UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 11, 2019. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) introduced new cashback options on business customers’ cards, the bank’s press service reports. ‘Until the end of the year, the UBRD customers can get back into their business card accounts 5% of the amount they spend on glassware, leather goods, watches, jewelry, photo and video appliances, musical instruments, cakes and pastry, and wholesale batches of precious stones and metals. A 1% cashback bonus will also be paid on any card-based purchase of household appliances, cosmetic items, greeting

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 11, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Group’s MMK METIZ keeps implementing its five-billion-ruble investment program, Senior Manager for Further Development & Retooling at MMK METIZ Konstantin Kuranov said at the 8th All-Russian Wire & Fitting Exhibition (Provoloka-Krepezh 2019) in Moscow. According to Kuranov, Chelyabinsk Region’s Economic Development Ministry and MMK METIZ signed a contract in 2017 to implement their metal goods production upgrade program together; under the terms of the program, the plant is expected to manufacture RUB 39bn

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 10, 2019. EVRAZ Holding’s Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Plant (EVRAZ NTMK) coordinated a series of civil defense drills that involved several hundred employees of the plant and its daughter enterprises, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Communications Center reports. The company workers spent two days drilling emergency routines and evacuation operations, accommodating people in shelters, and distributing individual protection gear. ‘The largest-scale part of the drills took place at the plant’s heat and power plant. According to the emergency simulation

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 10, 2019. Head of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Nikolai Zvyagin gave a talk on the company’s experience with industrial tourism programs at EXPOTRAVEL 2019 Exhibition in Yekaterinburg on October 4-5. According to MMK’s Information & PR Department, the exhibition program covered a session of Russian Tourist Industry Union dedicated to different kinds of tourism. The session was attended by federal and regional tourism management officials. MMK first launched its industrial tours on October 16, 2018: MMK Steel Evolution Guided Tour comprised four

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 10, 2019. A discussion on ChelPipe Group’s urban improvement and development program will take place in Pervouralsk on October 11-12, the Group’s press service reports. The discussion is coordinated by ChelPipe Group and Urban Analytics Center and will get hosted by Innovative Culture Center. First, a foresight session involving federal, regional, and local experts will get coordinated on October 11. The next day, October 12, Pervouralsk residents will be able to voice their urban improvement proposals in the course of an open-to-all public discussion. The locals’

UrBC, Moscow, October 10, 2019. MegaFon now offers its loyal customers a larger cashback amount: the longer you telecom with MegaFon, the more bonuses you get paid back into your account. According to the company’s press service, the maximum cashback amount (30%) is offered on MegaFon’s latest payment plans. A third of your monthly payment and roaming fees goes back to your account if you keep using one and the same mobile phone number for two years or longer. 10% cashback options are offered to those who have just switched to MegaFon and have been using the company’s services for under three

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 10, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Group’s MMK InformService presented its unique e-document flow system at Industry 4.0 Summit this month. According to MMK’s Information & PR Department, the company’s innovative approaches to document flow automation and digitalization proved very interesting for the Industry 4.0 participants and received praise from the experts in the field. MMK InformService presented the release-quality version of the System (aka ATACH, which is the original name of Mount Magnitnaya in Magnitogorsk) and is ready to sell the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 9, 2019. New Coalface 5а-7-34 (estimated coal reserves: 3,000,000,000 kg) got commissioned at EVRAZ Holding’s Raspadskaya Coal Company’s Raspadskaya Mine, the company’s press service reports. ‘The miners completed all the installation/dismantling jobs, main development operations, and narrow work. Teams from Sections 7, 15, 28, and 30 had to work through over 5.8km of the mine opening,’ the press service says. The new section of the coalface is 2,160 meters long. The place is fitted with all the necessary highly productive equipment, which means more than

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 9, 2019. Yekaterinburg’s urban development plan for 2020-2035 covers the construction of the second and third Yekaterinburg Underground lines; the plan is now available on the town council’s website. According to plan, Bazhovskaya Station (currently under construction) will get introduced on the underground’s first (and so far only) line in the future. The second line is scheduled to get launched by 2025. ‘A section of the second line from Yantarnaya to Kamennye Palatki is expected to get introduced in 2025. Metallurgicheskaya, Uralskikh Kommunarov, Teatralnaya,

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 9, 2019. A public presentation of Prityazhenie, a large-scale project proposed by Chair of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Board of Directors Viktor Rashnikov, took place in Magnitogorsk, MMK’s Information & PR Department reports. The presentation was attended by the media, members of local NGOs, businessmen and women, and Magnitogorsk residents. ‘The idea is to create high quality urban environment in Magnitogorsk. First, a 220-hectare growth cluster will appear in the area, with sports facilities, clinics, museums, culture facilities, educational

