January 23, 2015. The overall profits of Russian banks plummeted by 40.7% in 2014 and amounted to 589bn RUR, the Central Bank reports. The Central Bank points out that the drop in profits was mainly brought about by the need to increase the possible loss reserves: these rose by 1.203 trillion RUR, or 42.2%. The banks’ assets grew by 35.2% (if one makes adjustments for the changes in the exchange rate, the increase was 18.3%). The amount of loans issued to non-financial organizations went up by 31.3%, that of loans issued to private individuals rose by 13.8%, and the total loan book increased

January 22, 2015. 28 Sverdlovsk Region-based enterprises announced they were going to lay off staff, Sverdlovsk Region Labor & Employment Department’s press secretary Olga Ruleva informed UrBC. ‘Nearly all of these enterprises informed us as early as at the end of last year, and only one enterprise notified us in early 2015,’ Ruleva said. Uralasbest (Asbest, Sverdlovsk Region) will lay off 441 people, VSMPO Avisma (Verknyaya Salda) will let go over a hundred workers, Vodokanal (Volchansk) will lay off 80 workers, and Municipal Filtering Works of Bogdanovich will lay off 41 people.

January 22, 2015. Ural Airlines is launching new flights from the Volga Region to the country’s capital. Starting on January 30, 2015, a new flight U6 384/383 (Kazan-Moscow-Kazan) will be operated by the air carrier every Monday and Friday (Kazan-Moscow) and every Friday and Sunday (Moscow-Kazan), the airline’s press service reports. Starting from January 30, another scheduled flight will be offered by the company: U6 382/381 will take passengers from Volgograd to Moscow and back. The flight to Moscow will be operated every Friday and Sunday, the return one every Monday and Friday. Besides,

January 22, 2015. Two Starbucks cafes will open at Yekaterinburg’s Koltsovo Airport very soon: the first one will appear next to Terminal B airside, the other one in Terminal B landside within three months’ time, the airport’s press service reports. ‘Passengers can treat themselves to the entire range of the famous coffee chain’s drinks and dishes: espresso-based drinks, Starbucks Frappuccinos, freshly made coffee, pour-over coffee, sandwiches, desserts, and other offers. Besides, the cafes will coordinate seminars where every visitor will be able to learn about different kinds of coffee and

January 22, 2015. Volchansk subsidiary of UVZ, Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant, produced flat car 23-5176 for in-plant transportation purposes. According to the corporation’s press service, the platform was designed by Ural Carriage-Making Design Office (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) and was customized to meet the specific needs of the customer, one of Sverdlovsk Region-based industrial enterprises. перевозок. ‘This 23-5176 flat car, mounted on 18-194-1 makes, is meant for transportation of processing tools and equipment that weighs up to 110,000 kg. Volchansk

January 22, 2015. Sverdlovsk Region Government is not going to sell its 17.28% shareholding in Koltsovo Airport, the Public Property Management Ministry’s website states. All in all, Sverdlovsk Region (through the Mid-Urals Development Corporation) owns 34.56% of the airport’s shares. The airport’s shareholders agreed to raise the enterprise’s authorized capital by 200,000 RUR through a share issue (200,000 of ordinary registered shares with face value of 1 RUR each), which means the government’s shareholding risks being diluted. A portion of the shareholding will be sold by auction on

January 21, 2015. Lastochka, an electric train produced by Verkhnyaya Pyshma-based Ural Locomotives (a member enterprise of Sinara Group) went on its first-time shift from Yekaterinburg to Verkhoturye, Sinara Group’s PR Center reports. During this trip, Sinara Group Director-General Mikhail Khodorovsky and Ural Locomotives DG Alexander Saltayev informed Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Evgeny Kuivashev of all the advantages of the new train and of the production development options. The Governor also paid a visit to the driver’s cabin in order to see how comfortable it was for the crew. Saltayev

January 21, 2015. Ural Airlines made the sign-in process easier for its Wings Club members. According to the airline’s press service, the club members can now use not only their membership card number but also their mobile phone number of their email address to sign into their account at www.uralairlines.com. ‘The Wings Club members can choose one of the three options to sign into their account easily. The password remains the same. Now Wings Club members can book a free-of-charge flight using their bonus miles; the bonuses can also be used for a seat upgrade in order to fly business class.

January 21, 2015. In 2013, the number of illegal immigrants who had to be deported from Sverdlovsk Region stood at 700. In 2014, it was 1,300. ‘Deportation of illegal immigrants is fully and wholly the responsibility of the Federal Service of Court Officers. According to the Federal Migration Service, over 200 people entered Russia through customs and passport controls last year, and clearly not all of them went to register with the immigration authorities,’ says Sverdlovsk Region’s Chief Officer of Court Sergey Shchebekin. According to Shchebekin, a new law is expected to decrease the number

