Yekaterinburg-based Koltsovo Airport serviced 582,880 passengers in the first quarter of 2011, which was 16.5% better than in the first quarter of 2010. This figure included 227,660 people flying internationally (which was 14.4% better than a year earlier) and 355,220 passengers on domestic flights (which was 17.9% better than a year earlier). The number of sorties rose by 36% against the first quarter of 2010 and came to 4,160. Most passengers flew to Phuket, Goa, Dubai, Bangkok, Beijing, Saint Petersburg, and Frankfurt.

Three air state borders will be closed in Russia on May 1, 2011, namely, the airports of Ivanovo, Kogalym, and Bykovo, Moscow Region, RIA Novosti reports. The border-crossing points will be closed in accordance with the Russian Government’s decree. ‘The government now has to spend more money on maintaining these points than it could possibly make from these airports’ economic activity,’ Rosgranitsa says.

Sverdlovsk Region’s public prosecution authorities for transportation detected some legal offenses in the field of air protection and environmental protection on the part of some industrial enterprises that emit pollutants in the atmosphere without a corresponding permit. For one, inspections revealed that SUAL-Kremny-Ural, Gazprom Transgaz Yekaterinburg, Uralkhimmash, Uraltransmash, and Kamensk-Uralsky Foundry Plant that all run permanent polluting facilities kept dumping harmful emissions in the air without any permissions or projects on maximum permissible discharge.

B. N. Yeltsin Ural Federal University is going to lobby the idea of handing the buildings put up in Yekaterinburg in preparation for the World Cup 2018 over to the university, says Rector Viktor Koksharov. We truly hope that the we could use the scenario of Kazan or Vladivostok in preparing the facilities for the World Cup 2018. Vladimir Putin actually mentioned this recently. This would mean we could put up buildings to host football fans, visitors and reporters and then the university would make good use of these buildings after the championship is over. If Yekaterinburg wins, we will do

Novosibirsk Region division of Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) detected that Siberia Airlines violated Article 14.31 of the Russian Federation Administrative Offense Code and will therefore have to pay a 10-million-ruble administrative fine, the spokesperson for the division reports. Siberia Airlines is believed to abuse its dominant position on Novosibirsk-Vladivostok-Novosibirsk flight direction by introducing its own fares. Some tickets cost about 38,000 RUR, which is 1.5 times more than the other carriers operating the same flights charge. The company had no good economic

The Russian Federation Government decided that OAO Uralmashzavod should no longer be on the list of companies that can enjoy the preferential terms of foreign machinery supply; the company used to get some tax relief, which was aimed to help the enterprise restore its metallurgical, welding, and assembling facilities, the Russian Federation Ministry for Industry & Trade reports. The relief used to make it possible for the company to zero in on value-added tax.

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, April 7, 2011. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) came up with a financial performance report for the year 2010. The report was prepared in accordance with the International Accounting Standards. The company’s revenues reached $7,719m last year, which was 52% better than a year earlier. The net profit rose by 6% and amounted to $322m. EBITDA reached $1,606m, which exceeded the figures for the year 2009 by 23%. The EBITDA margin came to 21%. MMK Group’s share of high value-added goods increased from 27% in 2009 to 34% in 2010 against the

Yekaterinburg’s largest supermarket belonging to the electronic goods chain Eldorado in Vainer St. had to cut its shopping space by a third. The area will be handed over to Sportmaster, Arendator.ru reports. Under an agreement signed by the new tenant, RED will allow Sportmaster rent the 3,600 sq m place for ten years. Eldorado opened its hypermarket in Yekaterinburg in the middle of 2007. The area of the store came to 11,800 sq m at the time.

South Ural Nickel Plant’s Board of Directors suggested that the shareholders vote for not declaring any dividend for 2010 on ordinary registered paperless shares. The decision was taken on April 5, 2011.

Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service looked into the application of one of Russia’s major dairy foods producer regarding the acquisition of a 98.31% shareholding in Kungursky dairy plant and allowed the purchase to take place.

