UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 27, 2018. MegaFon and Veon Ltd finalized settling their respective rights to Euroset, the Russian company’s press service reports. The two parties agreed to stop doing business together at Euroset in July 2017. ‘Following a series of transactions, MegaFon purchased a 50% stake in Euroset from VEON’s Russian subsidiary VympelKom (all assets and liabilities included), which means MegaFon now has 100% ownership of the business. VympelKom, in its turn, purchased a half of Euroset’s retail outlets (around 1,800 stores altogether) and is also going to pay out RUR

UrBC, Moscow, February 27, 2018. Plane tickets the football fans interested in flying to Russia during the days of the Wold Football Championship of 2018 are now 2.7 times more expensive than usual, RIA Novosti refers to the booking service OneTwoTrip as stating. ‘Two parameters were taken into account. First, we found the cheapest offers on flights from the participating countries’ capitals to Moscow two months before the championship opens (April 14) and next, we did the same for offers on the opening day (June 14). Whereas April prices came to RUR 29,470 on average for thirty different

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 26, 2018. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s male customers spent nearly RUR 10bn using their bank cards last year, which exceeded the figures for a year earlier by 21%, the bank’s press service reports. A look into the the transaction amounts and the number of thereof showed that this customer category made over 15m transactions using their UBRD cards in 2017, which is 36% more than one year earlier. Most of the money got spent in supermarkets and corner shops (RUR 4bn), remodeling supply stores (RUR 1bn), gas filling stations (RUR 986m),

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, February 26, 2018. ChTPZ Group took part in a press conference dedicated to the launch of a nationwide internship database; the launch is part of the All-Russia People’s Front’s Internships Program. head of ChTPZ Group’s Intern Section Natalia Sokolova spoke about the company’s efforts to coordinate internships at its production sites. ‘Candidates for our Intern Program undergo a highly competitive selection procedure. A successful candidate must do well in college, pass their exams successfully, possess outstanding knowledge of the fields they major in, have a broad range

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 26, 2018. Sverdlovsk Oblast’s division of the state-run consumer rights agency Rospotrebnadzor issued a total of RUR 9m in fines relating to anti-tobacco legislation offenses last year, the agency’s press service reports. Last year’s inspections helped detect 934 cases of anti-tobacco laws violation (including, among others, sale of tobacco products within 100 meters (or closer) of a school/college, smoking at workplaces and work areas inside a building, and sale of tobacco produce without a registered list of products on offer). The agency also tested 30,723

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 26, 2018. Gasoline grew 6% more expensive on average in Sverdlovsk Oblast in 2017 compared with 2016, Deputy Head of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service’s local division and Head of Antitrust Enforcement Department Ekaterina Vorobieva said at a press conference in Yekaterinburg today. According to Vorobieva, fuel prices rose by 3.5% in Sverdlovsk Oblast in 2016. Last year, prices kept going up because of the excise duty growing larger, as well as because of inflation (2.5% in 2017), Vorobieva explained. This year and the next one, gas prices will keep on

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 26, 2018. Ural Airlines are now offering tickets for their Moscow-Novosibirsk-Moscow flights at a reduced price. The offer only applies to online bookings, the air carrier’s press service reports. If you book online, a ticket for your Moscow-Novosibirsk-Moscow flight will cost RUR 4,800 for Promo and RUR 5,800 for Economy options. The flight is operated up to eight times a week and is 3 hours and 55 minutes long. The offer holds from February 22 to April 25, 2018 for flights to be operated through April 25 (only if you buy on the company website

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 22, 2018. ChTPZ Group’s Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ) carried a performance report on its environmental activity; the report was presented to state-run environmental surveillance authorities. ‘PNTZ presented reports for the year 2017 on waste treatment, water-protection projects, and land reclamation programs, as well as data on soil, air, and water monitoring and on the plant’s green projects spending. All these have been transferred to Ural Federal District division of Rosprirodnadzor, Rosstat, Nizhne-Obsky Water Resources Department, and Sverdlovsk Oblast

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 22, 2018. RSG-Akademicheskoye is coordinating a tender to find designers and survey work experts for a school in Yekaterinburg’s Akademicheskiy District, the developer’s press service reports. The contract on offer is for design and survey work (a building information model) for a secondary school fit for 825 students in Quarter 10 of Akademicheskiy District in Yekaterinburg. The opening price bid is set at RUR 10,848,509 (18% VAT included); the entire work should be completed before February 2019 (the starting point being the date the contract gets signed).

