The management of the Russian social network VKontakte accused Samsung Electronics’ Russian representation and the content provider i-Free of a corrupt collusion, Interfax reports. VKontakte’s Deputy DG Ilya Perekopsky came up with a statement where he claims that at the end of 2011, the representatives of Samsung’s Russian division asked the social network to allow them to pre-install the official VKontakte app onto Samsung smartphone Android platform. VKontakte agreed to this, but Samsung representatives suddenly announced early in 2012 that they had decided to design their own Android app,

The American division of Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) TMK IPSCO is now working on the construction of a production site meant for manufacturing pipes with ULTRA premium threaded joints and for maintenance. The site is located in Edmonton, Canada. The new production line, fitted with the most advanced equipment, will produce a full range of premium threaded joints of the UTRA family. The customers will also be offered a variety of accompanying products and maintenance and repair services. The new line is expected to be launched in Edmonton at the end of 2012.

Ural Airlines keeps on with its fleet of vehicles upgrade program. One more Airbus A320 plane bearing Ural Airlines’ company colors took off in Beirut and landed in Koltsovo Airport the other day. This means the airline now operates 24 Airbus liners (fifteen A 320 ones and nine A 321 ones). Just like the other planes, this one was acquired on operating lease terms. The airplane has both business and economy class sections and is intended for operating scheduled flights. The air carrier plans to expand its Airbus collection to thirty planes by 2014 as well as to buy long-haul aircraft for

Yekaterinburg city council says that the most important strategic task in the field of local trade infrastructure development is enhancing Yekaterinburg’s role as a major interregional wholesale and retail trading center. The capital of the Urals currently houses 1,071 grocery stores and 2,660 shops selling non-food items as well as 26 shopping centers. In 2012, seven more malls are expected to open in the city. These are: RADUGA Park Shopping & Entertainment Center at the intersection of Repin St and Leningradskaya St, Panorama Shopping Center at the intersection of Malyshev St and

Sinara Pipe Plant’s net profit (calculated in accordance with the Russian Accounting Standards) amounted to 153.68m RUR in 2011, the company’s report states. The plant’s revenues rose by 23.4% and reached 27.56bn RUR.

Ukraine’s Consulate-General in Ural Federal District will relocate from Tyumen to Yekaterinburg. This news was announced at Head of Russian Federation Government Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovitch, Interfax reports. According to the Ukrainian Ambassador Vladimir Yelchenko, the consulate will move house in about one month. He also said that another Ukrainian consulate-general would be transferred from Vladivostok to Novosibirsk.

Bayer and Ural Pharmaceutical Cluster representatives met to discuss the joint production of pharmaceuticals in Russia. It was announced that the first stage of Bayer and Ural Pharmaceutical Cluster’s cooperation would consist in full-cycle production of Bayer’s medicines using the facilities of Medsintez Plant (one of Cluster’s residents) in Novouralsk. The production will make use of on both the plant’s existing facilities and the new production sites the Cluster is planning to put up. At the moment, the medicines that are expected to be manufactured in Russia are antibiotics Avelox and

Sverdlovsk Region Court overruled Yekaterinburg Leninsky District court’s putting an end to the claim laid by the Russian Authors Society against Salut Movie Theater as the case was not within the court’s jurisdiction. The plaintiff insisted on being paid the royalties that were their due. Similar decisions made at Yekaterinburg Oktyabrsky District court regarding the movie theaters Znamya, Zarya, and Yugo-Zapadny (parts of Premier Zal chain) were overruled as well. Now some changes were made to Russia’s Arbitration Procedure Code early in December 2011 which stated that cases involving

The recent Sverdlovsk Region Cabinet meeting (chaired by acting Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Vladimir Vlasov) was dedicated to implementation of the region’s strategy for the development of international and foreign economic relations. The region’s Deputy International & Foreign Economic Relations Minister Vladimir Solovarov told those present at the meeting that the number of foreign states’ representations n Yekaterinburg rose impressively in 2011. For one, the honorary consuls of the Republic of Slovakia, Nicaragua, and Luxembourg were appointed; besides, talks are being held

The public prosecution authorities of Yekaterinburg Verkh-Isetsky District and experts from Ural State Assay Supervision Inspectorate checked one of jewellery stores located at 87 Metallurgov St in Yekaterinburg for compliance with the existing legislation on precious metals and precious stones. In fact, the store is located in MEGA Shopping Center. According to Article 10 (part 3) of the Federal Precious Metals and Precious Stones Act, Russia is a country with the state monopoly over assaying of and marking with the state assay mark pieces of jewellery and other consumer goods made of

Uralmashzavod intends to renounce its right to the unlimited use of forty-one land allotments. This issue is to be considered at the company’s BOD meeting on March 27, 2012, the company reports.

