UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 15, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development keeps expanding the range of non-banking services it can offer its customers. Together with TaxFree4U LIMITED, the bank recently launched a mobile tax return application for its private customers; the app is useful to get your tax money back on purchases made in Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Finland. UBRD cardholders can download their TaxFree4U app via AppStore or Google Play. According to the bank’s press service, the tax return option is particularly useful around New Year break,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 15, 2017. Sinara Group’s Sinara Development, the general contractor for the rebuilding of Yekaterinburg Stadium in time for the World Cup 2018, completed all the construction jobs on the site, the Group’s press service reports. Before the end of the year, the contractor will also finish working on the visual communication appliances and security systems as well as interior design. Yekaterinburg Arena’s navigation system was developed with many factors in mind, including intensity of visitor traffic, security, and the convenience of getting around the site. The

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 15, 2017. Russian Copper Company is currently taking part in the International EcoTech 2017 Exhibition; Russia’s Minister for the Environment & Natural Resources Sergey Donskoy and the UN Vice Secretary-General, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme Erik Solheim paid a visit to the company’s stand, their press service reports. Sergey Donskoy presented the company to Erik Solheim as a large Russian mining and metallurgical holding that places great emphasis on environmental safety of its production facilities and environmental

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 14, 2017. MegaFon Ural’s users engage in 150 conversations in their instant messengers every month on average, MegaFon’s press service reports. The number of their WhatsApp, Viber, and Telegram chats has doubled since the start of the year and exceeded 200m conversations. These data were obtained by MegaFon’s analysts from looking into their users’ online activity. Ural users proved quite unusual in that their messenger and social network of choice are Viber and Facebook, respectively (every one in two Urals-based users prefers these services), whereas in the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 14, 2017. Ural Airlines recently introduced another Tel Aviv-Yekaterinburg-Tel Aviv flight. According to the air carrier’s press service, the scheduled flights are operated on Thursdays and Sundays now. Prices start from $147 (one way) and from $319 (round trip), all fees included. ‘Tel Aviv is a famous city in Israel and the favorite place for tourists from all over the world to visit. This bright, original city with a very long history and plenty of landmarks is bound to take your breath away. The old town of Yafo with its antiques shops and flea markets,

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 14, 2017. Russian Copper Company’s asset Karabashmed (Karabash, Chelyabinsk Oblast) received Russia’s Ministry for Natural Resources & Environment’s award for a number of successful environmental projects implemented this year. The agreement to work on the projects was signed within the framework of Russia’s Year of The Environment 2017. According to Russian Copper Company’s press service, the awarding ceremony took place at EcoTech 2017 Forum in Moscow on December 12, 2017. This was part of the 5th All-Russian Environmental Protection Congress and the Federal

UrBC, Moscow, December 14, 2017. Russians’ everyday spending kept rising in November (up 2.4% on October 2017), which is actually far above the monthly inflation rate (0.2%). At the same time, people living in the Urals spent 0.8% less money last month than in October, Romir refers to its research findings as indicating. Russians spent 3.7% more money in November compared with the start of the year, which was also 2.5% ahead of the yearly inflation rate. ‘November increase in spending usually has to do with the seasonal shopping for food items and New Year’s gifts. This year is apparently no

UrBC, Moscow, December 14, 2017. 86% of Russians feel they have been affected by the ongoing economic crisis this year, Kommersant refers to the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Sociology Center as stating. 7% of those surveyed said the results of the economic pitfalls were ‘devastating’, 39% of respondents said they were ‘moderate’, and 40% said they were ‘considerable’. 14% of respondents said they didn’t feel the crisis had affected them in any way. The number of Russians who were happy with their financial status dropped by 7%, down to 28%, between 2016 and 2017. 50% of those surveyed

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 13, 2017. EVRAZ Nizhniy Tagil Integrated & Metallurgical Works (NTMK) launched their recently upgraded coke dry-quenching plant in the course of a special solemn ceremony. This project required RUR 175m in investments, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Relations Center reports. The launching ceremony took place at the opening of the 2nd International EcoTech 2017 Forum/Exhibition. The plant got launched by Russia’s Minister for Natural Resources & Environment Sergey Donskoy and EVRAZ Vice President and head of EVRAZ Holding Ural Maxim Andriasov. ‘I would

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 13, 2017. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) presented its environmental responsibility rating for Russia’s mining and metallurgical companies. Russian Copper Company was given the 6th position out 33 this year, which was 8 points better than in 2016. ‘In addition to this main rating, the WWF also evaluated companies in terms of environmental management (with Russian Copper Company coming 4th/5th in the rating), in terms of environmental impact (8th position), and in terms of transparency (6th/8th position),’ the company press service reports. Russian Copper Company

