UrBC, Chelyabinsk, November 13, 2017. Russian Copper Company’s Chair of the BOD Igor Altushkin and Akim of Aktyubinsk Oblast, Kazakhstan Berdybek Saparbayev signed a memorandum on investment cooperation, the company press service reports. The document was signed at the 14th Interregional Russia-Kazakhstan Forum on November 9, 2017. Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbeyev were present at the ceremony. ‘The two parties agreed to work together on geological survey projects and industrial development of copper and zinc ore deposits in Aktyubinsk Oblast as

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 13, 2017. Sverdlovsk Oblast was faced with a depopulation trend caused by migration in January-September 2017, Sverdlovskstat reports. According to the agency’s statistics, 29,585 arrived in the constituency and 33,043 people left Sverdlovsk Oblast in January-September 2017, which means migration-caused depopulation amounted to 3,548 people. A year earlier, the figure was 5,113 people. At the same time, the international migration was actually on the rise (+2,980 people), although this is still less than one year earlier (+4,910 people). In terms of demographic

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 13, 2017. Sverdlovsk Oblast’s tax authorities issued RUR 148m worth of additional tax warrants, with money to be paid to the consolidated national budget, following their checks and inspections in the nine months of 2017, Sverdlovsk Oblast division of Russia’s Federal Tax Service reports. 1.3m in-house tax audits of taxpayers’ declarations resulted in RUR 1.372bn worth of extra tax warrants. 513 on-site audits of businesses and 72 checks of private individuals resulted in RUR 5.104bn worth of extra tax payments to be made. The on-site tax audits of businesses and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 13, 2017. Sverdlovsk Oblast will have to redistribute RUR 93.6m worth of inter-budgetary transfers next year, the constituency’s Information Policy Department reports. Sverdlovsk Oblast is expected to get RUR 209.8bn in revenues and to spend RUR 221.2bn. Next year, the expected budget deficit figures will thus amount to RUR 11.3bn, which will be RUR 2.3bn less than in the year 2017. The budget draft bill will be heard at the constituency’s Legislative Assembly session on November 14, with a follow-up procedure on the distribution of budget funds across

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, November 10, 2017. South Urals Chamber of Commerce & Industry coordinated a round table discussion on legislative improvements in the professional appraisal qualification exam procedure, the chamber’s press service reports. Representatives of Chelyabinsk Oblast Ministry for Property & Natural Resources, members of Chelyabinsk Region Legislative Assembly, representatives of Russia’s Federal Tax Service’s and Rosreestr’s local divisions, members of Chelyabinsk Property Management & Land Relations Committee, experts from self-regulatory appraisal organizations,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 10, 2017. EVRAZ Holding and the telecommunications provider MTS launched a large-scale edutainment project for children interested in the cinema industry in Mezhdurechensk, EVRAZ Holding’s Raspadskaya Coal Company’s PR Department reports. ‘The Generation M Project took off in Mezhdurechensk with the showing of a Russian children’s movie Once Upon a Time. The film was presented by the film director and screen writer Anna Chernakova and Alena Babenko, who had one of the leading roles in the movie. The two celebrities talked to the children, shared some tricks of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 10, 2017. Employees of EVRAZ Holding’s West Siberian Integrated Metallurgical Works (ZSMK) won eight medals at the 4th WorldSkills Hi Tech blue-collar job championship and came third in the overall medal rating, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s Corporate Relations Department reports. One gold medal, three silver ones, and four bronze ones set a new record for EVRAZ WorldSkills Hi Tech team. Fifteen EVRAZ employees competed for the prizes altogether, including a number of junior contestants from Meridian Children’s Arts & Tech Center in Novokuznetsk. The young

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 10, 2017. Representatives of foreign diplomatic missions spoke very highly of Yekaterinburg Arena, one of the stadiums to host the world football championship next year, Sinara Group’s PR Center reports. The Group’s Director-General Mikhail Khodorovsky and Deputy Head of Yekaterinburg Council Sergey Tushin coordinated a guided tour of the stadium (currently under reconstruction) for the officials from local diplomatic missions and consulates of Italy, Germany, the UK & Northern Ireland, the US, France, China, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, and

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, November 10, 2017. Russian Copper Company presented its Smart Copper Project for HR and SCR at the Russia-Kazakh Business Council, the company press service reports. The council met in Chelyabinsk on November 9; this was part of the 14th Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum. The event focused on the role businesses play in human capital development. Russian Copper Company’s Vice President for HR & SCR Policies Anna Shabarova made a presentation on the company’s Smart Copper Project in terms of cadre development, efficient corporate social policy, and talent

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 9, 2017. According to Roskomnxdzor’s recent report, the country’s Big4 telecommunications providers put up 39,682 LTE stations throughout Russia in the nine months of 2017, of which MegaFon put up every one in four 4G base stations, the company press service reports. ‘MegaFon is behind the largest fourth-generation network construction project in the country. The carrier has more LTE base stations than any other company, with the overall number up by 39% in the nine months of this year (60,000 all in all). LTE base stations make up 44% of all newly built