January 21, 2015. VSMPO Avisma is planning to let go over a hundred workers soon, Sverdlovsk Region’s Senior Public Prosecutor for Surveillance over Compliance with the Federal Laws and Civil Rights & Liberties Svetlana Sukhikh announced at a press conference. ‘We identified 513 instances in which the federal employment laws were violated last year. As a result, 181 officials had to face administrative liability. Our department also coordinated inspections of several large Sverdlovsk Region-based enterprises last year. For one, VSMPO Avisma, which is planning to make a hundred out of its

January 21, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation is going to direct more than 280m RUR to environmentally important projects this year. According to the corporation’s press service, keeping the city of Nizhniy Tagil as environmentally unaffected as possible remains one of the corporation’s head plant’s top priorities. ‘The plant spent over 188m RUR to implement 18 green projects last year; another seven projects will be completed this year. In 2014, Ural Federal District division of the Federal Nature Management Surveillance Service issued a lifetime license for

January 20, 2015. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) was issued a certificate by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping: the enterprise is now officially recognized as manufacturer of shipbuilding steels РСD500Arc30(Arc50), РСE500Arc30(Arc50), and РСF500Arc30(Arc50) that can be up to 60mm thick when/if thermally treated. MMK rolled steel was declared to comply with the rules for classification, construction, and equipment of floating drill rigs and stationary offshore platforms and with the rules for classification and construction of marine vessels under technical supervision of the

January 20, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s hockey team players are now getting ready for the opening game of the Russian Classic championship that will take place at the corporation’s Sputnik Stadium in Nizhniy Tagil. ‘On February 13, Vostochny Front (the corporation’s team) will play Zapadny Front (the Supreme Hockey League’s manager team). The names of the teams (‘Eastern Front’ and ‘Western Front’) were chosen in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War V-Day,’ the corporation’s press service reports. The team members now practice twice a week, with Sputnik Hockey

January 20, 2015. ChTZ Uraltrac (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) won a tender for the delivery of two PK 65 lift trucks to the Federal Agency for Special Construction (Spetsstroy). According to Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service, the first yellow-and-black-painted vehicle will be shipped to Saint Petersburg, to one of Spetsstroy divisions. ‘The other PK 65 will be going to Plesetsk space port. Its final destination point is in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Region. This truck will be painted in Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s colors,’ the press service says.

January 20, 2015. A design office will be set up in Sverdlovsk Region to calculate the costs of launching Lastochka high-speed electric trains (created by Ural Locomotives, a member enterprise of Sinara Group) to take its passengers from Koltsovo Airport to Yekaterinburg and then to Verkhoturye, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. The decision was made after Lastochka’s pilot ride to Verkhoturye. ‘Sverdlovsk Region Government, in cooperation with Sverdlovsk Railways and Sinara Group, decided to set up a design office as part of our commuter company in order

January 20, 2015. Yekaterinburg hotels have managed to get at least 55% of their rooms booked and used since 2009; in 2015, the demand is expected to rise to 60%, the city council’s press service reports. The scale of available accommodation in Yekaterinburg more than doubled in 2004-2014: there used to be as few as 48 hotels in the city back in 2004; in 2014, the figure reached 109 (with five more hotels expected to open next year). ‘The hotel industry keeps on developing and is now ready to provide its guests with everything one needs for a comfortable stay in the city. Yekaterinburg hosts

January 20, 2015. Ural Airlines launches a new Moscow Yekaterinburg flight on January 19, 2015: the new U6 273 flight takes off conveniently at 8:30 AM. According to the airline’s press service, flights will be operated four times a week, Monday through Thursday, on the comfortable Airbus liners that have both economy and business class sections. In addition, the company’s existing U6 270 flight (Yekaterinburg-Moscow) will be operated more often. The departure time is 20:15 PM, with flights offered four times a week, Tuesday through Friday. The flight only used to be available twice a week,

January 19, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation received a compliance certificate for its new set of 1,000 19-5153-02 innovative hopper cars, mounted on 18-194-1 makes, with the capacity of 25,000 kg on January 13, 2015. According to the corporation’s press service, the hopper’s cargo capacity comes to 76,000 kg, which is 6,000 kg, or 9%, more than that of its existing counterparts mounted on regular 18-100 makes. ‘Besides, the new hopper’s other important competitive advantage is that it has removable metallic top, which makes maintenance much easier throughout the entire lifespan. By

January 19, 2015. Yekaterinburg is now Russia’s No.1 in terms of per capita shopping space, leaving behind Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the city council’s press service reports. By the end of 2014, there was an average of 1,322 sq m worth of shopping space per every 1,000 residents. Ten new malls were opened every year for the last five years. There are currently 34 shopping centers in the Mid-Urals’ capital, with the total area of 835,000 sq m. 44% of all the shopping facilities in the city are large malls. The total area of all the shopping spaces in the city comes to 1,901,000 sq m.

January 19, 2015. Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ, a member enterprise of ChTPZ Group) now issues product certificates that come along with its small and medium-size gas cylinders. The Group’s press service explains this is the new requirement set forth in the Customs Union regulations relating to safety of pressurized equipment. PNTZ cylinders only used to have some stamping on them with data for trained workers who operated the equipment. Under the new legislation, customers are now entitled to detailed information on the goods they purchase that should be clear to a person with any sort