January 19, 2015. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) came up with the first performance reports for the year 2014. The bank’s equity capital rose from 17.4bn RUR to 24.8bn RUR (as of January 1, 2015), which stands for a +42.4% (7.4bn RUR) increase. The UBRD is now one of Russia’s top fifty banks in terms of equity capital volume, the bank’s press service reports. The bank’s assets increased by 17.5% and reached 236.7bn RUR by the end of 2014. Its H1.0 (one of a bank’s fundamental reliability and stability indicators) stood at 13.31 on January 1, 2015 (the minimum value

January 19, 2015. Ural Airlines are launching a sale on their most popular destinations, the company’s press service reports. ‘Those who wish to spend St Valentine’s Day in Europe can benefit from the attractive rates on our Munich- and Prague-bound flights. If you fly to Munich on February 6-16, 2015, tickets for the flight from Yekaterinburg to Munich and back will only cost €275, and tickets from Yekaterinburg to Prague and back are available for €190. For the offer to be valid, your stay must not exceed seven days. All the fees and charges are included; the tickets are already available

January 16, 2015. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) was given the second place among all of Russia’s flat steel producers and zinc- and paint-coated rolled products by Metallosnabzheniye I Sbyt magazine for the second half of 2014. The magazine carries a biannual rating of the leading ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgical enterprises. MMK has always remained at the top of the list due to consistent implementation of its production development strategy which focuses on manufacture of highly profitable goods with high added value, MMK reports. In addition to this primary rating, MMK was

January 16, 2015. Transaero Airlines stopped operating flights from Yekaterinburg to Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport in January, Koltsovo Airport’s press service informed UrBC. It remains unclear for the time being when the flights will be resumed. Now Koltsovo Airport was warned of the stoppage at the end of December. At the same time, Transaero will keep on operating flights from Yekaterinburg to Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. In fact, UTair Airlines also stopped operating its Moscow-Yekaterinburg-Moscow flights until the end of March 2015.

January 16, 2015. Russian travelers spent 40% less money abroad during the winter break (January 1-11, 2015), while their spending at home rose by nearly the same 40%, Bank VTB24 says based on its customers’ transaction statistics. The bank’s customers spent 1.6bn RUR abroad during the holidays, which was 40% less than in the first half of January 2014 and 17% less than in January 2013. The top five countries where Russians spent most were Italy, France, the United Arab Emirates, Austria, and the USA. This list looks almost the same as the previous year’s one, except for the fact that Finland

January 16, 2015. Vladislav Zhukov was appointed CEO of EVRAZ KGOK, Kachkanar Ore Mining & Processing Enterprise, and Vyacheslav Sarayev was appointed CEO of EVRAZ NMTP, Nakhodka Trade Sea Port. Both executives will assume office on January 16, 2015, the Group’s press service reports. Zhukov, who used to work as CEO EVRAZ Nakhodka Trade Sea Port, will now be in charge of EVRAZ KGOK’s long-term development, enhancing the efficiency of fixed asset investment, and working towards greater profitability. He is going to succeed Vladimir Bobrov. Sarayev, former Project Manager at Mezhegeyskoye

January 16, 2015. Kamensk Uralsky Foundry Plant (KULZ, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is going to start implementing its three-year national special-purpose import replacement program on friction materials in 2015. According to the corporation’s press service, this means all the building and assembly jobs need to be completed, up-to-date equipment needs to be bought and installed, the already existing products need to be improved, and new product types need to be mastered. ‘Last year proved a good starting point for this project: the plant met all of its targets, fulfilled

January 16, 2015. ChTPZ Group directed some 30m RUR to employee training at its pipe-manufacturing enterprises last year. 11,000 employees of Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and of Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant were on professional development programs paid for by the Group. According to the Group’s press service, around 7,000 blue-collar workers got their first-ever qualifications, received additional job qualifications, or underwent re-training programs. Most of the employees got additional qualifications as welders, sling operators, repairmen, and quality technicians for the ferrous metals

January 15, 2015. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) delivered 20% more goods (+100,000,000 kg) to Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ) in 2014, ChTPZ Group’s press service reports. Last year was a fruitful and record-setting one for MMK and ChTPZ. For one, MMK delivered over 570,000,000 kg of rolled stock to ChTPZ, including over 460,000,000 kg produced at Mill 5000; this has become the largest shipment in the two companies’ cooperation history. In 2013, Chelyabinsk customers received 477,000,000 kg of MMK’s rolled products. The increase in metal goods shipments primarily has to do

January 15, 2015. Danone, the transnational dairy foods giant, might close down its Russia-based plants in the long term in case the country’s economy keeps on deteriorating, TASS refers to Bernard Ducros, CEO and Vice President of Fresh Dairy Products Division in Russia and CIS countries, as saying. ‘We are not planning to close down the plants for the time being, but, naturally, it will all depend on the market situation, which could get very difficult,’ M. Ducros said. According to his estimates, all of Danone’s Russia-based plants should still be operating for at least another one or two

