UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 29, 2017. Ural Airlines are now offering their Wings Club members a 10% discount on Moscow flights, the air carrier’s press service reports. Those just joining the program can additionally benefit from a 1,000-ruble welcome bonus (1 bonus = RUR 1) and a 15% discount on their next flight. The offer holds through December 20, 2017 and applies to flights to be operated till April 20, 2018 (except for the period between December 22, 2017 and January 12, 2018) from Moscow to Irkutsk and back, from Moscow to Barnaul and back, from Moscow to Novosibirsk and back, from

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 29, 2017. EVRAZ Holding’s Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Works (NTMK) now makes high-strength construction beams (strength grade: S390 and S440) that are currently unique to Russia, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Relations Center reports. ‘Workers from our converter shop developed a special chemical composition for the new steel type. As it uses vanadium allowing addition and the unique rolling technology, EVRAZ NTMK is now the only company making rolled double-T beams with strength grades 390 and 440. These beams can be used for heavy-duty construction

UrBC, Moscow, November 29, 2017. Russian tour operators might cancel their last-minute offers in the summer of 2018 as chartered flights will grow more expensive, Russia’s Tour Operators Association reports. According to the Association, the price of chartered flights is expected to go up due to a number of factors: an increase in the cost of jet fuel, lack of airplanes, and less fierce competition on the air travel market. The last two factors are reported to have been brought about by VIM Avia’s recent bankruptcy. As a result, the price of packaged tours will only be going up.

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, November 28, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) is going to present its produce at The Big 5 Show in Dubai, MMK Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. ‘The Big 5 Show is a major event in the Middle East’s building industry. The exhibition will take place on November 26-29. MMK has participated in the show for several years now, as the Middle Eastern market is one of the key export ones for the plant. Last year, some 1,700,000,000 kg of MMK produce got delivered to the area, which amounts to more than 50% of our exports,’ the Department says. MMK

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 28, 2017. Two-thirds of Sverdlovsk Oblast-based workers do not see their pay as adequate. HeadHunter’s analysts’ research findings indicate. Only 2% of their respondents said they made enough money considering their qualification and needs. This is the same percentage as last year, actually. When broken down by professional skills, those happiest with their salaries and wages turned out to work in Fossils Extraction (39%), IT (33%), and Top Management (33%). The number of those surveyed who don’t make enough to cover even the basic expenses rose from 35% in 2016

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 28, 2017. Sverdlovsk Oblast authorities completed all the coordinating procedures relating to drafting the budget bill for the year 2018, their Information Department reports. ‘Representatives of local governments and town councils as well as deputies and pubic group members all took part in the procedures. Most of the proposals were taken into account when working on the budget balance. The budget also makes provisions for the decrees put forth by the Russian Federation President and the Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast and for the Five-Year Development Program,’

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 28, 2017. A Sverdlovsk Oblast-based borrower took out a consumer loan of RUR 155,840 on average in the third quarter of the year, which was 0.3% more than one year previously, the National Credit History Bureau’s research findings indicate. At the same time, the average consumer loan amounts soared by as much as 44.9% in Leningrad Oblast, by 39.2% in Ulyanovsk Oblast, by 32.5% in Saint Petersburg, and by 26.3% in Altay. The average consumer loan amounts also plummeted by as much as 54% in Nenetsky Autonomous Region, by 29.6% in Kaliningrad Oblast, by 23% in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 28, 2017. Sverdlovsk Oblast Arbitration Court declared Rezh Stone-Crushing Plant (RKDZ) bankrupt, the court reports state. The plant was set up in Rezh, Sverdlovsk Oblast, and registered in Yekaterinburg in 2009. The business mainly deals in cutting and treatment of stones. The insolvency claim against the plant was placed with the court by Ural Granite Company in April 2017. It was determined in the course of the hearing that creditors’ claims amounted to RUR 55.418m and the defendant was unable to pay in time. Sverdlovsk Oblast Arbitration Court ruled that the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 27, 2017. Ural Airlines are offering tickets for all of their flights at a 30% discount for its Wings Club members, the air carrier’s press service reports. New club members can use the 30% discount right away and enjoy the 1,000-ruble welcome bonus as well; the bonus is granted as soon as you register with the club, which can be done on the company website www.uralairlines.com. The offer holds on November 24-26, 2017 for all flights to be operated between November 24, 2017 and March 27, 2018 (except for the slot between December 25, 2017 and January 15, 2018).