Mercedes Benz RUS is looking for regional investors with experience in the automobile business to set up Mercedes Benz dealership centers. The company explains that what they have in mind is the sales and after-sales services centers for passenger and low-tonnage vehicles in Bryansk, Kurgan, Kursk, Murmansk, Novokuznetsk, Orel, Petrozavodsk, Pskov, Smolensk, Tambov, Ulyanovsk, Veliky Novgorod, Vologda, and Yekaterinburg. They also need maintenance centers for passenger and low-tonnage vehicles in Kazan and sales and after-sales services centers for passenger and low-tonnage vehicles in

Sverdlovsk Region public prosecution authorities for transportation and the state inspector from the interregional electricity- and energy-generating equipment surveillance department checked Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg for compliance with the legislation that regulates issues relating to operation, maintenance and repairs of electricity-generating units at the airport. The inspection had to do with the short circuit failure in Terminal A security check lounge on January 12, 2011. It was detected that the circuit failure had been caused by a violation of the rules set for technical

RosTransAvto became the official dealer of a major Turkish holding SANKO MAKINA San. ve Tic. A.S. The company now supplies SANKO MAKINA’s excavator-loaders and telehandlers under MST brand. Over the last few years, SANKO MAKINA has been gaining more and more popularity in the ’middle-class’ market segment thanks to the best value for the money it offers. All the machinery acquired from the official dealer RosTransAvto is protected by warranty.

Russian Railways Public Company suggested treating every deficiency in large-scale car casting as a potential breaking-off point and therefore calling off the manufacturing plant’s certificate of compliance, the company reports. Now in 2011, 24 solebars got broken, including 14 cases when this was the Ukrainian Azovelectrostal and the Ukrainian Kremenchug Steel-Casting Plant’s fault (11 and 3 cases, respectively). Besides, 12 solebars of freight bogies got broken this year, including four bogies made by Azovelectrostal and four more bogies produced at Ukrainian Kremenchug Steel-Casting Plant.

The Secretary-General of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales came to Yekaterinburg on a business visit. He started his tour of the city with a meeting with Russia’s acting Industry & Trade Minister Denis Manturov, who chairs EXPO 2020 application committee. The BIE top official then paid a visit to the Cathedral on Blood in the company of Governor Alexander Misharin, EXPO 2020 Application Committee’s DG Eric Bugulov, Russia’s Deputy Industry & Trade Minister Georgy Kalamanov, Russia’s Soviet of the Federation member Arkady Chernetsky, and

The potential sites for hosting EXPO 2020 in Yekaterinburg look suitable for the World Universal Exhibition and will promote the city’s dynamic development, the Secretary-General of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales said after he took a tour of the city in the company of Governor Alexander Misharin. Loscertales visited the international exhibition center Yekaterinburg EXPO – one of the potential sites for hosting the world fair. He was updated on the plans relating to the development of the area which has been dubbed Novokoltsovsky District, and was also

The Secretary-General of Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales will be working in Yekaterinburg tomorrow. This is the official’s first visit to Yekaterinburg, and it should give the secretary-general an opportunity to personally get acquainted with the city and meet both the representatives of EXPO 2020 application committee and the municipal and regional government officials in order to discuss Yekaterinburg’s application process and look into the details of the announced theme: Global Mind: Uniting All Humanity in a Single Conversation’. Loscertales is

A consortium of investors comprising the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFPI), RusEnergo Fund, Xenon Capital Partners, and the infrastructure fund Macquarie Renaissance signed the papers on the acquisition of a 26.43% shareholding in Enel OGK-5 from Inter RAO UES. The deal was approved of at Inter RAO UES BOD meeting. It is reported that the Russian Direct Investment Fund is investing $137.5m in the deal, while the other consortium members contribute $487.5m. The transaction amounts to a fixed $625m payment and an additional sum of up to $125m. The buying-in process will be completed after

Khanty-Mansiysky Bank insists that Ural Instrument-Making Plant be declared insolvent; this was the claim the bank placed with Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court. The date of the preliminary hearing of the case has not been set yet. In fact, this very same court is now processing a number of claims laid by the plant against the bank, for one, the claim where the plant insists that the mortgage on a boiler house and a land allotment in Sverdlovsk Region’s Sysert District be declared free of encumbrances, and the claim where the plant insists that the encumbrances on the mortgage on