UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 11, 2018. Alcohol grew 6.8% more expensive in Sverdlovsk Oblast in the course of 2017, Sverdlovskstat’s press service reports. All in all, the price of commodities rose by 3.9%, that of services by 3% last year. Food items (excluding alcohol) grew 3.2% more expensive, non-food items grew 4.3% more expensive. In December 2017, the price of commodities rose by 2.5% on Sverdlovsk Oblast markets compared with one year earlier, that of services rose by 1.7%. Food items (excluding alcohol) grew 2.2% more expensive, non-food items grew 2.7% more expensive than one year

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 11, 2018. The number of existing homes currently on offer at Ural Chamber of Real Estate’s database dropped by 7.4% (600 apartments/rooms) in the last four weeks, the Chamber’s research findings indicate. There are currently 8,800 apartments and 1,700 rooms in communal apartments on sale in Yekaterinburg. ‘Even though the market has stayed a bit inert, the drop in market supply resulted in new price dynamics. The increase was not very significant, however, and only noticeable in certain market segments, whereas the average per-square-meter price throughout the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 10, 2018. UBRD Capital Designated Activity Company made all the payments on the 9th coupon (out of eleven all in all) to the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s subordinate Euro bonds. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) acts as the bond issue guarantor, while Ireland-based UBRD Capital Designated Activity Company acts as the issuer; BCP Securities, BNP Paribas, and Sberbank CIB act together as the backers for the entire affair. ‘The bonds were issued in June 2013, with a 5.5-year circulation period. The redemption date is set at

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 10, 2018. Ural Airlines introduced their new, Moscow-Warsaw flight on December 28, 2017, when flight U 819 departed from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, the air carrier’s press service reports. The plane landed in Warsaw at 12:35 PM (local time). Flights to Warsaw were operated five times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays between December 28, 2017 and January 10, 2018. Starting from February 12, 2018, the flights will be available thrice a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The in-flight time is estimated at 2 hours and 10 minutes.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 10, 2018. Sinara Group’s Sinara Development completed all the basics assembly jobs at Yekaterinburg Arena, one of the stadiums soon to host the World Cup 2018, the Group’s PR Center reports. Rostechnadzor certified the building for compliance with all the technical requirements and design documentation on December 29, 2017. The new stadium is fit for 35,000 visitors. The building relies on the most up-to-date engineering solutions and technologies. The project is unique in that the reconstruction kept all the cultural heritage objects intact. Moreover, over 4,000

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 10, 2018. The number of mortgages issued to Yekaterinburg-based borrowers went up by 29% in the ten months of 2017 compared with January-October 2016, RIA Nedvizhimost refers to United Credit Bureau’s Deputy Director-General Nikolay Myasnikov as saying. According to Myasnikov, the number of new loans issued in Moscow and Moscow Oblast in January-October 2017 rose by 25% compared with one year previously, whereas the number of new mortgages rose by 36%. In Saint Petersburg, the number of new mortgages increased by 23% against one year earlier, while the overall

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 10, 2018. Between August 6, 2015 and January 9, 2018, Rosselkhoznadzor officers confiscated 19,400,000 kg of embargoed food items that got imported from countries Russia imposed an import ban on. 19,100,000 kg of confiscated foods were destroyed, the agricultural watchdog reports. The overall confiscated amount included 18,655,000 kg of items of vegetable origin and 723,700 kg of those of animal origin. The food embargo was introduced in Russia on August 7, 2014 and currently applies to foods imported from the U.S., Australia, Norway, and Canada. Starting from

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. Rosset’s Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems (FGC UES) had nearly 5,000 hectares of woodland paths under its electric main lines in Western Siberia cleared this year, FGC UES Western Siberia’s PR & Media Group reports. The company coordinated over eighty emergency drills involving its power substation personnel and the Department of Emergencies’ rescue teams. Together with other fire safety measures, these drills helped prevent fire outbreaks at the company’s power stations in Western Siberia this year. Fire safety improvement measures also

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. New 2,000-ruble bills that came into circulation this fall can already be found at SKB-Bank’s outlets and ATMs, the bank’s press service reports. SKB-Bank’s cardholders can get the new bills when taking money out of a cash machine, or at cash desks when cashing in their deposits or with the change resulting from their transactions. To make the thing more convenient for customers, there are notes at every outlet with a description of what the new bill looks like and how to check if it’s a valid banknote. Besides, all the details on the new notes and

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, December 29, 2017. A new hopper crane was recently launched at the coal preparation shop of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) coke and by-product process department, MMK Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. ‘This is the fifth such crane that was put up at the company as part of our crane facilities reconstruction program (under way since 2005). The program covers for replacing all of the shop’s six cranes. The first four units were bought from the Czech company KCI Konecranes, and the fifth one was made by the Serbian firm GOSA FOM,’ the Department

