UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 29, 2018. MegaFon TV’s analysts came up with a user report for the year 2018. It appears that the subscribers to the service based in the Urals watch more TV than those living in the Far East, Siberia, or Central Russia. MegaFon Ural users have actually already spent a time equivalent of 14m full movies watching mobile television. TV series (with The Junior Team, Game of Thrones, and Ivanovy-Ivanovy at the top) proved the most popular genre thus far, MegaFon Ural’s press service reports. This year’s releases Gogol. Terrbile Vengeance, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and

UrBC, Moscow, November 29, 2018. Russian businesses willing to advertise their products and services on Facebook will have to pay a 20% VAT starting January 2019. This applies to all advertising accounts that indicated Russia as their location, Facebook Ads Help Center informs. You’ll be charged VAT ‘regardless of whether you're purchasing Facebook ads for business or personal purposes,’ the company says. Facebook warns that users willing to keep advertising via Facebook will have to check their account settings for their company’s name, address, and tax reference number. ‘The specific

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 29, 2018. Urban renovation (mostly of metropolises) will be one of the key new topics at 100+ Forum Russia in Yekaterinburg, member of the Federation Council Arkadiy Chernetsky announced at a recent press conference. ‘We’ll dwell on things like preserving a city’s cultural and historic heritage within the locations that are expected to undergo redevelopment,’ Chernetsky said. According to Chernetsky, the forum’s agenda also covers topics like the use of automated systems, building information modeling (BIM), and robotic technologies for survey and construction

UrBC, Moscow, November 29, 2018. The price of jet fuel rose by 10.6% (or RUB 5,240) on Yekaterinburg market in the last month and thus amounted to RUB 54,512 per 1,000 kg, Rosaviation’s website states. Russia’s least expensive jet fuel is currently sold at Ekimchan Airport, Amur Region: RUB 34,000; the most expensive one is sold at Tigil Airport, Kamchatka: RUB 86,500.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 28, 2018. Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems’ Western Siberia branch coordinated a two-day skills contest for the company drivers. Four teams from Southern, Central, Eastern, and Yamalo-Nenetsky divisions of the branch took part in the competition, FGC UES Western Siberia’s PR & Media Group reports. The contestants had to prove their knowledge of the traffic code and job safety regulations as well as their first aid skills; they also had to complete a number of wintertime autocross challenges on their KamAZ and GAZ trucks. The Eastern division’s team

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 28, 2018. Ural Airlines’ customers can now book a flight from Moscow to Kaliningrad and back at a discount, the air carrier’s press service reports. The offer holds for a round trip ticket for flights U6 167/168 and U6 627/628 to be operated through December 20, 2018. Prices start from RUB 5,850 for Promo tickets and from RUB 6,850 for Economy ones. The flights get operated daily. The tickets are available on the company website www.uralairlines.com, via Ural Airlines mobile app, over the phone +7-800-7700-262, or at any booking office. Ural Airlines also keep

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, November 28, 2018. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) saved RUB 53.6m in the third quarter of 2018 thanks to its workers’ improvement proposals. According to MMK’s Information & PR Department, their expert committees looked into 1,524 proposals in the third quarter. 1,015 of these (66% of all the papers submitted) got approved; a year earlier, the approval percentage was 58.5%. 28.02% of improvement proposals dwelled on job and industrial safety; 12.73% dealt in resource savings; 9.45% and 49.8% of proposals were dedicated to energy efficiency and other

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 28, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) reports a dramatic increase in the demand for acquiring services: the number of POS terminals rose by 31% in the ten months of 2018 compared with one year earlier, whereas the POS terminal turnover went up by 32%. These are mostly grocery stores and cafes/restaurants that keep applying for acquiring options most often. According to the bank’s press service, their special offer launched in May 2018 was the primary driving force behind this impressively soaring demand. At the beginning of the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 28, 2018. Ural Airlines will now be operating its Moscow-Navoi flights as often as three times a week. Flight U6 2129/2130 (Moscow (Russia)-Navoi (Uzbekistan)-Moscow) will be operated every Wednesday and Sunday starting December 16, 2018. The existing flight U6 2435/2436 is still available on Mondays. According to the airline’s press service, prices for Moscow-Navoi and Navoi-Moscow flights start from €126 and €133, respectively (Economy, one piece of luggage under 23 kg, one piece of cabin luggage under 5 kg, a meal and all fees included). All of Ural Airlines’

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 27, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s Creative Office recently hosted the final round of Train Brain Student Case Championship. The first prize — two research grants — went to students of Software Engineering at Ural Federal University. Four other prize winners, UFU students as well, got paid internships at one of the bank’s IT or Analytics sub-departments. Finally, two more students (Ural Federal University and Ural State University of Economics) were invited to an additional interview; if these interviews go well, the students will be