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 27, 2017. Pervouralsk is hosting ChTPZ Group’s 15th Snezhnost Charity Festival with support from Sverdlovsk Oblast Government, the Group’s press service reports. The festival plays will be performed at Pervouralsk New Plant Culture Palace and Innovative Culture Center. Snezhnost will open with a musical called Look At Me Flying! at Pervouralsk New Plant Culture Palace on December 14. Children from Chelyabinsk, Miass, Kopeisk, and smaller settlements in Chelyabinsk Oblast will act as the primary performers in the musical. The young actors will act out a story of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 27, 2017. SKB-Bank was among the country’s top fifty banks according to Kommersant Publishing House’s rating; the rating comprised all banks located outside of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. SKB-Bank also came fourth in the rating of largest non-capital banks on the consumer lending market, the bank’s press service reports. SKB-Bank was given the 26th position in the overall national rating based on the amount of consumer loans issued by October 1, 2017. The bank’s retail loan book exceeded RUR 59bn. According to Kommersant, Russian banks’ consumer lending output

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 27, 2017. Rosatom TVEL’s Ural Electrochemical Combine co-funded a ‘smart savings clinic’ program in Novouralsk, the company representative Konstantin Grabelnikov said in the course of a recent press tour. The project is being implemented by Russia’s Healthcare Ministry in a number of pilot towns (mostly the ones with nuclear power facilities), including Novouralsk, since June 1, 2017. ‘The town’s old healthcare system wasn’t efficient enough, which meant there was a long wait for the patients. It was suggested that we could organize the process along the lines of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 27, 2017. The amount of debt owed to Sverdlovsk Oblast-based businesses in government and municipal contracts went down from RUR 1.2bn to RUR 600m, the local public prosecution authorities report. ‘Still, things look difficult for the healthcare establishments, as these still owe their contractors over RUR 215m,’ the authorities say. The debt amounts are at their largest in Nizhniy Tagil (RUR 174m), Yekaterinburg (RUR 45.5m), Aramil (RUR 50.8m), Tugulym (RUR 40m), Asbest (RUR 10m), and Nizhnyaya Tura (RUR 16m). ‘For one, we managed to reduce the debts owed to

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 24, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) looked into the results of its Children Believe in Miracles Charity Program in the first half of the year. The bank coordinated 53 charity events and directed over RUR 3.7m to support orphaned children and children with disabilities. According to the bank’s press service, some of the money got spent on supplies for live-in schools, social centers, and creches for children without parents. ‘We bought necessary things like game appliances, furniture, school supplies, hygienic items, sports

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 24, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) recently launched a new credit card with a 120-day grace period. The demand for the new product proved twice as high as that for any other bank cards within the first forty-eight hours of the launch date, the bank’s press service reports. ‘The demand was so high because of the advantages the new credit card has to offer. The card was developed with all the latest trends in mind: the grace period applies to all types of transactions, and you get 1% in cash back options on everything,’ the press

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 24, 2017. Rosset’s Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems introduced 126 megawatts worth of extra electric power supply to Uvatskiy group of deposits in Tyumen Oblast. The jobs were part of the agreement on connecting the power facilities of RN Uvatneftegaz to the United Energy Systems, FGC UES’s PR & Media Group in Western Siberia reports. The company’s 500-kilowatt Demyanskaya Substation (transformer capacity: 1,256.6 MVA) was launched in 1969. The station is one of the key power hubs in Tyumen Oblast that ensures power transit from the 500-kilowatt

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 24, 2017. Sverdlovsk Oblast residents using micro-financing services borrowed RUR 10,067 on average in the third quarter of the year, which exceeded the figures for one year earlier by 24.5%, National Credit History Bureau reports. The increase was most pronounced in Krasnodar Territory (+55.9%), Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Region (+35.5%), Novosibirsk Oblast (+32.2%), and Bryansk Oblast (+25.1%). The average loan amount actually went down in Volgograd Oblast (-3.9%), Moscow Oblast (-0.7%), and Moscow (-0.4%). ‘The average micro-loan amount keeps rising in all

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 24, 2017. Yekaterinburg’s hunting supply stores are already looking at the losses they are likely to incur during the upcoming World Football Championship 2018, as there will be a ban on selling guns at that time. Stary Slon’s representatives told UrBC the ban falls right on the seasonal sale increase period. ‘People hunt ducks in the spring, and then sales usually peak in the summer throughout early fall. There’s nothing of the sort to be expected with this ban in place. Most likely, our only revenues will come from optical appliances and knives,’ the store

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 23, 2017. Managers of Russian Copper Company won Sverdlovsk Oblast Awards for their contribution to the area’s socioeconomic development, the company press service reports. The solemn awarding ceremony for Russian Federation Awards, Russia’s President Awards, and Sverdlovsk Oblast Awards took place in Yekaterinburg on November 21, 2017. Thirty-nine representatives of the Urals’ business community, medical and educational establishments, charity organizations, culture organizations, and financial entities were on the list of awardees. Russian Copper Company

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 23, 2017. The telecommunications provider MegaFon’s engineers launched second- and third-generation HD Voice technology in Sverdlovsk Oblast. HD Voice allows for better transfer of a particular speaker’s voice, their tone and intonation, as the available frequency range now comes to as much as 7,000 Herz. Thanks to this expanded audio transfer channel, the sound comes out more realistic and ‘live’, MegaFon’s press service reports. HD Voice is supported by most smartphones and turns on automatically. You can enjoy better conversation quality with both MegaFon