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 29, 2017. South Urals Chamber of Commerce & Industry adopted an international events program for the year 2018, the CCI’s press service reports. The events are directed at finding new business partners and investors and developing trade and economic relations. The Chamber’s Foreign Economic Activity Center will begin next year with a number of official and business visits of Chelyabinsk Oblast delegates to Israel and Uzbekistan in February. In March, delegates will go on business missions to Tajikistan and the South African Republic; also, a group of Chinese

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 29, 2017. 2,256 people living in Sverdlovsk Oblast paid off RUR 371m of their debts altogether starting from January 1, 2017 in order to be allowed to travel abroad, the constituency’s division of Federal Service of Court Officers reports. ‘A ban on leaving the country was imposed on some 70,000 people with unpaid debts this year, their accumulated debt at around RUR 60bn. 12,000 of them are parents who fail to pay their child support allowances (this debt amounts to RUR 2bn all in all),’ the division says.

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, December 28, 2017. An employee conference was held at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) today to adopt the Collective Agreement for the years 2018-2020 between the company management and the workers, MMK press service reports. MMK Director-General Pavel Shilyayev presented his report on the plant’s production and social performance during the conference and also spoke about the company’s development strategy, environmental policy, and current CSR programs. Interestingly, Forbes magazine declared MMK Russia’s best employer in October 2017. There were actually four

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2017. A new project was embarked upon at EVRAZ Holding’s Evrazruda’s Abagurskaya Processing Plant to boost the grinding department’s productivity, the holding’s press service reports. Four grinding mills will get replaced with the more efficient ones, and a new, fifth mill will be added. The assembly and startup jobs will all be finished in the summer of 2018. The project’s overall cost is estimated at RUR 140m. These upgrades are expected to increase primary concentrate output by 200,000,000 kg a year (up to 6,500,000,000 kg altogether). Abagurskaya

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2017. Krasnodar Territory-based Bazel Aero airports named their best partners throughout the summer 2017. Ural Airlines won awards in two different categories, the air carrier’s press service reports. Ural Airlines won as the Company with Best Domestic Passenger Traffic Dynamics in Krasnodar Airport and also was awarded for Contributing to International Flights Development in Sochi Airport. Bazel Aero’s punctuality and service quality ratings have been carried on a a yearly basis since 2015; the goal is to distinguish the most punctual and the most

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 28, 2017. ChTPZ Group shareholder Andrei Komarov is now a member of Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory’s board of trustees and recently attended the board meeting for the first time, the Group’s press service reports. ‘ChTPZ Group and Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory have been collaborating for a few years now. The company supports the conservatory’s Opera House. Last year, its musicians opened the Group’s annual Snezhnost Children’s Charity Festival and performed Classics for Children, a special musical program for younger spectators. By joining the board,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 28, 2017. The exhibition’s coordinating committee received its first application/proposal to design EXPO Park in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast’s Information Policy Department reports. The names of the applicants haven’t been disclosed yet. They have until February 21, 2018 to complete the project proposal itself. The selection procedure for EXPO Park concept proposals opened on December 22, 2017. Local architects, designers, and builders were all invited to take part. The coordinating committee will consider all proposals submitted before January 21, 2018. The

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2017. The telecommunications provider MegaFon’s analysts presented their Urals-based business customers with a number of new useful services to help them function effectively during the upcoming New Year’s break, the company press service reports. According to Superjob’s recent research findings, nearly 14% of Russians keep working during the break in order to get paid at a double rate for doing overtime. These are mostly people in the sales and service sectors. MegaFon reports text messaging proved both the easiest and the most efficient way to promote one’s

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2017. Russian Copper Company was given the Donors Forum Association’s certificate for introducing new social technologies that help involve local communities in urban improvements. According to the company press service, the awarding ceremony took place during the association’s general member meeting in Moscow on the eve of the Donors Forum’s 15th anniversary. The meeting covered a report on the association’s charity projects in Russia this year and the action plan for 2018. This year, Russian Copper Company implemented a number of social programs involving

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 27, 2017. More than 1,500 employees of ChTPZ Group were able to attend New Year’s shows and performances this week, the company press service reports. The performances were given in M.I. Glinka Opera House in Chelyabinsk and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant’s Culture Palace in Pervouralsk. ChTPZ Group’s shareholders Andrei Komarov and Alexander Fedorov, the company Director-General Boris Kovalenko, Deputy Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast Ruslan Gattarov, Mayor of Chelyabinsk Evgeny Teftelev, Mayor of Pervouralsk Valery Khorev, the Group’s top managers, and