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, November 27, 2018. A new waterworks facility got launched within Magnitogorsk Reservoir as part of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) recirculating water supply system upgrades, the company’s press service reports. The launching ceremony got attended by MMK members of the Supervisory Board and independent directors. The water gate got closed to stop the dumping of MMK’s manufacturing water into the water reservoir. ‘The recirculating water supply system upgrades, which involve extending our cooling reservoir, are among the most important water protection initiatives

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 27, 2018. EVRAZ Holding acquired a new large-hole drilling unit to make vertical holes up to 2.4 meters in diameter. This si the first time this equipment type will get used at a Russian coal-making enterprise; the unit will get launched at EVRAZ Raspadskaya Coal Company’s mines, the holding’s press service reports. Performance tests for the large-hole drilling technology are scheduled to take place at Yerunakovskaya 8 Mine. A pilot hole (diameter: 279 mm; depth: 500 m) will be made first. Next, a special widening unit will get attached to the drilling assembly

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 27, 2018. Ural Airlines are introducing a new Rostov-on-Don-Tashkent-Rostov-on-Don flight starting December 11, 2018, the air carrier’s press service reports. The new flight will be operated from Platov Airport every Tuesday. Flight U6 2615: Departure (Rostov-on-Don): 3:20 PM — Arrival (Tashkent): 8:40 PM. The flight is three hours and forty minutes long. Flight U6 2616: Departure (Tashkent): 12 PM — Arrival (Rostov-on-Don): 1:50 PM. The flight is three hours and fifty minutes long. Prices start from €137 (one way, one piece of luggage under 23 kg, one piece of

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, November 27, 2018. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) had its energy management system audited successfully for compliance with the international standard ISO 50001for the second time; the first time the system got certified for compliance was in 2016. According to MMK’s Information & PR Department, the audit was carried out by experts from Germany-based TUV Thuringen e.V. It was determined that the plant’s energy management system fully complies with all the requirements set out within the standard. Next year, the plant intends to have its energy management

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 26, 2018. The awarding ceremony of the National Business Communication Prize took place in Yekaterinburg on November 22, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development won in Best Marketing Campaign and Best Marketing Director categories. ‘The UBRD 120-Day-Grace-Period credit card program got the third prize in the Marketing Campaigns category. The judges’ panel said this was a banking market’s pioneer project, as the UBRD credit card had the largest grace period on the market at the time of the launch. Moreover, the credit card is free to get, you can

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 26, 2018. The international rating agency Moody’s upped EVRAZ Group’s corporate rating from Ba1 to Ba2. with Stable rating outlook, Prime refers to the agency as stating. ‘The Group’s rating was improved based on the ongoing decline in both the leverage and debt burden figures and on our expectations that the company will be able to keep its leverage within the required Ba1 limits,’ Moody’s Vice President and Senior Credit Director Artem Frolov is quoted as saying. The agency also commented on the Group’s low-cost production, its own iron ore and coke coal

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 26, 2018. Vladimir Zotov got appointed the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s Treasury Operations Director on November 16, 2018. According to the bank’s press service, Zotov will now be in charge running the treasury’s activities and making sure all treasury transactions go through. This includes legal framework improvements, software system supervision, and negotiations with external contractors. As the Treasury Operations Director, Zotov will also be responsible for coordinating the performance of treasury subdivisions that deal in a wide range of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 26, 2018. The Urals’ locals spent more than RUR 6m on new Apple smartphones this fall; remarkably, every one in two iPhones got bought on credit, MegaFon Ural’s press service reports. The company’s data reveal that 64Gb makes proved the most popular ones; the most popular colors are black, grey, and golden. ‘The new Apple products got mostly hunted for my men. Most of the iPhones were sold in Sverdlovsk Region, Tyumen Region, Chelyabinsk Region, and Yugra. The Mid-Urals also proved No.5 among all the Russian territories in terms of smartphone sales. The only

UrBC, Moscow, November 26, 2018. The Japanese car manufacturer Mazda is calling 62,357 automobiles off the Russian market due to potential airbag issues, Rosstat reports. ‘The cars are being called off as higher humidity levels might cause body defects in the front passenger airbags’ gas generators, which might result in incorrect airbag activation in case of a collision. Also, a defect in the gas generator body might result in metal splinters hurting the driver or the passengers and cause severe injuries or death,’ Rosstat says. Called off are Mazda 2, Mazda 6, Mazda CX-7, and Mazda BT-50.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 23, 2018. Ural Airlines are now offering their customers reduced-price tickets to Uzbekistan and back, the air carrier’s press service reports. Ural Airlines’ offer holds on November 21-25, 2018; the 5% discount is offered on the following flights: Namangan-Saint Petersburg and Saint Petersburg-Namangan; Navoi-Saint Petersburg and Saint Petersburg-Navoi; Urgench-Saint Petersburg and Saint Petersburg-Urgench; Fergana-Saint Petersburg and Saint Petersburg-Fergana; Nukus-Moscow and Moscow-Nukus; Nukus-Zhukovsky and Zhukovsky-Nukus; Karshi-Zhukovsky and