UrBC, Moscow, February 22, 2018. Russia’s Economic Development Ministry drew up a report on the pricing policies for lifesaving and essential drugs, the list of which drugs has been recently proposed by the Health Ministry. The paper is available on the normative acts website. Under the Health Ministry’s bill, all lifesaving drugs need to get re-registered within Russia so that a fair price could be set for all of those. The fair price should be based on the price monitoring statistics available for the emergency drugs sold abroad. According to the Economic Development Ministry’s estimates,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 22, 2018. Kaluga Children’s Hospital received new equipment within the framework of SKB-Bank-supported Everyday Charity Project, the bank’s press service reports. The equipment (a computer-aided four-way thromboelastometer and a year’s supply of chemical reagents) got handed over to the clinic on February 20, 2018. Kaluga’s doctors can now test patients’ blood for platelet count very fast and with very high precision. Based on the test results, a doctor can make an informed decision about further treatment. The thromboelastometer and the reagents were purchased

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 22, 2018. Verkh-Isetsky Court of Yekaterinburg ruled that Svyaznoy Logistika must pay their customer RUR 144,000 for a bloated iPhone, Sverdlovsk Oblast Court’s press service reports. ‘A Yekaterinburg-based customer bought his Apple iPhone 7 128 Gb for RUR 55,490 at one of Svyaznoy Logistika outlets last June. In August, the smartphone got inflated and stopped charging when connected to a charger. As it was no longer fit to use, the customer took the phone back to the store to have it replaced or get a refund,’ the press service says. The store only agreed to

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2018. Nine employees of ChTPZ Group’s Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ) received state awards following the Russian Federation President’s decree to this effect. The solemn awarding ceremony took place in Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast’s official residence on February 19, the Group’s press service reports. Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast Evgeny Kuivashev gave For Merit to the Fatherland Medals to Head of Pipe-Drawing Department Vyacheslav Maltsev, Head of Design Department Sergey Kashevarov, Deputy Head of Pipe-Drawing Department Lyudmila Filchenkova, Production

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2018. EVRAZ Holding and Russian Railways recently signed a new long-term agreement on rail produce supplies; the agreement came into effect on February 19, 2018 and will be valid for the next five years, the holding’s press service reports. Under the terms of this new contract, EVRAZ is to supply 3.2 million tons of goods (worth RUR 111.7bn altogether) to Russian Railways in the next five years. The plan is to go by formula pricing. EVRAZ will be responsible for supplying all the rail varieties the Russian Railways need, including special-purpose goods such

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2018. Ural Airlines are launching a new scheduled flight from Vladivostok to Sochi, with a stopover in Krasnoyarsk, on March 26. The flights will be operated on a weekly basis, the air carrier’s press service reports. Now travelers based in Siberia or the Far East will be able to get to Sochi as fast as possible: the in-flight time is now down by three hours. U6 135 (Vladivostok-Krasnoyarsk-Sochi) will be available on Mondays, U6 136 (Sochi-Krasnoyarsk-Vladivostok) on Sundays. Prices start from RUR 14,000 (Vladivostok-Krasnoyarsk), RUR 14,550

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, February 21, 2018. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) saved RUR 599.3m through implementing improvement proposals last year, the company’s Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. This was actually 2.5% better than in 2016, when savings reached RUR 584.5m. It was the Rolling Department that contributed to savings the most (net effect: RUR 356.3m). The company paid RUR 23.5m in premiums for successful improvement proposal implementation last year. In 2017, MMK’s expert committees considered 5,665 proposals all in all. Compared with 2016, the number of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2018. Ural Airlines are selling reduced-price tickets for Paris and Rome flights starting from March 15, 2018, the air carrier’s press service reports. Passengers can book their flights from Yekaterinburg to Paris or Rome at only RUR 11,500 (one way) or RUR 23,000 (round trip), all fees included (prices subject to change depending on the rate of exchange). The flights will be operated every Thursday and Sunday. ‘Choosing between two European capitals is no easy task, for each city is packed with world-famous landmarks, museums, fashion houses, and elite

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 20, 2018. Ural Airlines are launching their traditional summer flights sale: you can now book tickets for flights to be operated between March 1, 2018 and October 28, 2018 up to 30% cheaper, the air carrier’s press service reports. The offer holds through February 25, 2018; this is a limited offer. ‘You can book tickets for flights to be operated this summer and spring. The offer applies to very popular destinations such as the South of Russia, Europe’s seaside resorts, the picturesque locations in France and Czechia, the neat ones in Poland and Germany, the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 20, 2018. The prices of new homes in Preobrazhensky Quarter in Yekaterinburg’s Akademicheskiy District will go up on March 1. This price increase applies to studio apartments in the Comfort Class apartment buildings, RSG-Akademicheskoye reports. Preobrazhensky Quarter is quite popular with home-buyers at the moment. ‘The apartments get bought rather quickly: the first two buildings are almost fully taken, while the third one is over 50% sold out. A good selection of apartments to choose from (you can decide on either a ready home or the one currently under

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 20, 2018. Students on ChTPZ Group’s Future of White Metallurgy Corporate Training Program joined the 6th WorldSkills Russia Championship, held in Sverdlovsk Oblast on February 17-21, 2018, the Group’s press service reports. Nineteen students are competing in twelve different categories, including Mechatronics, Industrial Robotics, Prototyping, Welding, NC Turning, and Reverse Engineering. ‘ChTPZ Group’s teams compete in this blue-collar job championships every year. Our contestants are competing in Reverse Engineering for the very first time this year. Reverse