January 15, 2015. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) delivered 20% more goods (+100,000,000 kg) to Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ) in 2014, ChTPZ Group’s press service reports. Last year was a fruitful and record-setting one for MMK and ChTPZ. For one, MMK delivered over 570,000,000 kg of rolled stock to ChTPZ, including over 460,000,000 kg produced at Mill 5000; this has become the largest shipment in the two companies’ cooperation history. In 2013, Chelyabinsk customers received 477,000,000 kg of MMK’s rolled products. The increase in metal goods shipments primarily has to do

January 15, 2015. 24,641 people came to Yekaterinburg Employment Center looking for a job in 2014. 15,642 applicants actually found a place, which comes to 51.4% of all those registered with the center, Sverdlovsk Region Labor & Employment Service’s press officer reports. 3,896 people were registered as unemployed as of December 27, 2014. The official unemployment rate was 0.53%. Sverdlovsk Region employers advertised 23,744 vacancies, including 8,251 positions for foreign workers (34.7% of all the jobs advertised). 15,913 positions were blue-collar jobs (67% of the total number), and

January 15, 2015. Russia’s Accounts Chamber announced it wasn’t happy with the speed of putting up University Techno Park in Yekaterinburg. According to the Chamber’s press service, three out of eight Russian hi tech parks, including University Techno Park, are not complete enough to host resident companies there. Besides, the park in Yekaterinburg has no performance indicators to prove the project is being implemented. Now University Techno Park is on the national special-purpose investment list for 2014-2016. The project covers for the construction of a scientific research/educational

January 15, 2015. On February, 14, 2015, Russian Classic, a hockey game between Nizhniy Tagil’s Sputnik (sponsored by Uralvagonzavod Corporation) and Orsk’s Yuzhniy Ural will be held in Nizhniy Tagil. ‘The tickets became available for purchase on January 15. The appealing price of 100 RUR will, the coordinators believe, attract not only hockey fans and team supporters, but also all those interested in hockey and even those who have never been to a game before. The event is planned in a way that will amuse adults and children alike,’ Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service says. Tickets can

January 14, 2015. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Mill 2000 has made 5,000,000,000 kg of goods since the moment it was launched, MMK reports. Mill 2000 is located at the company’s Sheet-Rolling Department 11 and is primarily meant for making good quality cold-rolled and zinc-coated rolled sheets for internal and external parts of automobiles, for household appliances, and for building structures. The facility comprises a continuous etching and chlorohydric acid pickling line, a five-stand cold mill with the capacity of 2,100,000,000 kg a year, a continuous hot-dip galvanizing unit

January 14, 2015. The Park Inn by Radisson Ekaterinburg Hotel now has a new manager, Andreea Cheratoiu from Rumania, the hotel’s Marketing & PR Department reports. The new manager’s task will be to find a new niche at the time of an economic crisis and under ever-fiercer competition among the arriving international hotel chains on Yekaterinburg market. Throughout 2012, 2013, and until November 2014 Andreea Cheratoiu was Director of Operations at Radisson Blu Hotel Bucharest.

January 14, 2015. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ Uraltrac, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) shipped a set of bulldozers to Krasnodar Territory, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘A major road maintenance company added a B14 to its fleet of vehicles. The customer received the bulldozer shortly after the deal was signed, and put it to work at once. Other customers in the area are already using three B10M bulldozers: one of the vehicles was bought by Kuban Steamship Company for sand production, another one is now used at a brick plant, and yet another one was shipped to

January 14, 2015. Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ, a member enterprise of ChTPZ Group) was declared Appealing Employer 2014 by SuperJob.ru, a recruitment web service. The plant was nominated based on the results of an annual research focused on businesses’ recruitment activity, pay rates, and the candidates’ interest in the job, the enterprise’s press service reports. ‘People are the main driving force behind the quest for perfection: this is how the Group’s White Metallurgy principle goes, which is why we make efforts to retain staff, pay their wages with no delays, and offer them benefits

January 14, 2015. Ural Airlines makes buying bonuses easier for its Wings Club members: they can now purchase the extra bonuses using their online membership account and their bank card, the airline’s press service says. The option will be particularly useful for the Wings Club members who are trying to get a free flight using their bonus miles: in case they fall short of a certain number of miles, they can opt for a 1,000-, 3,000-, or 5,000-bonus package and add these to their total bonus mileage. 1 bonus comes at a price of 1 ruble. These bonuses used to be only available for purchase at

January 14, 2015. Head of Yekaterinburg Council Architecture, Urban Planning, & Land Use Department Alexei Belyshev appointed Timur Abdullayev the city’s chief architect, the city council’s press service reports. Timur N. Abdullayev was born in Yekaterinburg on July 20, 1978. He graduated from Ural State Architecture & Arts Academy with a degree in Architecture and did some postgraduate studies as well. Abdullayev embarked on his career as a designer and an architect in October 1998. Prior to this new appointment, he was employed with In.Form Architectural Group.