February 27, 2014. Ural Airlines was given the 5th position in the rating of Russian civil aviation companies in terms of passenger turnover in January 2014, which was 33% better than last January, the airline's press service says. Between January 1 and 31, Ural Airlines offered its services to 335,371 passengers and operated 2,739 flights (including 895 international flights, 1,168 domestic flights, and 676 flights around the CIS). This was 25% more than in January 2013. The factual passenger turnover rose by 32% in January 2014 compared with a year earlier and came to 911,654,000

February 27, 2014. Flight 5739 Yekaterinburg-Goa by U Tair was delayed by five hours at Koltsovo Airport. 'The departure of chartered flight 5739 Yekaterinburg-Goa by U Tair was postponed from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM. This has to do with the limitations Goa Airport imposed on the arrival and departure of aircraft. The tour operator Anex Tour and U Tair Aviation Company were informed by the airport of these limitations the night before the departure date,' the airline's press service says. U Tair explained that the information on the changes of Goa Airport's limitations on the

February 27, 2014. On average, a resident of Ural Federal District spent 401 RUR at a grocery store at a time in January 2014. This was 15.2% less than in December 2013. As for Russia on the whole, the median figure in the receipt was 501 RUR, which was 2.5% less than in January 2013, Romir Holding says. The figure decreased the most for supermarkets: the bottom line figure was 20% smaller compared with December 2013 and 2% compared with January 2013. However, the figures for hypermarkets were 21% greater in December compared with November, which was the maximum figure among all the other

February 25, 2014. To celebrate Defender of the Fatherland's Day, Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation launched an educational Internet project called tankopedia.org that works along the same lines as the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, Uralvagonzavod's press service says. The main idea behind the project is to gather as much information about the history of tank-building in the world as possible. This includes not only information that is directly related to the history of this industrial sector but also data on the cultural background such as films, songs, poems,

February 25, 2014. Ural Federal District's Federal Arbitration Court confirmed the fact that OTP-Bank was violating consumer rights, Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor reports. It was detected in the course of an analysis of the bank's activity that OTP Bank's voluntary life and health insurance package for the borrowing party had a proviso on charging the borrower for joining this program, which is actually against the current legislation. The program also states that, in case the insurance agreement gets canceled before the end of the term upon the insured

February 25, 2014. 92% of people living in Zarechny approve of using nuclear energy for electric power generation. This is 25% more than in Sverdlovsk Region on average. The number of those who feel positive about the future of the Russian nuclear power plans is now 95%, Beloyarskaya Nuclear Power Station's Information & PR Department refers to the survey conducted by Remarket as stating. It should be noted that 83% of those surveyed voted for the active development of the nuclear industry, 12% of respondents would like it to stay the way it is, and nearly no one said it should be

February 25, 2014. By March 2014, first children's paralympic training groups will be set up in one of Sverdlovsk Region's state-run sports clubs to train the future Paralympics champions, Sverdlovsk Region Government's press service reports. 'In March, 16 groups of 200 children will be formed, with a focus on physical education and sports. 16 coaches have already been engaged in the project. These experts with pedagogical training underwent special professional development programs that qualify them to work with children with disabilities,' says the club director

February 25, 2014. RENOVA StroyGroup-Akademicheskoye proved No.1 among the top three housing developers in Yekaterinburg in 2013. According to the city council's press service, RENOVA StroyGroup-Akademicheskoye commissioned 137,336,000 sq m worth of housing in 2013. It left behind LSR. Nedvizhimost-Ural, which commissioned 87,592,000 sq m worth of housing, and Atomstroycomplex Corporation (82,528,000 sq m). All in all, 507 housing facilities with the total area of 855,669,000 sq m were commissioned in Yekaterinburg last year. This figure included 68 multi-storey apartment buildings with

February 24, 2014. 67% of Sverdlovsk Region residents generally approve of using nuclear energy for the production of electric power, Beloyarskaya Nuclear Power Station’s press service says based on the findings of a sociological survey conducted by an independent business research agency Remarket in late 2013. 400 residents of several towns and cities in Sverdlovsk Region were surveyed; the respondents’ sample frame reflected the local population’s socio-demographic profile. According to the survey findings, 72% of respondents feel positive about the prospects of the Russian nuclear power

February 24, 2014. First Deputy Head of Yekaterinburg Council Sergey Shvindt held a meeting on preparing football pitches for the teams that will take part in the world football championship of 2018. According to the city council press service, those present at the meeting looked into different options for reconstructing the locally run sports facilities Ural and Kalininets. To meet all of the FIFA requirements, Russia and Europe’s best designers, including some from Belgium, will be hired to work on the projects. Under the plans adopted by the council, the design and documentation work on