Yekaterinburg City Planning Board reports the design of Radisson SAS hotel has been modified recently, Uralsky Rabochy says. For one, the shopping area has been reduced down to 3,000 sq m. The idea behind the reduction was to make sure customers don’t come there en masse, causing parking problems. It was also decided to build a separate entrance to the office section in Krasnoarmeyskaya St. The new skyscraper hotel is to appear at the intersection of Malyshev St and Krasoarmeyskaya St. The developer, Atomstroycomplex, has already announced that the construction should be complete by the end

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin arrived in Hanoi upon the invitation of Vietnam’s government. The representatives of Sverdlovsk Region-based industrial, building, and power enterprises as well as bank executives and educators have been working in the city for several days now. The Governor is planning to attend a few meetings in Vietnam, the spokesperson for the governor reports. Alexander Misharin was greeted at the airport by the Ambassador of Russia to Vietnam Andrei Kovtun, Russia’s trade representative Sergey Briginevitch, and some Vietnamese government representatives.

The demand for trips to Egypt has exceeded the tour operators’ boldest hopes. According to the Russian Tour Operators Association, the first chartered flights from Moscow left the capital nearly fully loaded. ‘The demand for flights within the Russian regions where the flights will be resumed after April 10, 2011, is also expected to be quite high,’ the association reports. ‘We expect to start operating flights to Egypt from the Russian regions starting April 10, 2011,’ website ATOP quotes the General Director of Pegas Touristic Anna Podgornaya as saying. Ms Podgornaya explains the regions

OAO Vladivostok Avia’s losses increased by 466.962m RUR, or 95.2%, from 490.25m RUR up to 957.22m RUR, although it is not quite clear from the company’s report whether the increase occurred over the last quarter of 2010 or the year 2010 on the whole. The airline explains that the loss was brought about by the low season demand, which resulted in fewer flights being booked; what is more, the jet fuel price rose by 20% on average in December 2010.

Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court put off the hearing of Tyumenenergobank vs. Ural Instrument-Making Plant until April 28, 2011. The bank requires that the defendant be declared bankrupt. The request to postpone the hearing was placed with the court by Russia’s Industry & Trade Ministry, the court’s website reports. The bank took legal action on January 31, 2011.

The Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation) allowed Russian airlines to resume operating flights to Egypt. Russia’s Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov and head of Rosaviation Alexander Neradko received the documents stating the news from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Prime TASS reports. The agency officially lifted bans on selling trips to Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh earlier because the situation at the tourist resorts grew stable. At the end of January 2011, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to forbid flying tourists to Egypt and to ask the Russian citizens already in the

Fitch Ratings confirmed and called off at the same time the ratings of six Russian old-standing landline phone operators – CenterTelecom, North-Western Telecom, Uralsvyazinform, VolgaTelecom, SiberiaTelecom, and Far Eastern Telecommunications Company – including their long-term Issuer Default Ratings (currently at BB, with Positive rating outlook). Fitch no longer rates these companies or analyses them. The ratings call-off has been brought about by the completion of the operators’ merger with Rostelecom – Russia’s national old-standing telecommunications provider. ‘The companies are not

OAO Iset-Fund will have to pay a 30,000-ruble fine for an administrative offense on the stock market. The decision to impose a fine on the company was made by Ural Federal District’s division of Russia’s Federal Financial Markets Service.

An accident occurred at Kremny plant in Shelekhov, Sverdlovsk Region, leaving one man killed and two people badly burned and in hospital, ITAR TASS reports. The Ministry of Emergencies and Rostechnadzor’s experts are now examining the scene of the accident. ‘The investigative team is now looking into the circumstances of the tragedy,’ says the head of the regional investigative committee’s chief aide Vladimir Salovarov. ZAO Kremny actually belongs to United Company RUSAL.

Starting April 16, 2011, Russia and Turkey are to lift all the visa regulations for one another. The agreement between the Russian Federation Government and the Turkish Government was signed on May 12, 2010 in Ankara, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry reports. Now under the agreement the citizens of Russia and Turkey with valid international or special passports can enter, leave, transit, and stay in either country with no visa required for thirty days after the entry date (diplomatic passport owners can enter either country without a visa in accordance with the Russian-Turkish