UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 22, 2017. The Russian Government will soon be empowered to put a ban on import and sale of sanctioned foods in Russia arriving from the Eurasian Economic Union member states (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan), Kommersant reports. According to the Finance Ministry, the document to this effect was approved by the government’s legal drafting committee on February 13. Banned could be goods imported to the Union member states from a third country under the procedures that differ from those accepted within Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. The goal is

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2017. Rosset's Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems completed rebuilding its 220-kilowatt Beloyarskaya-Mramornaya electric main that ensures power supply for Beloyarskaya Nuclear Power Station in Yekaterinburg, the company press service reports. Four new supporting beams were installed on the line, some of the worn-out parts of the iron/concrete structures were also replaced with new ones. The obstructing trees were also put down to clear the way and prevent power outages. The 220-kilowatt Beloyarskaya-Mramornaya electric main has been in use since

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2017. Over 2,000 locals took part in the recent amateur ski race in Nizhniy Tagil; the race was part of the all-Russian skiing competition called Russian Ski Race 2017. The event was coordinated by Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation, the company press service reports. Every contestant had to ski along an 8,000-meter race; 171 amateur sportsmen and women also raced against the clock. ‘Bad weather conditions prevented us from taking off on February 12. However, one week later everyone who came to Ural Vagon Zavod’s ski camp could really enjoy themselves.’ On February

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2017. GT1h 002 gas turbine locomotive, a new model by Sinara Transport Machines’ Lyudinovsky Locomotive Plant, went on its first shift from Yegorshino Station to Serov Sortirovochny, Sinara Group’s PR Center reports. The 6,112,000-kg freight train was operated by the experienced professional Ilya Skorik. ‘A pilot sample was presented at the 4th International Expo 1520 Exhibition in September 2013. The loco was then tested throughout 2014 and 2015 and went on a field performance program in Sverdlovsk Railways’ Tyumen section between October 2015 and May 2016;

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2017. ChTPZ Group’s Future of White Metallurgy Corporate Training Program’s students and alumni competed successfully in the 5th WorldSkills Russia Championship’s Sverdlovsk Region round, the company press service reports. Multiple winner of local and national contests, fourth-year student Dmitri Shmarlovsky won gold in NC Turning. The Future of White Metallurgy alumnus and NC mill operator at ChTPZ Group’s Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant Alexei Rasulov also won the first prize in NC Milling. ‘Thanks to my work experience at the plant and the training I underwent

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 21, 2017. Malyshev 73 Society, a charity fund, provided the funding necessary for hockey-playing children from a foster home to travel to Vladislav Tretyak Tournament, the fund’s press service reports. ‘A non-profit hockey championship will be held at Kurganovo Sports Palace on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland’s Day; the event is hosed by a famous former hockey player Vladislav Tretyak. Thanks to the fund’s support, children from Kamyshlov-based Clift Foster Home will be able to come to the championship and play there,’ the press service says. The young

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 20, 2017. Ural Football Club’s entire team, managers, and coaching staff all subscribed to the telecommunications provider MegaFon’s service shortly before the start of this season’s first official game, MegaFon’s press service reports. MegaFon and Ural announced they are going to work more closely together in 2017; the footballers will now enjoy 4G mobile connection and HD quality sound on their smartphones. ‘Our team needs to always stay in touch and be available, regardless of how far from home they are; it’s important for work issues as well as for making

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 20, 2017. ChTPZ Group’s Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant sold 1,713,000,000 kg of pipes to their customers last year, which amounted to 85% of the figures for a year earlier (=306,000,000 kg), the Group’s press service reports. ‘This decrease in sales was brought about by changes in the delivery schedule for Gazprom’s Power of Siberia and North-European Gas Pipeline as well as by the shrinking demand on both the domestic and the international markets. The demand for large-diameter pipes dropped most noticeably, that is, by 27%,’ the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 20, 2017. The annual amateur ski race will be held in Yekaterinburg’s Akademicheskiy District on Saturday, February 18, RSG-Akademicheskoye’s press service reports. ‘This is the eighth year in a row locals are taking part in this popular and large-scale sports event,’ the press service says. The opening parade will begin in Wilhelm de Gennin St at 11:45 AM, followed by the competition itself. There are six different races to compete in: four children and teens’ races (one kilometer each) and two races for grown-ups (two kilometers each). The family race and the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 20, 2017. The water tower, one of Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s Omsktransmash’s historic structures, was recently placed on the Omsk Region cultural heritage list, the company’s press service reports. Following an examination by a board of experts, the tower was classed as ‘an important component of the city’s downtown historic architectural landscape.’ The tower hasn’t been operated for over four decades now and currently hosts one of the plant’s documentation center divisions. According to the structure’s technical specifications, the water tower for rail

