April 14, 2014. In 2013, the natural increase in population in Yekaterinburg was 2.7 times greater than a year earlier; this was announced at the city healthcare committee meeting. According to Yekaterinburg Council’s press service, demographic experts say 23,227 people were born in the Mid-Urals’ capital in 2013, and 16,097 people passed away. This means that natural population increase (excluding the data on immigrants) was 7,130 people. ‘This is the biggest figure since the Soviet times. Compare this with 3,282 people in 2012 and 2,175 people in 2011,’ experts report. According to Deputy

April 14, 2014. On April 12, 1969, the first set of industrial tractors T-130 was embarked upon at Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation). According to the corporation’s press service, the new tractor came to replace the T-100 make, which proved the bestseller of the 60s. ‘The machine was designed by a large team of designers from the plant’s lab chaired by Ivan Kavyarov. It was he who coined the term ‘industrial tractor’ – the collocation was faced with some skepticism on the experts’ part at first, but was later fully adopted into scientific and

April 11, 2014. Training Center of Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ, a member enterprise of ChTPZ Group) is going to select the winners of the 2nd local professional championship WorldSkills Russia-2014 today. According to the company's press service, contests were held in 16 different categories (IT helpdesk, graphic designer, welder, fashion designer, beautician, and others) on April 9-11. Over 250 people from 31 educational establishments and 11 cities of Ural Federal District attended the championship, and more than 3,000 high school students attended the event as spectators. The

April 11, 2014. Rosaviation Committee granted Orenburg Airlines permission to operate Yekaterinburg-New York and Yekaterinburg-Los Angeles flights. The updated list of authorized destinations was published on the agency's website. The said flights will be operated three times a week on Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

April 11, 2014. Seversky Pipe Plant (STZ, a member enterprise of Pipe Metallurgical Company/TMK)), launched a poetry project called 275 Lines in celebration of the enterprise's 275th anniversary. 'The idea behind the project is to promote amateur poets and help the plant's employees and their children reveal their creative potential and broaden their communication networks. Poetry Night was coordinated at Seversky Blast Furnace Museum; the evening's theme was spring, nature's rebirth, and love of one's motherland,' TMK press service says. Poets read their

April 11, 2014. Burevestnik Scientific Research Institute (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) held a meeting headed by Deputy Chairman of the Military-Industrial Committee under the Russian Federation Government Oleg Bochkarev on problems relating to fulfilling the government defense order for Koalitsia SV and on production of a pilot batch of samples that will take part in the Victory Day Parade in 2015, the corporation's press service says. The meeting was attended by officials from federal executive bodies, managers and employees from defense enterprises, and members

April 11, 2014. The number of Internet users over 18 years of age in Ural Federal District rose by 9.3% in 2013, Yandex newsletter on the Internet development in Russian federal constituencies says. Also, the number of users who access the Internet from their mobile gadgets increased by 70% last year. The number of Yekaterinburg residents over 55 years age who use the Internet went up by 10%. At the same time, the monthly fees for access to the Internet in Yekaterinburg are still among the highest compared with Moscow and Saint Petersburg. In Yekaterinburg, 500 to 600 RUR a month guaranteed

April 10, 2014. The warehouse market remains the most under-supplied segment of the commercial estate. Rent for Class A and B+ warehouses is now back to its pre-recession level, Ural Chamber of Real Estate's press service says. According to the chamber's analysts, there are no available warehouse in the good quality segment (Class A and B+), and quite a few storage units run waiting lists with names of tenants. All of this is conducive to rent growth. 'Rent for Class A and B+ warehouses is now back to its pre-recession level, rising by 4% over the last year alone and by 56%

April 10, 2014. According to the Ural Chamber of Real Estate's Analytical Department, the asking price of a square meter of housing on Yekaterinburg existing homes market was 74,308 RUR on average as of April 7, 2014, the chamber's press service reports. The figure keeps going up gradually by about 0.1% a week. The overall figure was up 2.1% compared with the beginning of the year. Now the supply on Yekaterinburg existing homes market has been dropping since New Year by up to 1.5% a week. The number of apartments for sale in the Ural Chamber of Real Estate's database has

April 10, 2014. Uralvagonzavod Corporation embarked upon a new, large-scale project on the construction of an up-to-date clinic in Dzerzhinsky District of Nizhniy Tagil that will have all the best facilities. The clinic will offer medical services not only to employees of the corporation's head plant but also to their family members, the corporation's press service says. The clinic is meant for out-patient and diagnostics servicing of 850 people per shift and for 150 medical checkups a day (these are the norms set out by the current Russian legislation). According to the future Dean