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 9, 2019. This year, OOO FORES allocated more than RUB 1.7m to cover the health resort stays of the company’s workers approaching retirement age, working pensioners, and workers eligible for early retirement, the company’s press service reports. The company co-paid for the sanatorium stays of 44 workers who had their stays prescribed by doctors. 24 people are already back from their trips, with 20 more heading for the health resorts in October, November, and December. ‘FORES’s workers are staying at Kuryi and Lenevka Health Resorts and Sosnovy Bor Sports &

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 9, 2019. A special customer interaction system meant to help measure net promoter score (NPS) got launched at ChelPipe Group’s Warehouse, the company’s press service reports. The new solution is part of the Group’s customer-oriented transformation program; the system ensures automatic customer feedback collection and helps monitor the quality of customer service online. ‘The interactive customer service evaluation system is a set of sensory panels: touch-screens with pre-loaded questionnaires are now installed at employee workstations at fifteen warehouses in the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 8, 2019. Siberian State Industrial University coordinated a special Raspadskaya Coal Company Day on its premises; the company is in charge of managing EVRAZ Holding’s coal-making assets, their press service reports. ‘The introduction of Raspadskaya Classroom (a present in time for the university’s 90-year anniversary and the Mining Institute’s 70-year anniversary) was the key event of the day. Rector of Siberian State Industrial University Evgeny Protopopov and Executive Director at Raspadskaya Coal Company Andrei Cherepov cut the symbolic red ribbon in the course

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 8, 2019. Sverdlovsk Region’s budget received RUB 144.8bn in tax and non-tax payments (both of which got processed with the fiscal authorities) between January and September 2019, which was 1.2%, or RUB 1.7bn, less than one year earlier, Russia’s Federal Tax Service’s local division’s press service reports. ‘The decrease in budget revenues has to do with shrinking corporate property tax payments (-RUB 6.4bn/down by 1.4 times) and reduced excise duty payments on goods manufactured within the Russian Federation (-RUB 1.8bn/ down by 1.8 times),’ the press service

UrBC, Moscow, October 8, 2019. 35% to 40% of Sverdlovsk Region’s families can afford to apply for and pay out a mortgage, the Russian Central Bank’s Ural division’s press service reports. ‘This is, in fact, nearly the highest percentage registered in all of Ural Federal District’s constituencies; the share of families who are able to pay out mortgages comes to 20%-25% in Kurgan Region, to 25%-30% in Chelyabinsk Region, to 30%-35% in Tyumen Region, and to 40%-57% in Yugra and Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Region,’ the press service says. In Russia on the whole, only 27% to 35% of families can

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 8, 2019. A professional forum for information officers working within Russia’s Mining & Metallurgical Trade Union took place in Nizhniy Novgorod recently. The event was attended by representatives of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK), the company’s Information & PR Department reports. A talk given by MMK Group Trade Union’s representative Alexei Babushkin, who presented a personalized trade union app, proved very engaging for the audience. The app developers are already prepared to offer the service to fellow trade unions. ‘Our innovative

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, October 8, 2019. A branded souvenir shop is now open at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Central Lab’s premises, MMK’s Information & PR Department reports. ‘You can get pens, pencils, weekly planners, key rings, and magnets with MMK logo for your friends and business partners there. There’s also a selection of mugs, plates, and towels for household item and beautiful china collectors. Visitors to the plant are also very enthusiastic about our clothing and accessories such as baseball caps, T-shirts, wallets, and phone cases,’ the company says. Additionally,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 7, 2019. Russian airlines incurred over RUB 40bn in losses altogether in January-August 2019, Director at Turpomoshch Association Alexander Osaulenko said at a press conference in Yekaterinburg. According to Osaulenko, the air carriers announced their consolidated loss amounted to RUB 40bn last year; as for the eight moths of 2019, the figure came to RUB 40bn already, which means ticket prices will keep going up. Osaulenko says the airlines’ losses have to do with the rising jet fuel prices and growing airport fees. He expects a 6% to 8% increase in the price of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 7, 2019. An average Yekaterinburg resident needs an income of RUB 170,000 a month to live happily, Superjob’s recent research findings indicate. ‘An average Russian needs RUB 161,000 a month to be happy. Men require almost 33% more money than women: the figures come to RUB 181,000 and RUB 138,000, respectively. Younger respondents need relatively modest amounts to secure their happiness: people in the under-24 age group say RUB 118,000 a month would be enough to make them feel happy,’ the research states. ‘The demand for money keeps rising with the increase in the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 7, 2019. Mayor of Yekaterinburg Alexander Vysokinsky signed an executive order to start area planning and demarcation for the second line of Yekaterinburg Underground; the news can be seen on the town council’s website. ‘The design work on the second line of the underground is in progress. A new underground line is still seen as one of the most important projects in celebration of Yekaterinburg’s 300-year anniversary. I should note that most town residents feel very positive about the project and believe the underground is vital to Yekaterinburg. The authorities