July 3, 2013. The FIFA’s Secretary-General Jérôme Valcke praised Russia’s success in preparation for the world football championship of 2018 and said, ‘Nothing needs to be changed in this smooth working process,’ ITAR-TASS reports. ‘A group of Russian delegates were staying in Brazil during the Confederation Cup, and they learned about the organization of contests. The delegation was headed by the World Cup 2018 Coordination Committee Alexei Sorokin,’ Valcke told the news agency. The FIFA’s Secretary-General pointed out that the preparations for the championship in Russia would be done in

July 3, 2013. Ural Airlines is offering a special price for its Moscow-Podgorica-Moscow flights. Starting July 3, 2013, a round trip ticket will be available for ?190 and a one-way ticket can be bought for ?150 (excluding the fees). The ticket sale was launched today. What’s more, a 90% discount is offered for passengers who are under 2 years old. Ural Airlines’ flights from Moscow to Podgorica and back are operated every Saturday using a comfortable Airbus liner that has both economy and business class sections. Montenegro is a little jewel of the Adriatic. It has its wide, snow-white

July 3, 2013. The Federal Financial Markets Service (FSFR) registered a case when insider information was used unlawfully by one of Concern Kalina’s top managers; the information had to do with the company’s shares. The service is going to forward these files to the law-enforcement authorities in the nearest future, Head of the FSFR Dmitri Pankin’s blog states. ‘In the fall of 2011, many of the stock market players, the media, and the business community representatives noticed that Concern Kalina’s shares went up; this was just before Unilever RUS bought a controlling shareholding in the

July 3, 2013. Yaroslavl Ore Mining Company (OOO YarGRK) stopped producing ore and doing repair jobs on its premises in Maritime Territory, RIA Novosti refers to the company’s trade union representative as saying. The representative said it was done in order to cut personnel expenses, so 126 employees had to go on unplanned vacations. The stoppage is expected to last until July 31, but the company’s management might decide to prolong this. OOO YarGRK is Russia’s only producer and supplier of fluorite concentrate that is necessary for making primary aluminum. RUSAL came to own this company in

July 3, 2013. Only 38 hotels in Yekaterinburg have gone through a government certification procedure, which makes up 36% of the total number of hotels in the city. As for Sverdlovsk Region on the whole, only 10% of local hotels have been certified so far. ‘This year, two more hotels applied for a voluntary government certification procedure, thus the number of certified hotels will come to 38 hotels by the end of the year, including 2 five-star ones, 12 four-star ones, 20 three-star ones, 2 two-star ones, and 2 mini-hotels,’ Chairman of Yekaterinburg Council Consumer Services Committee Maxim

July 2, 2013. Over the last month, ventilating equipment has been assembled, 110-kilowatt lead-in insulators have been installed, and pull pits have been assembled at the 80-megawatt Sportivnaya Substation, Yekaterinburg Electric Grid Company reports. Now this new addition to Yekaterinburg energy supply network located in Mashinnaya St-Tsiolkovsky St will supply electric power to the locals living in Mashinnaya St, Shchors St, some parts of Botanichesky District, and Southern Coach Terminal. What is more, the new substation will offer new opportunities for technological hook-up of new

July 2, 2013. A delegation from the Russian-Arab Business Council will take part in the Innoprom 2013 exhibition in Yekaterinburg on July 11-14, 2013. The Council’s Deputy Director Vladislav Lutsenko will also hold negotiations with the representatives of Sverdlovsk Region business community, the press service of Sverdlovsk Region Government reports. The agenda of the exhibition covers for a round table discussion on the development of the industrial infrastructure and the prospects of Russia-the Arab world cooperation. Talks will be given by the representatives of the Arab countries

July 2, 2013. Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Evgeniy Kuivashev approved of the main directions chosen for the development of tourism in the region through clusters. The Governor’s Information Policies Department reports that up to 60% of the Region’s area is expected to be involved in the tourism industry. At the moment, only about 20% are used, this 20% being mainly Yekaterinburg and places along Yekaterinburg-Nizhniy Tagil freeway. ‘We definitely need a totally new share of incoming tourism on the market. The Mid-Urals have every opportunity to show the entire range of tourist attractions it

July 2, 2013. Starting July 1, the rates set for six kinds of communal housing services went up by 10 to 15% on average in Sverdlovsk Region and in the rest of Russia. This increase was announced as early as last year and was explained by the necessity of the country’s socioeconomic development. In Sverdlovsk Region, the upper limit on an increase in retail prices of natural and liquefied gas and heating energy is set at 15% for private households. The water and central heating rates rose by 12% on average. In Russia on the whole, the heating and water supply rates grew by 10% on average. The

July 1, 2013. Head of Uralvagonzavod Railway Carriage Assembly Department Leonid Matveyev was elected the honorary citizen of Nizhniy Tagil. The overwhelming majority of the municipal Duma deputies voted for his candidacy, Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s press service reports. Leonid Matveyev was born in Serebryanka, Prigorodny District, Sverdlovsk Region, in 1951. He came to work at the corporation in 1970 and stayed with the Railway Carriage Assembly Department for over 36 years, moving from an electric welder to the head of this department that is known for the