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 20, 2017. Sverdlovsk Region division of Union of Industrialists & Employers held their annual meeting at Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s Culture Palace, the company press service reports. The meeting was chaired by Ural Vagon Zavod Executive Director Vladimir Roschupkin, with thirty union members taking part. Sverdlovsk Region Economics Minister Dmitri Nozhenko, Sverdlovsk Region Deputy Industry & Science Minister Viktoria Kazakova, Gornozavodksoy Manager Evgeny Kayumov, the Union’s Executive Vice President Igor Kudryavtsev, and Mayor of Nizhniy Tagil

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 17, 2017. Rosset’s Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems’ equipment at its 220-kilowatt Vektor Substation in Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous District is now operating within its full workload, the company’s PR Department for Western Siberia reports. The new power substation will be in charge of providing stable power supply to end users in Nefteyugansky Distrct and Rosneft’s RN Yuganskneftegaz. The substation is fitted with 110- and 220-kilowatt outdoor switch gears, a 35-kilowatt indoor switch gear, a general control unit, two 220-/110-kilowatt transformers

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 17, 2017. EVRAZ Holding came up with an investment project for the development of Section 29a in Yesaulskaya Mine; the in-place reserves have been estimated at over 10,000,000,000 kg of valuable GZh coal, the company press service reports. The coal-bearing layer is about 3m thick. Production is expected to take off in the third quarter of 2019, when long-face 29-37 can get started on. This project will require 1bn RUR in investments. ‘The current reserves at Yesaulskaya Mine will get used up in 2.5 years. Switching to a new layer will help us keep both the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 17, 2017. Ural Airlines recently introduced a new flight from Krasnodar to Khabarovsk (with a stopover in Irkutsk) and back, the air carrier’s press service reports. ‘Starting from May 14, 2017, our passengers will be able to enjoy this convenient route at rather appealing prices (all fees included): tickets for Krasnodar-Irkutsk flights start from 13,050 RUR (Promo), those for Krasnodar-Khabarovsk flights start from 13,270 RUR (Promo), and those for Irkutsk-Khabarovsk flights start from 11,250 RUR (one piece of luggage under 23kg included),’ the press service

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 17, 2017. Construction of forty-three apartment buildings had to be halted by Sverdlovsk Region’s developers, Deputy Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Sergey Shvindt said at the regional government’s meeting. ‘As of January 1, 2017, construction of forty-three apartment buildings had to be halted, compared with thirty-six buildings one year earlier,’ Shvindt said. According to the official, 1,97m m2 of new housing will get commissioned in the federal constituency by the end of this year. Now 2,107,500 m2 of new housing got commissioned last year, which was 14.9%

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 17, 2017. Retail trade turnover declined by 7.3% in Ural Federal District in the eleven months of 2016, Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Igor Kholmanskikh says. ‘This is a downward trend typical of all the regions in this district,’ he said. According to the official, locals’ factual incomes also shrank by 8.6% in January-November 2016. ‘Salaries and wages kept on dropping in five regions out of six in this district, with Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Region as the only exception,’ Kholmanskikh pointed out.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 16, 2017. The telecommunications provider MegaFon is launching its new FCM Partner program that will let mobile carriers unite their landline and mobile connection services within one virtual PBX, the company press service reports. Wifire’s NETBYNET was one of the first partners to join the program. The virtual PBX now has much more to offer: the services that only used to be available for landline users can now get connected to mobile phones through MegaFon’s SIM cards. FMC Partner means mobile carriers can unite their own landline services with their mobile

UrBC, Moscow, February 16, 2017. The Russian Government came up with a privatization plan for 2017-2019, their report states. Under the terms of this plan, the state should come to have smaller shareholdings in such market leaders as VTB Bank, Sovkomflot, and Alrosa. ‘The idea is to sell shares of 477 joint stock companies, 298 federal state unitary enterprises, ten limited liability companies, and over a thousand other state-owned assets to private customers,’ the report states. The Russian budget is expected to get 5.6bn RUR in terms of extra revenues every year; this estimate does not take

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 16, 2017. A very limited number of large-scale exhibitions and fairs has grown to become the Mid-Urals’ conference/exhibition sector’s key problem, Sverdlovsk Region Government’s recently adopted program on the development of exhibition/fair/conference sector in Sverdlovsk Region states. ‘Out of all the local exhibition facilities available for renting, only 5% of get used for large-scale events,’ the program states. The program’s authors say that the most successful events are those where a number of different projects unite on a single site in order to attract

UrBC, Moscow, February 16, 2017. Sverdlovsk Region was Russia’s 8th largest car market in January 2017, Avtostat Info reports. 2,228 new automobiles got sold, which was 7.7% more than in January 2016. As for the country on the whole, Russians bought 72,848 new cars, which exceeded the figures for one year earlier by 9.2%. Moscow, with its 11,742 sales deals (-24.2%), remained the largest market as usual. People based in Moscow Region bought the second largest number of cars (5,660, down 14% on last January), those based in Saint Petersburg bought 4,750 new cars (-10.1% on one year earlier).