UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 11, 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the Ministry of Defense to look into ChelPipe Chair of the BOD Andrei Komarov’s proposal to coordinate the army terms of those male vocational school-leavers who will later get employed by the company so as to have them serve close to home, ChelPipe’s press service reports. ‘177 alumni of ChelPipe’s Future of White-Coated Metallurgy Corporate Training Program have served their army terms in Gorny Shchit, Sverdlovsk Region, in the last five years. While in the army, they keep on investing in their professional

UrBC, Moscow, April 10, 2018. United Company RUSAL might default on certain debts after getting sanctioned by the United States, Prime refers to the company’s announcement on Hong Kong Exchange as stating. ‘The Company assesses that the OFAC Sanctions may result in technical defaults in relation to certain credit obligations of the Group, and the Company is currently evaluating the impact (if any) of such technical defaults on the financial position of the Group. The Company is currently in compliance with its credit and financial obligations (including repayment obligations) in all other

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, April 10, 2018. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) came up with a report on its healthcare and sports projects in 2017, the company press service reports. ‘MMK sees promotion of sports activities and regular workouts as one of its CSR priorities. Extensive sports facilities infrastructure has been created in Magnitogorsk to provide venues for sports and active pastimes. MMK carries out its projects on physical education and sports development and promotion of a healthier lifestyle among its workers and their families through Metallurg-Magnitogorsk Sports Club,’ the

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, April 10, 2018. The final round of the All-Russian Glory to The Man of Labor Contest took place in Magnitogorsk recently, Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. ‘Contestants from four different constituencies — thirteen qualified engineers from ten different companies and eleven students from six different colleges - competed in Mechatronics on campus of Magnitogorsk Polytechnic. Mechatronics is a rapidly developing discipline that helps design computer-aided machines. Mechatronics comprises some principles of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 10, 2018. Ural Airlines are offering their passengers reduced-price tickets for their Samara-Tel Aviv flights, the air carrier’s press service reports. If you book between April 9 and 30, 2018, you can enjoy a 7% discount on the flights to be operated between April 11 and May 30, 2018. Tickets are already on offer. ‘Tel Aviv is a city that never sleeps and is informally known as one of the world’s best clubbing capitals. Israel enjoys great weather nearly all the year round, so you can go to the beach, do sights, shop in farmers’ markets, and go to clubs,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 10, 2018. The 9th International Industrial Exhibition Innoprom 2018 in Yekaterinburg will feature Sverdlovsk Region’s stand dedicated to two major topics, Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. The first part of the exhibition will present the ‘smart region’ concept (that is, digital technologies), the second one will feature Russia’s application for hosting EXPO 2025. According to Sverdlovsk Region’s Investment & Development Minister Viktoria Kazakova, the ministry is currently processing applications submitted by local companies that are

UrBC, Moscow, April 9, 2018. Rostourism suggested that home owners letting their apartments to incoming foreigners for World Cup 2018 days take special care to make sure these apartments are clean. This piece of advice can be found in a leaflet entitled For Those Willing to Let a Place to FIFA World Football Championship 2018 Visitors. ‘Letting an apartment is a service, so it’s important to make sure this is good quality service. Here are the basic standards an apartment like this needs to meet: clean; furnished with all the necessary household appliances, bedding, towels and toiletries; and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 9, 2018. Members of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) committee said Yekaterinburg looked ready to host large-scale international events such as EXPO 2025, Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policy Department reports. The BIE committee arrived in Yekaterinburg on April 3, 2018 and spent the next two days assessing the city’s potential for hosing EXPO 2025. The delegates then went to Moscow to discuss the results of their inspection with the federal authorities. ‘Our preliminary conclusions look splendid. Holding the event in Yekaterinburg looks expedient

UrBC, Moscow, April 9, 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) committee members on April 5, 2018; the committee came to Russia to see if the applicant city of Yekaterinburg would be ready to host EXPO 2025. ‘We believe an extra 500 meters would be allocated for the event should the exhibition be held in Russia, in Yekaterinburg. I believe you have seen the prospective site: this is a very convenient location between the heart of the city and the airport,’ Vladimir Putin is quoted as saying on his official website. According to Putin, the

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, April 9, 2018. Dōjō Steel, a new Kyokushin and Karate-Do martial arts club, opened in Magnitogorsk with support from Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK), the plant’s Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. President of the Russian National Ōyama Kyokushin Karate-Do Federation Alexander Ipatov, the federation’s Vice President and Chair of Coach Committee Karen Gyadukyan, and Chair of Yekaterinburg Kyokushin Federation Denis Kurchanin all came to attend the opening ceremony. The visitors also took a tour of MMK production site. The sportsmen looked at