July 1, 2013. Galatea, a first-class ballet studio at Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ, a member of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation) Palace of Culture, performed very successfully in Tidal Wave, an international children’s contest held in Tuapse. The holding’s press service reports that the little ballerinas took back home with them to the South Urals five laureates’ certificates (four first-degree ones and one second-degree one). ‘Not a single out of twenty classical dance casts (including those from Abkhazia, Ukraine, and different parts of Russia) was able to get as

July 1, 2013. Rosatom Corporation is one of the world’s nuclear technologies market leader and is currently working on a number of power-generating units for nuclear power stations in Russia and abroad, acting Designer-in-Chief of Hydropress Vladimir Piminov said at the opening of the international industrial forum Atomexpo 2013. ‘The Russian nuclear industry is one of the world’s most advanced in terms of R&D in the field of reactor and fuel design, nuclear power stations maintenance, and personnel qualifications. Our enterprises have enormous experience in solving large-scale problems,

July 1, 2013. This year, the Innoprom 2013 exhibition will serve as a venue for discussing relevant fields in which the Russian industry could develop with a number of foreign experts; the key findings of this discussion will be used for drafting a special bill on the country’s industrial policy that will be ready as soon as by the end of 2013, Russia’s Deputy Minister for Industry & Science Georgiy Kalamanov told the media at a press conference that took place in Moscow on the eve of the Inventor & Innovator’s Day. 510 companies from 70 different countries will join the 4th

July 1, 2013. 37,501 new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in Yekaterinburg in January-May 2013, which was 5%, or 1,814 cars less than in the first five months of 2012. According to Auto-Dealer-Yekaterinburg, 7,923 cars were sold in the city in May 2013, which was 14%, or 1,246 cars less than a year earlier. This is the greatest drop in sales over the course of one month after the peak of the recession passed in 2009. Lada was still the best-selling car on Yekaterinburg market in the five months of this year. As for the foreign cars, the top three are KIA, Hyundai, and –

June 27, 2013. Ural Airlines is now converting to Amadeus, a modern online check-in system that will first be introduced for some of the flights that depart from Yekaterinburg and will later on be launched for all of the company’s other flights, the airline’s press service reports. Very soon, Ural Airlines Yekaterinburg passengers will be able to enjoy the benefits of Amadeus online check-in system. The check-in process will get faster and easier and will thus save one’s time, while the updated user interface will make every check-in step effortless. The boarding card will be new, too: all

June 27, 2013. Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) is going to pay a dividend of 2.194bn RUR for the year 2012. According to the company’s press service, this was the decision taken at the annual general meeting in Moscow. Besides, the meeting resulted in the approval of the annual report and of the annual accounting report for 2012.

June 27, 2013. The net profit of Yekaterinburg Electrical Grid Company came to 388.13m RUR in 2012. Most of this money (372.14m RUR) will be directed to investment, 15.98m RUR will be used to pay dividend. These decisions were made at the annual general meeting, where a new BOD comprising 9 members was also selected, the company’s press service reports. The AGM was held by Yekaterinburg Electrical Grid Company on June 21, 2013; the points on the agenda covered issues relating to profit distribution, the payment of dividends, selecting the new Board of Directors and the audit team, and

June 27, 2013. According to a recent market research called the Russian Freights Market: Current State of Affairs and Forecasts, slightly less than a half of the country’s fleet of freight cars was made up of gondola cars in January 2013, and out of these gondola cars, more than 25% were past their lifespan limits, RBC reports. Then, 24% of the freight cars pool was made up of tankers and over 16% was made up of platforms and covered trucks. As of January 2013, First Freight Company was Russia’s largest freight cars operator: it is using slightly more than 15% of the country’s fleet of

June 27, 2013. There will be fewer non-industrial companies featured at the International Exhibition Innoprom 2013, Formica State Corporation’s PR Director Anton Attrashkin said at a press conference in Yekaterinburg. However, Forimica’s DG Maxim Zverkov explained that the international exhibition was still open for all kinds of exhibitors. ‘Anyone who is willing to do so can take part in the exhibition. The thing is, non-industrial companies drop out naturally because the event does not involve their target audience, so there soon will be no medical enterprises at Innoprom,’ Zverkov said.

June 26, 2013. Three B-11 bulldozers made by ChTZ-Uraltrac (a member of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation) arrived in the village of Ust-Neira in the east of Yakutia. According to the corporation’s press service, it took the bulldozers two and a half months to travel from Chelyabinsk to Oimyakon District through Magadan, where the company’s local service center is located. ‘Poisk Prospectors’ Crew selected a new make of the tractor with the final reduction gear and hydromechanical transmission. What is more, the machines have the Webasto pre-heater and double glazing of