February 24, 2014. Ural Airlines are now offering their customers good prices on trips to China. Starting from February 19, 2014, a one-way ticket from Yekaterinburg or Chelyabinsk to Beijing will be available for just €254 (including all the fees and charges), the company’s press service says. A round trip ticket from Yekaterinburg to Beijing will cost €568 (including all the fees and charges), a ticket for Chelyabinsk-Beijing flight will be available for €559 (including all the fees and charges). Additionally, appealing prices are offered on Yekaterinburg-Harbin flights: a one-way ticket

February 24, 2014. Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (PNTZ) congratulates its current workers and long-service employees on the upcoming holiday. The solemn festivities will include some concerts, a tennis tournament, and sports competitions for students of the Future of White Metallurgy Program and soldiers of Gorny Shchit Military Unit. Special bonuses will be paid to 135 former participants in local wars who are currently employed at PNTZ, the enterprise’s press service reports. ‘Bonuses on the Defender of the Fatherland’s Day is the company’s annual tradition. Local war veterans work at PNTZ as

February 24, 2014. Criminal proceedings with charges based on Article 327 (Part 1) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code (forgery, production, or sale of altered documents, state awards, stamps, seals, or forms) were instituted against a resident of Yekaterinburg recently. Sverdlovsk Region division of the Federal Service of Court Officers reports that the man, who had 500,000 RUR worth of debts in the form of bank loans, provided the enforcement officer with a credit card account statement and a copy of the payment order. According to these documents, a portion of the debt to one of the

February 21, 2014. According to Svyaznoy, 330 smartphones worth 3.3bn RUR and 130,000 tablet computers worth 1.4bn RUR were sold in Yekaterinburg in 2013. The sales of smartphones rose by 51% (in terms of per-item quantity) and by 84% (in terms of money), the sales of tablet computers rose by 90% and 26%, respectively, the retail company's Regional Development Director Denis Sheibal said. The median price of a smartphone in Yekaterinburg came to 10,000 RUR last year (which was 13% less than a year earlier); the figure for Ural Federal District was 9,700 RUR (-10%) and the figure for

February 21, 2014. Ural Airlines recently launched the fourth flight a week to the popular tourist destination from Yekaterinburg to Prague, the air carrier's press service reports. Starting from April 2, 2014, flights to the Czech capital will be offered four times a week. In addition to the traditional Thursday, Friday, and Sunday flights, there will be another one every Wednesday.

February 21, 2014. A new employee training program was launched at Uralvagonzavod Corporation's head plant within the framework of a new, large-scale project relating to he construction of up-to-date production facilities meant for making new generation special vehicles. The implementation of this project will mean the corporation will fully meet the Russian Defense Ministry's requirements relating to the employee qualifications and the technologies applied and therefore requirements relating to the quality of special vehicles, the corporation's press service says. 'This

February 21, 2014. Boris N. Yeltsin Ural Federal University scored 14th in the rating of the most affordable Russian colleges compiled by Interrating. According to the data provided, the national rating of universities accounted, among other things, for the cost of staying in a dormitory. The nominal sum a UFU students spends every year on tuition and dormitory fees is 94,900 RUR. Siberian Federal University, where the figure came to 57,100 RUR, proved the most affordable college in Russia, followed by Tomsk National Research Polytechnic University (59,800 RUR), and Kazan National Research

February 21, 2014. There are currently 412 hotels in Sverdlovsk Region with a total of 14,256 rooms, which means the area is already prepared, in terms of quantity, to host large-scale international competitions, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region's Information Policies Department reports. Under the FIFA requirements, Sverdlovsk Region must be able to provide 7,700 hotel rooms for the Mundial players and supporters, including 1,700 rooms for the accredited representatives. The hotels must be two- to five-star ones, and to make sure the guests get good service, the hotels must have enough

February 20, 2014. United Company RUSAL's enterprises located in the Urals produced less aluminum and alumina in 2013 than a year earlier, the company's press service reports. In 2013, the Urals-based enterprises produced more than 73,000,000 kg of aluminum, 1,733,000,000 kg of alumina, and 2,498,000,000 kg of bauxite. The company does not specify how much the aluminum and alumina production outputs dropped. 'The decrease of aluminum production last year has to do with the implementation of a special program that made it necessary to put a temporary halt on aluminum production

February 20, 2014. The vehicles produced by Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation) contributed significantly to the fact that the sports players, supporters, and visitors to the grand sports show were nice and comfortable at the winter Olympics in Sochi, Uralvagonzavod's press service reports. The tractors helped to complete all the large-scale construction jobs on time and finish up with all the infrastructure that is necessary for holding such high-profile events. All in all, 55 bulldozers of different makes were