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 9, 2018. A nationwide project targeted at improving high school students’ financial literacy took off in Yekaterinburg. Financial literacy classes will be coordinated by the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) on the basis of the Bank of Russia’s informational leaflets and visual aids. The event is also supported by Yekaterinburg Department of Education. According to the bank’s press service, the first open-to-public workshop was coordinated at School 104 for twenty-five students in their penultimate year of school today. The bank intends to give

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 5, 2018. Ural Airlines are introducing a new, direct flight from Krasnodar International Airport to Tbilisi on May 24, 2018; the flights will be operated every Thursday and Sunday, the air carrier’s press service reports. Thursday departure time: 6:40 AM (Krasnodar) and 9:55 AM (Tbilisi). Sunday departure time: 3:40 PM (Krasnodar) and 6:55 PM (Tbilisi). The flight takes one hour and twenty minutes and will be operated on Airbus A320 planes. ‘Tbilisi has a lot to offer its visitors: the ancient fortresses, the temples built high up in the mountains, the picturesque

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 5, 2018. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) has been working on Resource Management Personalization Initiative since last year to introduce a system of micro cost centers at the company’s production departments, MMK press service reports. ‘The goal is not so much to save money on energy spending as to establish a closer connection between a worker and a piece of equipment they operate, to make them more aware of their personal contribution to the overall performance and of their importance and responsibility. This works: our departments actually started

UrBC, Moscow, April 5, 2018. A draft bill has recently been placed with the Russian State Duma that proposes banning production and sale (retail and otherwise, except for export purposes) of alcohol bottled in polymeric packaging more than 0.5 liters large. The bill is now available via the State Duma’s electronic database. ‘A ban on selling alcohol in 0.5-liter-plus plastic bottles will help reduce overall alcohol intake and improve the nation’s health,’ legislators believe. Now a ban on selling beer in plastic bottles over 1.5 liters in volume at shops and restaurants was already introduced

UrBC, Moscow, April 5, 2018. Russia’s purchasing manager’s index (PMI) dropped from 56.5 points in February down to 53.7 points in March, Prime refers to the research center Markit as stating. ‘Even through the country’s business activity has slowed down to an eight-month low, it still remains stable. Moreover, the PMI was quite strong in the first three months of the year. Some of our respondents said they had new customers, while their existing ones also proved more active than in the previous months,’ the center is quoted as saying. Anything above 50 points indicates an upward trend,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 5, 2018. Sverdlovsk Region division of the consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor and Sverdlovsk Region Hygiene & Epidemiology Center carried a report on the outcomes of their recent hotline service and a Doors Open days on March 12-26, 2018, Rospotrebnadzor reports. 1,030 locals called the hotline to get their advice that mostly related to sale and purchase of non-food items (49%), housing services (13%), and financial services (10%). The most frequently asked questions were the ones to do with deadlines for handling a customer’s complaint about a newly

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 4, 2018. The online shopping service Mydutyfree and Ural Airlines’ Wings Club will now work as partners, the air carrier’s press service reports. The airline’s Wings Club Loyalty Program members will be able to enjoy an additional discount on things they buy at the airport duty free shops and 3 bonus points for every euro they spend through Mydutyfree. The discount comes to 10% for purchases made at Domodedovo, Kurumoch, and Koltsovo Airports; to 12% at Heydar Aliyev Airport in Baku, and to 15% at Kazan and Irkutsk Airports. The offer may not apply to certain items

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 4, 2018. EVRAZ Holding’s Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Works (NTMK) made more than 7,000,000 kg of rolled metal goods for the construction of a new sintering plant at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK), EVRAZ Holding’s PR Department says. The plant mostly supplied H beams and the round bar 150 09G2S to MMK. The goods will be used to make the primary framework: the charge sequencing system, the exhaust and sintering gas reservoir, the buildings for Sintering Machines 1 and 2, the linear coolers, the further charge treatment facility, and the sample

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 4, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) increased interest rates on deposits available through online and mobile banking apps starting April 2, 2018. The rates went up by 0.25% and thus reach 5.5% to 6% a year, the bank’s press service reports. ‘According to our data, the bank’s customers prefer to manage their finances remotely: the number of active online banking and mobile app users rose by 30% in the last one and a half years. At the same time, the number of online transactions per user has been growing as well: there were an average

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, April 4, 2018. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) directed more than RUR 200m to workers’ (and their families’) healthcare last year; this amount included the cost of children’s stays at summer camps, among other things, MMK Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. ‘8,189 workers and their family members underwent rehabilitation treatment in 2017; 87% of these people were employees proper. The company partially covered the cost of their stays at sanatoriums and health resorts. 65% to 80% of the full amount, depending on the season and the kind of