals as well as very well performing companies,’

February 2, 2015. Ural Federal University, TVEL, Rosatom Corporation, and Moscow Region-based IRE-Polus are going to work together on the development of Russian 3D printer, Director of UFU Engineering Center Alexei Fefelov says. According to the university’s press service, a trial sample of the 3D printer (an additive device for selective laser surface alloying of metallic powders) will be complete as soon as this year. A trial device for making metallic powders will also be presented in 2015. ‘Russia has never made such devices before, there are only several scores of them in use throughout

February 2, 2015. Wolke, a 5D play for the visually impaired children, was shown in Yekaterinburg for the first time this winter. Children from a special needs school in Verkhnyaya Pyshma were able to visit the ‘invisible play’ as part of the national charity project supported by MegaFon, the telecommunications provider’s press service reports. Actors from Moscow-based M.A. Bulgakov theater presented their unique play to the children: the piece is unique in that it relies on audio, kinesthetic, and olfactory messages rather than the visual ones. ‘We created a play that can only be watched

February 2, 2015. Oblkommunenergo’s Director-General Dmitri Budanov became a member of Sverdlovsk Region Community Board on Housing. The opinion of the expert, who runs the local communal housing services and utilities enterprise, will be considered in making decisions relating to the heat and power suppliers’ performance, Oblkommunenergo’s press service reports. The decree on the changes in the composition of the board was signed by Sverdlovsk Region Housing Administration Alexei Rassolov. Now the community board was set up in 2012 in order to ensure interaction with and feedback from

February 2, 2015. The winners of the 11th Interbank Amateur Olympics received their awards from Yekaterinburg Council on January 30. Bank Koltso Urala’s team came second in terms of the overall score: they were the best in ski racing, darts, volleyball, ping pong, football, street-ball, shooting sports, and bawling. Seventeen banks’ teams took part in the local amateur Olympics last year altogether, the bank’s press service reports. ‘Bank Koltso Urala’s employees have been taking part in the interbank competitions for five years now, and they have never failed to end up among the top five

January 30, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant in Nizhniy Tagil put two hydraulic presses (800,000-kg one and a 5,500,000-kg one) into operation. The presses are meant for bending and molding of parts. The corporation’s press service reports all the installation and start-up jobs were done by experts from Russian companies; this was, in a way, a rehearsal of mastering new products such as the innovative gondola cars 12-196-01. The presses were under upgrades for the entire year 2014, with no production stoppages. Most of the jobs were completed by Chelyabinsk-based Komponent, which

January 30, 2015. ChTPZ Group’s Training Center was given the status of WorldSkills Russia’s Specialized Center; it will now be used for training contestants for the professional skills championships. The decision, which is part of the strategy to develop Ural Engineering School, was made by Sverdlovsk Region Education Ministry. Contestants will train in four fields: Mechatronics, Mobile Robotic Science, Numerically Controlled Turn/Mill Operation, and Welding, the Group’s press service reports. The Center’s primary task is to ensure the teams are ready to compete in

January 30, 2015. RSG-Akademicheskoye’s technical council came up with the architectural solutions for Blocks 35 and 38 in Yekaterinburg’s Academic District; the prospective blocks will appear next to Shirokaya Rechka. OOO Master Plan is going to act as the project developer, RSG-Akademicheskoye’s press service reports. Designers have already provided explanations of buildings and other structures to accompany the architectural design. The total living floor space will come to 142,800 m2. According to the project, the apartment buildings will be linked by non-living premises and special

January 30, 2015. POS terminals are enjoying increasingly greater demand on the part of food and flower delivery services this winter, Bank Koltso Urala’s press service reports. The bank’s Cash & Settlement Services Director Kirill Sorokin points out that only big-city businesses used to be interested in providing cashless payment options for their customers; companies from much smaller and provincial locales are now asking for POS terminals as well. This winter, a number of delivery services (florists, pizza companies, Japanese food restaurants, and supermarkets) also applied for these.

January 30, 2015. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) launched more online sales channels over the last few months. Last October, an agreement was signed with Emarsys, an international business that offers professional email marketing solutions. This helps the UBRD find new customers over the Internet and reliably keep its customers notified of all the important news, the bank’s press service reports. According to Online Sales Development Director Anton Ogorodnikov, texts and emails serve as an efficient sales channel for the bank. These deliver information on new

January 29, 2015. 8,000 m2 worth of pavilions have been booked for Innoprom International Industrial Exhibition in Yekaterinburg so far, Maxim Zverkov announced at a recent coordination committee meeting. Zverkov is President of Formica Group, the event coordinator, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. This year, the 6th Innoprom Exhibition will be held on July 8-11; the event will be mainly dedicated to Production Efficiency. Five specialized sub-exhibitions will be organized for the first time this year, with a special focus on import replacement and

January 29, 2015. ‘Uralvagonzavod Corporation approved of and adopted its quality management system for 2015-2017. The document applies not only to the corporation’s head plant but also to its Volchansk, Rubtsov, and Chelyabinsk subsidiaries as well as to Nizhniy Tagil-based Ural Railway Carriage Design Office,’ the corporation’s press service says. According to the press service, the company’s strategy is targeted at enhancing produce competitiveness, ensuring its unfailing quality, reliability, and safety, improving its QMS and business management system efficiency, and annual certification

January 29, 2015. Head of Yekaterinburg Council Culture Department Tatiana Yaroshevskaya presented a project on Hermitage-Urals Center, the city council’s press service reports. ‘Yekaterinburg (known as Sverdlovsk at the time) was the only city to store the State Hermitage Museum’s unique collections. Thus it would be only fair to open Hermitage-Urals Center at our Fine Arts Museum. The State Hermitage experts, including the museum’s Director Mikhail Piotrovsky, have visited Yekaterinburg quite a number of times; these visits resulted in the architectural and conceptual project. We have a

January 29, 2015. The court ruled that Bank Renaissance Credit should pay the money obtained illegally from customers back, Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor reports. It became clear after looking into the loan contracts that the bank forced its customers to pay for an insurance policy when signing a loan agreement; the fee came to 0.8% to 1.1% of the loan amount for every month within the loan period. Under the terms of the contracts, the bank was supposed to open a (bank card) account for the borrowers and engage in transactions set forth in the contract. Now Paragraph 1.2.2.6