World-class mathematicians and computer programmers will be the product of Ural Federal University’s department of Mathematics & Mechanics that is soon to be converted into Math & Computer Science Institute. The project on converting the department has already been approved at the university’s Development Program Directorate. In addition to the department of Mathematics & Mechanics, the new institute will also comprise a number of research laboratories and scientific education centers as well as the regional scientific learning center for information security and a specialized

Baltika, the beer brewing company and a member of Carlsberg Group, made some changes in the terms of its promotional offer that provided for a trip to Japan for the first prize winner. The decision to change the terms was made because of the tragic events in Japan happening at the moment, the company’s press service reports. ‘According to our earlier plans, a special campaign dubbed Baltika No. 7 – Now in Japan; Win a Trip to Tokyo was to have started on April 1, 2011. The idea for the campaign was elaborated in the fall of 2010, the special promotional beer packaging production began in

All the work related to the elaboration of the Titanium Valley Project and to the completion of a development plan for this special economic zone will probably be finished in May 2011, Deputy Economics Minister of Sverdlovsk Region Viktor Dolzhenko announced at a recent meeting dedicated to the project. The original decree to set up a special economic zone in Verkhyaya Salda, Sverdlovsk Region was enacted by the Russian Government in December 2010. The project’s budget (totaling to over 50bn RUR) has by now been agreed upon; the lion’s share of the money – 40bn RUR – is to be provided by the

Raghav Jugendra Singh bought a 6.1% shareholding in OAO Uralredmet, the company reports, whereas OOO Claris & Co that used to own an equal share is no longer the company’s stockholder. The company last underwent a change of stockholders in November 2010 when LAOAG Technical & Metallurgical Services Limited acquired a 15.78% shareholding in the business. The company reported then that the holding was bought from Raghav Jugendra Singh, who, in his turn, bought it from Gobest International Limited at the end of October 2010. OAO Uralredmet makes vanadium alloys and vanadium bullions for

A gas filling station at 5 Krasnoarmeyskaya St. in Yekaterinburg will have to be pulled down to make room for the Radisson Hotel. The station owner OAO Gazpromneft-Ural told UrBC that the city council is already planning to give up on its proprietor’s rights. ‘We are currently looking for some better compensation offers,’ the company explained. Radisson SAS is to be built in Yekaterinburg at the intersection of Malyshev St and Krasnoarmeyskaya St. The high-rise building will be put up by Atomstroycomplex, who have already announced they are prepared to complete the project by the end of 2013.

The net profit of OAO Gazpromneft-Ural declined by 43.13m RUR, or 14% in the last quarter of 2010, that is, from 308.2m RUR in the third quarter to 265.06m RUR in the fourth quarter of the year. The company explains the drop in profits has to do with the growing purchase prices.

Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court is now looking into the claim laid by Uralmashzavod’s minority stockholders Lev Elkonin and Lyudmila Mamontova against the company. The plaintiffs disagree with decision to raise the company’s authorized capital by launching an additional share issue. The decision was taken at the last annual general meeting. The preliminary court hearing was scheduled for today.

Russia and Turkey are about to lift all the visa requirements for one another. Following the negotiations between Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan in the Kremlin, the two countries exchanged notes to the extent that the new readmission and travel terms for Russian and Turkish citizens come into full force, Vesti reports. The new rules are expected to be enacted as soon as May 2011.

Kommersant reports head of Sverdlovsk Region Railways Vladimir Suprun is about to resign. According to the newspaper’s source, the executive has been promoted to a new position in Moscow: he is to get a top post either in the Russian Transport Ministry or in the Russian Railways Public Company. Sverdlovsk Region Railways has not provided any comments so far. Kommersant believes Suprun is most likely to be succeeded by his first deputy Valery Fomin or the company’s chief engineer Igor Naboichenko. Vladimir Suprun has been running the line since 2007.