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 13, 2017. Russian Copper Company is going to present its environmental projects on restoring the sites and facilities damaged throughout the Soviet era at EcoTech 2017 Forum in Moscow, the company press service reports. The company intends to reclaim an abandoned tailing dump at the former Karabash Copper-Smelting Plant and to refill Korkinsky Mine. The reclamation plan for Karabash’s abandoned tailing dump was officially confirmed through an agreement Karabashmed signed with Russia’s Ministry for Natural Resources & the Environment, Rosprirodnadzor, and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 13, 2017. ChTPZ Group and National University of Science and Technology MISiS signed a ‘roadmap’ on their cooperation in 2018, the company press service reports. The document was signed by the Group’s Director-General Boris Kovalenkov and the university’s Vice-Rector for Educational AffairsVadim Petrov. ‘We have been collaborating with NUST MISIS within the framework of our Leadership program that relies on the university’s Master programs,’ says the Group’s Director-General Boris Kovalenkov. ‘Our company employs dozens of NUST MISIS alumni, many of them in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 13, 2017. 179,000 m2 worth of new housing got commissioned in Sverdlovsk Oblast in November 2017, Sverdlovsk Oblast Information Policy Department refers to Sverdlovskstat as stating. A year earlier, 212,000 m2 worth of new housing got commissioned, which was 15.6% more than in November 2017. As for Yekaterinburg alone, 133,000 m2 of new housing got commissioned there last month (compared with 123,000 m2 commissioned in November 2016). On a yearly scale, 1.6m m2 worth of housing was put up in Sverdlovsk Oblast in January through November 2017, including 101,000 m2

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, December 12, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) completed its purchase of LMK Group’s assets, the company Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. MMK now controls Lysva Metallurgical Company, Lysva Metallurgical Plant, and Insayur-Avtotrail-TL. ‘LMK Group is Russia’s only producer of electrolytically galvanized rolled goods with protective coatings. This produce is popular with carmakers, builders, and machine-builders. The Group makes a wide range of coated metal goods, including Steel Art, a new-generation material with unique consumer

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 12, 2017. Ural Airlines’ Wings Loyalty Club won in the 7th Innovations Time 2017 Contest as Discovery of The Year in Transportation Services, the air carrier’s press service reports. The company introduced a frequent flyer loyalty program slightly over a year ago, offering to convert their bonus points into rubles (which was a true bargain). This was an innovative offer among air carriers. The airline’s Wings Club program is a unique opportunity to book one’s flights at a discount. For every flight they make with Ural Airlines, the club members get bonus points

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 12, 2017. Russian Railways coordinated an open-to-all tender for locomotive delivery and lifetime maintenance contracts on December 4, 2017. According to Sinara Group’s PR Center, their Sinara Transport Machines’ STM Trading House got the second lot in the auction. STM Trading House will now have to supply five Sinara 2ES6 two-section locos made at Ural Locomotives to Kinel Depot before the end of the year. The company will also have to offer full maintenance service for the locos for the next twenty-eight years. The service includes all kinds of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 12, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) keeps expanding its branch network; for one, a new outlet for small and medium enterprises was set up in Omsk recently, the bank’s press service reports. The new branch can be found at 1 Frunze St Bldg 4; the working hours are from 9 AM to 6 PM on weekdays. ‘A SMEs outlet is a bank branch without a cash desk. Businesspeople and companies can open a settlement account here, sign an acquiring contract, open a deposit account, and apply for a corporate bank card. Our employees can also come to a

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 12, 2017. Following Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast Evgeny Kuivashev’s decree, funds were allocated from the constituency’s budget to design and build a maternity clinic/fertility research center in Yekaterinburg’s Akademicheskiy District, Sverdlovsk Oblast’s Information Policy Department reports. ‘Sverdlovsk Oblast is definitely going to meet the goals set by the President in terms of demographic policy improvements. For one, I asked for funds to be provided from the local budget to design and build a new maternity clinic in Akademicheskiy. This is going to be a

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 11, 2017. EVRAZ Holding coordinated its usual Best Young Worker Contest this year, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Relations Center reports. ‘This year, the contestants competed at EVRAZ Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Works (NTMK) in nine different job categories: blast furnace keeper, furnace helper, mill roller, crane operator, maintenance technician, instrumentation and automated control systems technician, assistant locomotive operator, turner, and driver. The theoretical part of the contest included a number of questions relating to people’s

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 11, 2017. The telecommunications provider MegaFon’s bank card is now eight times more popular in the Urals than at the beginning of the year, with overall turnover at over RUR 300m a month. Locals most typically use the card to pay for their supermarket shopping and to cover restaurant checks, the company press service reports. While food items are on top of the list, gasoline, medicines, mobile devices, car parts, household/remodeling appliances, clothes, taxi rides, and entertainment are also often paid for with MegaFon cards. Taxi fares come the cheapest,