February 27, 2015. A federally owned land allotment near Novo-Sverdlovskaya Power Station that is over 100 hectares big and two pieces of land in Istok that are 33 and 35 hectares big will be allocated to Sverdlovsk Region, the Governor’s press service reports. The first slot is expected to be used to set up an industrial park. According to Sverdlovsk Region Public Property Management Minister Alexei Pyankov, this will create at least 7,000 jobs in the machine-building, food manufacturing, construction, and telecommunications sectors. ‘Besides, the ministry’s proposal that the two land

February 26, 2015. A group of deceived housing construction investors are going to protest in Yekaterinburg once again on February 26. The event will take place at the city’s main square at 4 PM, Power in Movement, the NGO created to protect the rights of deceived participatory share housing construction investors, reports. ‘Sverdlovsk Region’s housing construction sector is on the brink of a deep recession. Up to a half of all the construction sites in the area might be frozen indefinitely very soon. Consequently, a number of deceived housing investors will go up; these people won’t be able

February 26, 2015. 10 Sverdlovsk Region-based towns might be affected by the upcoming springtime floods, the local Cabinet’s website states. This year, the water level is expected to reach its upper limit in the areas around the River Tavda and the River Ufa. As a result, Karpinsk, Krasnoufimsk, Irbit, Baikalovo, Turinskaya Sloboda, Makhnevo, Turinsk, Talitsa, Serov, and Tavda might feel the impact of the floods.

February 26, 2015. Last year, Russian micro-financing organizations’ clients used to borrow money primarily to buy home appliances or gifts for relatives or to fund household repairs; however, in the last quarter of 2014, there was an increase in the number of loans taken out to buy groceries and everyday goods. This trend is expected to continue this year, Bystrodengi reports. This micro-financing business predicts that while the population’s nominal income remains the same and the inflation rate keeps rising, blue-collar workers, public sector employees, and retirees – the micro-lending

February 26, 2015. Moody’s demoted ratings of eleven Russian Federation constituencies, including one located in Ural Federal District, namely, Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Region, RBC reports. In fact, Moody’s has already demoted Russia’s overall rating from Baa3 to Ba1, with Negative rating outlook. This, in its turn, affected the rating of eleven constituencies: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Region, Samara Region, the Republic of Komi, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Belgorod Region, Nizhniy Novgorod Region, Vologda Region, and the Republic of Mordovia.

February 26, 2015. Yekaterinburg Kirovsky District Court pronounced a verdict of guilty on Dmitri Luzhnov, who was involved in a criminal lawsuit with charges based on large-scale copyright infringement (Article 146 (Part 2) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code), the press officer of Sverdlovsk Region public prosecution authorities reports. It was determined by the court that Luzhnov advertised his software installation services online in December 2014. He then obtained illegal distribution copies of Microsoft software products on the Internet and kept them in order to sell later. On the

February 26, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant is going to pay the college tuition fees of its future employees that are expected to be hired at the Nizhniy Tagil site as well as at the other member enterprises of the corporation, including Ural Transport Machine-Building Design Office and ChTZ Uraltrac. According to the corporation’s press service, the Russian Federation Education & Science Ministry provided positions for 74 students that will be hired by the corporation, including 10 positions for ChTZ Uraltrac. For the first time, students on the special-purpose program

February 25, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation and DG Oleg Sienko are taking part in IDEX 2015, an international exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the corporation’s press service says. ‘In addition to Nizhniy Tagil’s Uralvagonzavod representatives, employees of Omsktransmash, Uraltransmash, ChTZ Uraltrac, Burevestnik, and Plant 9 were among the delegates at the exhibition. The corporation’s 185-meter stand features a life-size sample of its upgraded tank T90C, with special options for the Arab countries. For the first time, the tank is stationed inside

February 25, 2015. Russian Industry & Trade Minister Denis Manturov presented the 10th International Arms & Munitions Exhibition RussiaArmsExpo 2015 at IDEX 2015 in Abu Dhabi. This year, RAE will take place in Nizhniy Tagil on September 9-12. According to Uralvagonzavod Corporation, the event’s general coordinator, the minister told the RAE’s potential partners about the unique opportunities the exhibition offers. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s Director-General Oleg Sienko and Director-General of Business Dialogue Anatoly Kitsura took part in Denis Manturov’s presentation of the event.