The terminals used by one of Russia’s major payments systems are infected with Trojan.PWS.OSMP virus, Prime TASS refers to Doctor Web (a security software developer)’s press service as claiming. The virus interferes with the performance of the legal maratl.exe that is used in the terminals OS and replaces the actual account number the user intends to transfer money to with another account number, which results in the money becoming available to fraudsters. Experts interviewed by the agency report the Trojan was detected in Qiwi terminals; the company itself admitted the problem did exist.

West-Siberian Federal District Arbitration Court supported the ruling of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service Tyumen Region division that Yugoria, an insurance company, had violated the existing antimonopoly legislation, the division’s press service reports. ‘The court stated that prosecuting Yugoria and making it face administrative liability for violating the Competition Protection Law (namely, for signing an agency agreement that did not agree with the fair competition principles) was fully justified,’ the agency reports. Now the Federal Antimonopoly Service Tyumen Region division also

The situation in Egypt is no longer so dangerous as to preclude tourist trips there. In my opinion, the fact the ban on traveling there still hasn’t been lifted can be seen as a violation of citizens’ rights to freedom of movement,’ says the Director of Zima-Leto Group Olga Gulyar. ‘In fact, the state of events is quite alarming. The thing is, Egypt is No. 1 sales product for both the travel agents and the tour operators. These tours amounted to about 70% of all their sales in February and March. Now, however, it turns out companies have almost nothing to sell: trips to places like Thailand,

Miat Mongolian Airlines called two flights that were supposed to have departed from Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg today. For one, flight OM 133 to Berlin (departure time 12:15 PM) and, respectively, the return flight OM 134 from Berlin (arrival time 11:10 PM) were both cancelled. What is more, the carrier called off flight OM 134 to Ulan Bator scheduled for 12:40 AM on March 17, 2011.

Prego Holdings Limited bought a 29.89% shareholding in Concern Kalina. It is reported that the Cyprus-based company only used to own a 1.08% stake in the Yekaterinburg company before.

ОAO Khanty-Mansiysky Bank’s Board of Directors suggested that the stockholders vote for passing last year’s dividends at the upcoming general meeting. The AGM will be held on April 15, 2011 in Khanty-Mansiysk. The other points on the agenda concern remuneration and expense compensations to the bank’s independent BOD members.

The net debt of the mobile phone chain Euroset rose by 2.9% and reached 8.83bn RUR last year, the company’s report (drawn up in accordance with the Russian Accounting Standards) states. The overall debt went up by 0.8% and reached 10.5bn RUR. The company’s consolidated revenues amounted to 61.9bn RUR, which was 12.2% better than a year earlier. The net profit came to 5.57bn RUR.

The number of passengers Utair Airlines rendered its services to in January-February 2011 went down by 1.2% against January-February 2010; the figure declined to 600,200 people, the company’s report says. At the same time, the passenger turnover rose by 12.4% in the two months of 2011 against a year earlier.

Ural Airlines welcomes the vacation season by canceling fuel fees formerly charged on international flights starting March 27, 2011. All the tickets for the international summer flights are already available: you can book one for Yekaterinburg-Antalya flight (three times a week), Yekaterinburg-Barcelona flight (three times a week), Yekaterinburg-Varna flight (two times a week), Yekaterinburg-Burgas flight (three times a week), Yekaterinburg-Iraklion flight (three times a week), Yekaterinburg-Saloniki flight (three times a week), Yekaterinburg-Pula flight (two times a week),

The consortium of Russian Directors Institute and the rating agency Expert RA called off the corporate management rating of OAO MRSK Urala on March 14, 2011 due to the rating expiry. The company used to have a 6+ rating of ‘Well-established Corporate Management Practices’, Expert RA reports.

Following a number of customer complaints, an investigation was carried out of ZAO Raiffeisenbank, Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) press service reports. The agency’s experts from Yekaterinburg Central Department instituted administrative offense lawsuit against the bank, as it was detected in the course of the investigation that Raiffeisenbank signs customer contracts whose terms actually infringe upon the customers’ legally guaranteed rights. Based upon the findings, the head of the legal entity was ordered to stop violating consumers’