April 10, 2014. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) shipped two TR 12 pipe-laying cranes to ALROSA. According to the corporation's press service, the vehicles were completed in the so-called northern set, that is, with options that will help the machines operate more efficiently in the harsh conditions of the Polar North: double glazing and heating in the pit and an engine pre-heater. 'The vehicles were shipped on railway platforms; their final destination is the village of Mirniy, where they will be used to maintain the infrastructure

April 10, 2014. Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg offered its services to 858,380 passengers in the first three months of 2014, which is 10.4% more than a year earlier. The number of domestic flights went up by 15.2%, the number of international flights went up by 5.1%, the airport's press service said. 467,970 people flew on domestic flights in the first quarter of 2014, the increase was 15.1%; 390,40 0 people flew on international flights (plus 5.1%). The number of sorties rose by 9% and came to 5,200. The number of scheduled flights increased from 84 to 94. The passenger traffic rose

April 9, 2014. The metrological park of Novouralsk-based Ural Electrochemical Works is now fitted with new, up-to-date calibration equipment, the enterprise’s press service says. The electronic mass comparer that helps to compare the mass of a tested item with the reference one is one of the latest developments. The beauty of this unit lies in the high objectivity of measurements, relative compactness and advanced software. Besides, the new mass comparer can complete multiple observations and calculate mean square deviation and dispersion independently. ‘These operations are quite important

April 9, 2014. According to a market research on the local business centers conducted by Ural-Hermes, a consultant firm, the amount of office space commissioned in Yekaterinburg is currently twice as large as the amount of demand, which means the market competition is about to get more fierce, the firm’s press service reports. ‘In 2013, Yekaterinburg office space market increased by 120,000 sq m. Developers are planning on launching the same amount this year. At the same time, only 50,000 to 80,000 sq m worth of office space gets rented yearly, which, analysts believe, means there is a more

April 9, 2014. The net revenue of Transport Machine-Building Design Bureau (KBTM, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod) amounted to more than 7,006,462,000 RUR (VAT excluded) in 2013, which was 139% more than a year earlier. According to the corporation’s press service, KBTM’s net profit was also better than in 2012 and reached 120,306,000 RUR. ‘In many respects, this has to do with an increase in the number of orders. Besides, the enterprise is currently Russia’s only producer of caterpillar tracks for armored vehicles. KBTM was also declared one of the largest taxpayers in Omsk Region last

April 9, 2014. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Corporation) shipped one of its B10M bulldozers to its dealer in the Czech Republic. ‘The company’s sales partner found a customer for this vehicle; the customer was lured in by the reasonable price combined with a dependable mechanism with mechanical transmission. The bulldozer is fitted with a mulcher and has an electric starter, which makes the launch of the diesel engine much easier and makes the vehicle easier to operate,’ the corporation’s press service says. After the bulldozer has been delivered on

April 9, 2014. The local Public Property Management Ministry proposed in the course of Sverdlovsk Region Government meeting on April 8, 2014 raising the authorized capital of Ural Exhibition Center by 286m RUR. UrBC reporter says the Ministry intends to do this through an investment funded from the local budget. This money will be directed to paying off the Center’s debts to Sberbank of Russia (the loan had actually been guaranteed by Sverdlovsk Region).

April 8, 2014. MMK (Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works) Director-General Pavel Shilyayev confirmed the company's Environmental Program for 2014, the company says. This year's Environmental Program provides for 63 different projects worth a total of some 2,035m RUR, including 1,898m RUR to be spent on environmental projects within MMK itself, and 137m RUR will be spent within MMK Group enterprises. The reconstruction of sulphur-filtering units in the ore mining and processing facility, the reconstruction of the coke gas cooling unit 1 in the coke department, and the construction of

April 8, 2014. The number of industrial accidents amounted to 421 in 2013, which was 17% lower in 2013 compared with 2012, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region's Information Policies Department refers to the local division of State Labor Inspectorate as reporting. According to the head of the inspectorate Nikolai Shedlovsky, workers in the building industry were mainly injured due to falling down from heights, vehicle accidents, getting hit by falling objects, and so on. 'If you look into industrial accidents, you can come to the conclusion that their number tends to go down,'

April 8, 2014. Professional re-training courses in Industrial Electronics were offered at Uralvagonzavod Corporation's head plant for the first time. The corporation's press service says that this training is part of the enterprise's cooperation program with Novouralsk Technological Institute, a division of National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute). 'This educational establishment is Uralvagonzavod's long-term partner. The school-leavers of Nizhniy Tagil obtained blue-collar skills thanks to our cooperation with Novouralsk