February 25, 2015. META (a member enterprise of ChTPZ Group) sold 1,357,000,000 kg of scrap ferrous metal in 2014; this was 17% better than in 2013 (1,161,000,000 kg). The figure includes 763,000,000 kg of the Group’s own scrap metal and 594,000,000 kg of transit one, the Group’s press service says. The increase in sales has to do with the fact that the company has been creating more supplies to provide enough pipe ingots for the Group’s weldless pipe production as well as with the fact that the company bought transit scrap metal from external contractors on improved terms. META Perm, META

February 25, 2015. All of Sverdlovsk Region’s industries are at least 50% import-dependent, local Industry & Science Minister Andrei Misyura said at a press conference in Yekaterinburg. According to Misyura, the pharmaceutical sector is 72% import-dependent, the oil and gas sector’s and the machine-building sector’s import dependency comes to 60%. The minister pointed out that a few of local enterprises could enjoy a product monopoly as far as the Russian market goes, yet their share of the home market is only 10%. He also said that eighteen out of eighty-two local processing enterprises

February 25, 2015. Migrant workers are less interested in finding a job in Russia because of the devaluation of the ruble and stricter migration regulations, Farukh Mirzoyev, chairman of a Sverdlovsk Region-based NGO called Somon Tajik Culture Society, told UrBC. According to Mirzoyev, the depreciation of the Russian currency is a negative factor. ‘It’s not all that simple, however. The economies of the CIS member states are tightly interwoven with that of Russia, so the Russian problems can’t help affecting the Central Asian republics: jobs and incomes are shrinking there, too,’ he

February 24, 2015. Kamensk Uralsky Foundry Plant (KULZ, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) is going to invest about 1bn RUR in reconstruction of friction discs used in its special-purpose machinery. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s press service reports the repairs are part of a special-purpose government program that is co-financed by the state budget funds (60%) and KULZ itself (40%). The project is to be completed by the end of 2017. ‘The program’s primary goal is to ensure import replacement. KULZ is to replace their Ukrainian supplier of friction discs, which is why building

February 24, 2015. Ural Airlines are going to launch a new scheduled flight from Chelyabinsk to Saint Petersburg in early March, the airline’s press service reports. The flight from Chelyabinsk will be operated on Mondays and Thursdays starting March 12; starting April 4, another flight on Saturday will be available as well. The return flight from Saint Petersburg will be operated every Thursday and Sunday (starting from March 12) and every Friday (starting from April 4). ‘The new flight offers Chelyabinsk residents a convenient timetable for tourist and business trips to Saint Petersburg as

February 24, 2015. Last year’s yield of local potatoes will disappear from Sverdlovsk Region markets in April, Sverdlovsk Region Agriculture Minister Mikhail Kopytov informed UrBC. He explained this had to do with lack of refrigerating equipment to store all the vegetables. ‘Our potatoes and carrots will have to leave the market between April and July: we don’t have any refrigerators in our warehouses, all things are stored at room temperatures,’ the minister said. Apart from potatoes, local cabbage and carrot supplies were also said to be insufficient. According to the minister, Sverdlovsk

February 24, 2015. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service ruled that MTS Bank’s advertising was unfit for the purpose, the service’s press service reports. The advertisement for the bank’s Hot Deposit offer was distributed in Moscow Underground in the form of 20x40cm and 30x40cm stickers in September and October 2014 and on billboards in several Russian cities, including Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. The large print read, ‘Hot Deposit, interest up 12% p.a.’ The other terms of the deposit offer (the ones affecting the final income a customer would make) were given in small, white print against

February 24, 2015. Yekaterinburg came fifth on the list of Russian cities most popular with tourists, the city council refers to TripAdvisor’s data as stating. ‘Ten cities were featured in the rating based on the website users’ ratings of landmarks, hotels, and cafes and restaurants. Moscow and Saint Petersburg are predictably at the top; Yekaterinburg was ahead of Yaroslavl, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Krasnodar, and Suzdal. The rating’s authors said Yekaterinburg, with its plethora of theatres, museums, libraries, and quite a few monuments (including some very unconventional ones) was a place for

February 20, 2015. Carl’s Jr., a premium fast food chain, reopened at Yekaterinburg’s Greenwich Mall. According to the representatives of 73 Malyshev St Society, the restaurant will be operating in exactly the same spot as before and will retain all of its quality and excellent customer service. The place was closed down in January when Yarkaya Zvezda, the franchise holder, announced several of its outlets would have to go into liquidation, including the one in Yekaterinburg. This had to with the country’s economic instability. The franchise was then purchased by another company which had the

February 20, 2015. Yekaterinburg rental market hasn’t had any shortage of supply for a while now, Guram Tukhashvili of Ural Chamber of Real Estate’s Analytic Center told UrBC. ‘According to the Chamber’s database, the rental prices have been going down lately. As early as two years ago, the median monthly rent came to 33,000 RUR and now it only stands at about 22,000 RUR. Quite a few new apartment buildings are put up in Yekaterinburg every year, so the supply is increasingly on the rise,’ Tukhashvili says. He believes the demand is gradually going down since some families who used to have to

February 20, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation is going to present its promising special vehicles at the International Defence Exhibition in Abu Dhabi this year, the corporation’s press service reports. The corporation’s two-floor, 185-m2 stand will be complemented by an upgraded T90C tank. The vehicle will be presented with a number of new options that are based on the latest trends in the armored vehicle industry and that make the tank fit for the area’s climatic conditions. ‘The display will be a static show with a set of presentations; this means the customers will be able to get