An inspection conducted by Sverdlovsk Region environmental prosecution authorities detected a number of grave violations of the water code by Yekaterinburg division of PepsiCo Holdings. It was detected that the organization has been dumping insufficiently cleaned wastewater in the River Iset, and the amount of such water reached nearly 13,000 cubic meters in 2010 alone; this was confirmed by the results of chemical lab tests carried out by the Hygiene & Epidemiology Center for Railway Transport. In August-September 2011, the maximum permissible discharge norms were exceeded by 2.5 times

Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation dumped 6,600 tons of polluting agents in the air last year, which amounted for 5.8% of all the emissions in the town of Nizhniy Tagil. These data are available from the public report on the state of and condition of Sverdlovsk Region environment in 2010. The report was compiled on the basis of information provided by state statistical bodies, environmental surveillance agencies, state-run environmental protection bodies, and leading environmentalist and conservationist organizations.

TransCreditBank is to sell 3.5% of Ural Transport Bank’s shares by auction on December 16, 2011. This shareholding belongs to Russian Railways Public Company, the bank’s website states. The opening bid was set at 36.8m RUR. Applications can be submitted between October 31 and December 5, Interfax-Ural reports. Russian Railways is reported to have 9.3% of the bank’s shares altogether.

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) came up with a report on its innovations efforts. The company’s scientific and technological policies and implementation of innovations are mainly handled by the science and technology center, the company reports. The center comprises the Central Control Lab, a patent and licensing group, and an R & D group. According to MMK Director-General Boris Dubrovsky, the center’s efforts are focused on several fields, the main one being the development of new product types production technologies for the company’s existing equipment. First and foremost,

Nizhniy Tagil Iron & Steel Works dumped 65,100 tons of polluting agents in the air last year, which amounted for 56.9% of all the emissions in the town of Nizhniy Tagil. These data are available from the public report on the state of and condition of Sverdlovsk Region environment in 2010. The report was compiled on the basis of information provided by state statistical bodies, environmental surveillance agencies, state-run environmental protection bodies, and leading environmentalist and conservationist organizations.

The Russian Federation is going to contribute to Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s authorized capital with shares of state-owned joint stock companies, including a 42.48% shareholding in Tver Carriage-Building Plant, Prime reports. In addition, Uralvagonzavod’s capital will comprise a 19.88% holding in Burevestnik Scientific Research Institute, a 13.93% shareholding in Plant No.9, a 13.19% shareholding in Ural Transport Machine-Building Plant, an 8.5% shareholding in Electromachine, and a 7.91% shareholding in Engines Scientific Research Institute. The shares will be

UTair Engineering made 60.1m RUR in terms of net profit in the third quarter of 2011, the company’s official report states. The enterprise’s net loss amounted to 525.67m RUR in January-June 2011, so by September, the figure came to 465.57m RUR, Interfax-Ural reports. It was also announced earlier than in nine months of 2010, the company’s net loss came to 191.3m RUR, which means that a year later, the figure increased by 2.4 times compared with January-September 2010.

Ural Federal University officially confirmed the fact that some of its grad school students have been drafted to serve in the Russian Federation Armed Forces. Among those students, for example, are the MScs from Ural Energy Institute’s Department of Turbines & Engines Vitaly Blinov and Andrei Deminov. The university authorities admit there is nothing they can do to help their students. It has been reported that the said students are now preparing a letter addressed to Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin, who is the Chairman of UFU Supervisory Board.

Uralelectromed accumulated 5,700 tons of Grade III environmentally hazardous waste in the year 2010. These data are available from the public report on the state of and condition of Sverdlovsk Region environment in 2010. The report was compiled on the basis of information provided by state statistical bodies, environmental surveillance agencies, state-run environmental protection bodies, and leading environmentalist and conservationist organizations.

Under the order of Russia’s Federal Customs Service, former Head of Kurgan Customs Alexei Kizerev was appointed Head of Yekaterinburg Customs. Alexei Kizerev was born in Pervouralsk, Sverdlovsk Region, in 1973. He graduated from Ural State Law Academy in 1996 and from the Russian Customs Academy in 2001. He has held various positions in the customs system since 1996, starting as Class II inspector at Urals Customs Administration Customs Value & Currency Control Department. Mr. Kizerev has medals ‘For Customs Service’ (III degree), Russia’s Federal Customs Service’s honorary certificate,

Russian Chrome 1915 accumulated 7,385,800 tons of Grade III environmentally hazardous waste by the end of last year. These data are available from the public report on the state of and protection of the environment in Sverdlovsk Region in 2010. The report was compiled on the basis of data provided by the state statistical bodies and environmental surveillance agencies as well as by governmental bodies in charge of environmental protection and large environmentalist and conservationist organizations.