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 9, 2017. SKB-Bank was featured among the top three Russian banks with the best m-banking and e-banking services for private customers; the rating was created by Expert RA’s analysts, the bank’s press service reports. SKB-Bank’s mobile banking app came second in the usability rating, while its Internet banking system came third. Both its m-banking and e-banking services proved to have outstanding payment options, internal transaction options, and service functions; they also featured high in the IT & Finance Security Rating. Expert RA tested the banks’

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 9, 2017. Ural Airlines are now the official air carrier for the crew of the Krusenshtern, the four-masted barque and the last active sailing vessel in the legendary Flying P-Liners, the company press service reports. The ship’s crew will arrive in Moscow from a barque moored in one of Kaliningrad’s ports. The crew’s story was adapted for stage in Sea Moments, a documentary play starring Sergey Garmash. The play was created by Mikhail Kozhukhov’s Travel Club. The club has been coordinating tours aboard the barque for the three years now, and the play is an attempt

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 9, 2017. Rosatom TVEL’s Glazov-based asset, Chepetsk Mechanical Plant (ChMZ) introduced a scholarship program for the talented students of Ural Federal University with some support from Rosatom State Corporation, the company press service reports. The cooperation agreement was signed by the plant and the university during Rosatom Career Day in Yekaterinburg on November 7, 2017. The paper was signed by Chepetsk Mechanical Plant’s Director-General Denis Anischuk and Executive Director of Ural Federal University Development Fund Daniil Sandler. The ceremony was also

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 9, 2017. Yekaterinburg-based home owners owned the state RUR 525m in unpaid property tax as of October 1, 2017, Deputy Head of Yekaterinburg Council for Strategic Planning, Economics, & Finances Andrei Koryukov announced at a press conference today. ‘This is a very tidy bit of money. Added to this are RUR 204m of unpaid land tax, which is RUR 69m less than at the start of the year. This decrease looks like a positive trend, but the problem remains. RUR 200m is enough to put up one new kindergarten or rebuild two existing ones,’ Koryukov said. According to

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, November 8, 2017. ChTPZ Group shareholders Andrei Komarov and Alexander Fedorov are going to take part in the 14th Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum in Chelyabinsk on November 8-9, the Group’s press service reports. This major business event is dedicated to human capital development this year; the Group is presenting its Future of White Metallurgy Corporate Training Program - a project on training highly skilled blue-collar workers for the metallurgical industry. Russia’s Education & Science Ministry’s stand will include The Future of White Metallurgy as

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 8, 2017. EVRAZ Holding competed rebuilding its Zelenaya Power Substation in Sheregesh, Tashtagol District, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s corporate relations department reports. The new power equipment will ensure stable power supply to the nearby ski resort for the next decade. EVRAZ invested over RUR 40m in the project. ‘The power is needed to keep the chairlifts, the hotels, and the emerging tourist resort’s entire entertainment infrastructure running. The substation’s outdoor switchgear got completely reconstructed, and an additional power transformer unit got

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, November 8, 2017. MMK Group’s Avtotransportnoye Upravlenie is now trying out gas and diesel fuel as the primary fuel for its BelAZ trucks, MMK Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. The trial runs of gas-and-diesel-fueled BelAZ trucks began as early as 2016. The experiment proved successful, so the company hopes to replace up to 40% of diesel fuel with the gas alternative in the future. According to company experts, reduced environmental impact is seen as the project’s most significant outcome. Following the trial runs, MMK, Novatek, Gig Engineering, and

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, November 8, 2017. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) coordinated a group audit of all its quality management systems (involving both the plant’s production departments and its daughter enterprises) for the first time this year, MMK Group’s Information, PR & Advertising Department reports. The overall QMS certification procedure involved auditing the integrated management systems at daughter companies and took up all of September. For four weeks, TUV NORD CERT auditors worked away at MMK production site. The certification body experts looked into the way quality

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, November 8, 2017. ChTPZ Group’s managers completed a course of Modern Management Technologies recently offered by Sberbank Corporate University, the company press service reports. The three-day lecture and seminar course took place on university campus and involved a hundred of the Group’s key managers. ChTPZ Group’s shareholder Andrei Komarov opened the program, followed by President of Sberbank German Gref and his lecture on the new tech trends and modern management models. Sberbank experts, business community representatives, and professionals from the academic and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, November 7, 2017. Workers of EVRAZ Holding’s Urals- and Siberia-based enterprises are going to take part in the blue-collar job championship WorldSkills Hi Tech in Yekaterinburg EXPO on November 3-7, 2017, the holding’s press service reports. There are fifteen contestants and twenty-eight experts on EVRAZ team. The contestants come from EVRAZ Holding’s Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Works (NTMK) and West Siberian Integrated Metallurgical Works (ZSMK); they all won in ZSMK Corporate WorldSkills Championship in Novokuznetsk in May. There are seven categories to