Ural Airlines reached an important borderline recently: the carrier offered its services to the 2,000,000th passenger of this year. Ural Airlines’ passenger turnover usually increases by a third every year. In 2011, the airline flew its 1,000,000th passenger of the year a month earlier than in 2010. What is more, the number of the company’s customers has exceeded two million for the first time this year. Now all the passengers who were given promotional fliers with a special company code on board Ural Airlines’ plane can get additional 500 bonus points in their mileage account. The airline is

Sverdlovsk Region authorities keep an eye on the situation at Rezhnickel, a local industrial enterprise, Governor Alexander Misharin informed Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Evgeny Kuivashev in the course of a recession-fighting committee meeting, the spokesperson for the Governor reports. The trouble at the plant became known at the end of September 2011. According to the plant’s proprietors, the problems were caused by dropping nickel prices at the stock exchanges: these fell by nearly 1.5 times. Alexander Misharin described the

Ural Airlines launched its first direct flight from Novosibirsk to China. The first non-stop flight from Tolmachevo Airport to Harbin was operated on October 27, 2011. Flights to this destination are operated every Tuesday; the cheapest round trip tickets are available for ?359 (plus the fees). Tickets to Harbin can be booked via the airline’s official website www.uralairlines.com and in the booking offices. The new flight will increase Ural Airlines’ flight network as far as flights operated from Novosibirsk are concerned. Besides, the air carrier already offers flights to the Middle East’s

The net profit of ChelyabInvestBank dropped by 37.7% (73.31m RUR) in the third quarter of 2011. The decrease in profit had to do with lowered revenues from stock transactions and the growing securities tax.

RIA-Analitica came up with a rating of Russian banks based on the private individuals’ deposits volume. The analysts observe that Russian citizens placed 4% more money with the banks in the third quarter of 2011 than earlier, and the sum reached 10.9 trillion RUR altogether. Three banks registered in Ural Federal District were featured on the Top 50 list. This included SKB-Bank that was given the 31st position country-wide. The bank’s private individuals’ deposits volume exceeded 39.8bn RUR on October 1, 2011. The Urals-based banks are usually the ones that do best in terms of deposits: the

A Russian-Kazakh uranium enrichment company will start operating in Novouralsk in 2012, head of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko announced. ‘We have reached a full understanding with our Kazakh partners. This is a state-run program, we are moving along in accordance with the scheduled, and I believe the joint venture should be operating in 2012,’ RIA Novosti quotes Kiriyenko as saying. According to Rosatom CEO, the Kazakh partners will be involved in the operation of Ural Electrochemical Plant and will be able to use the uranium enrichment opportunities it offers; in return, Russia will be able to

Sky Express Airlines will no longer be operating under this brand. The company’s fleet of vehicles and its personnel will be handed over to Kuban Airlines, while the brand known as Sky Express is expected to grace chartered flights with its presence, RBC daily reports. The airline will operate its two last flights from Kaliningrad to Saint Petersburg and Moscow. ‘We have completed the transfer of aircraft formerly operated by Sky Express to Kuban Airlines’ fleet of vehicles,’ says Kuban’s Director-General Alexander Stognushenko. He says the new carrier’s fleet will now number seven Boeing

Sverdlovsk Region-based entrepreneurs have just come back from a business trip to Europe organized for them by Sverdlovsk Region Infrastructure Hub. Their trip included visits to innovation centers, business incubators, and Britain’s Chambers of Commerce as well as receiving medals at the British Invention Show and Awards. The British Invention Show is one of Europe’s leading innovations expo, with ninety-two companies from different countries taking part this year. The jury, made up of well-known scientists and representatives of large enterprises, awarded two projects from the Urals:

Ural Airlines is about to launch a direct scheduled flight from Saint Petersburg to one of Azerbaijan’s most economically advanced cities Lenkoran, the airline’s press officer reports. Starting November 24, 2011, flights to Lenkoran will be operated from Saint Petersburg every Thursday. The cheapest one-way tickets can be bought for ?80. Lenkoran is a large seaport in Azerbaijan, located on the coast of the Caspian Sea, as well as a famous tourist attraction. This is why the flight is definitely going to be popular. This is actually the second flight from Saint Petersburg to Azerbaijan Ural