UrBC, Moscow, April 17, 2019. The State Duma adopted the so-called ‘Sovereign Internet’ bill in the third and final reading this week, the Russian Parliament’s lower chamber’s website states. It is reported that a national Internet traffic routing system will get set up to ensure unfailing performance of the Russian segment of the web throughout emergencies or deliberate external cyberattacks. According to the website statement, government bodies, local governments, state unitary enterprises, municipal unitary enterprises, and state-run/town council-run organizations will now be responsible

UrBC, Moscow, April 17, 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new decree to have the federal constituencies keep the alcohol excise duty revenues within their own local budgets. The decree will come into effect next year. Now the Russian State Duma adopted the bill in the third and final reading on April 9, 2019. As things stand now, 50% of pure alcohol excise duties and 100% of excise duty payments on other types of alcohol get transferred to Russia’s national budget. Starting 2020, the Russian constituencies are expected to retain extra RUB 500 million within their local budgets.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 16, 2019. The payment system Mir, which acts as Russia’s national football team’s official partner, is coordinating a special offer for the cardholders, the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s press service reports. Mir cardholders can win a range of prizes through October 20, 2019. To become eligible for the prize-drawing, you need to use the card to pay for your shopping (minimum transaction amount: RUB 300) and register your receipts on the special promotion website. The grand prize winner will get to see one of the Russian national team’s

UrBC, Moscow, April 16, 2019. Russia’s micro-financing organizations’ accumulated loan book increased from RUB 113 billion to more than RUB 152 billion (+35%) in the course of 2018, RAEX’s press service reports. According to the rating agency’s research findings, the share of micro-loans concentrated within the country’s largest micro-financing organization went from 27% up to 32% (+RUB 20 billion); in fact, this constituted over 50% of the overall increase in the entire market’s loan book. The market shares of other large players rose as well, and smaller businesses leaving the market

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 16, 2019. There will be a ONE DAY SALE in Yekaterinburg’s Greenwich Mall on April 26, which means certain items will be 20% or more off. ONE DAY SALE covers both the usual end-of-season total sale and a number of pleasant surprises for the customers, the mall owner reports. The well-known Russian wardrobe stylist Lina Dembikova, makeup artist Serdar Kambarov, and actress Ekaterina Reshetnikova will take part in the day’s special events. If you make a purchase and register your receipt (RUB 3,000 or more), you can win one of the ten GreenBox kits created in

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 16, 2019. Harley-Davidson is calling 181 XG1motorcycles off the Russian market due to brake support issues, Rosstandart reports. The product recall touches upon all vehicles sold since January 2015. ‘The brake defect might affect the motorcycle operation safety. The brake supports might wear out in aggressive environments over time; this is particularly true of seaside locations or places where highway salt is in use. The resulting corrosion will then bring about the support sucker failure, which, when unnoticed, may lead to increased brake dragging and therefore an

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 16, 2019. EVRAZ Holding is coordinating its annual Safety Week on April 15-21 (around International Workers' Memorial Day), the company’s press service reports. ‘All of the workers at EVRAZ Holding’s Ural and Siberian member enterprises will get reminded once again of how crucial it is to follow the instructions and to stay put and be careful at work. The job safety and industrial safety champions will get awarded. The employees who managed to make the plant’s working conditions safer and to enhance the industrial safety on site last year will receive thank-you

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 15, 2019. Ural Airlines will be operating more Vladivostok-Sapporo flights in the spring and summer: starting April 27, 2019, Japan-bound flights will get operated three times a week: on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, the air carrier’s press service reports. ‘Late April and early May are the best months to experience the cherry blossom season on Hokkaido. In Japan, the sakura is usually in full bloom in March and early April, but Hokkaido, the country’s northernmost island, has things happening a little later than in the south of Japan. Hanami, or sakura

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 15, 2019. Two employees of EVRAZ Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Plant (EVRAZ NTMK) won the Glory to The Man of Labor awards, EVRAZ’s press service reports. Roll Designer from EVRAZ NTMK’s Rail & Beam Department Vitaly Rubtsov won silver as Best Engineer/Metallurgical Worker and instrumentation and control equipment mechanic from the plant’s IT Directorate Andrei Orlov won bronze as Best Mechanic. EVRAZ NTMK’s employees competed with workers from companies based in several constituencies of Ural Federal District. Andrei Orlov’s competition took place in Novy Urengoi.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 15, 2019. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) raised the interest rate on its retail customer-oriented Mobile Deposit by 0.25%, the bank’s press service reports. The maximum interest rate on this deposit type now comes to 6.7% a year if you open the deposit online or using your mobile app and sign up for the bank’s all-inclusive package. The package secures you an additional 1% a year on ruble deposits. Besides, the package also covers text message notifications on any change in the account balance and a debit card. Now Mobile Deposit is the

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, April 15, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) shipped its first batch of new hot-rolled metal goods with unique wear characteristics to customer. The improved performance parameters result from a special technology for removal of excess slag from the surface of a metal sheet, the plant’s press service reports. The new produce with unique parameters stems from Kama Trade Tatarstan (currently a resident in Priority Social and Economic Development Area in Naberezhnye Chelny) putting up Brandsteel Metal-Processing Center (capacity: 240,000,000 kg a year) with

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, April 15, 2019. FRACTURA, ChelPipe Group’s hi tech MSHF appliances, are the key product the Group will be presenting at Neftegaz 2019 International Exhibition, the company’s press service reports. The Group’s oilfield services division Rimera intends to start making hi tech multistage hydraulic fracturing (MSHF) equipment that ensures increased output at hard-to-extract and almost-finished oil deposits. FRACTURA will be made at Rimera’s Izhneftemash’s new, White-Coated Metallurgy-compliant production site in accordance with a Canadian technology. The interactive

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 12, 2019. Passengers on Ural Airlines’ flights can now have their luggage insured with Renaissance Insurance during the check-in at Yekaterinburg’s Koltsovo Airport, the air carrier’s press service reports. ‘For as little as RUB 100, you can have your luggage insured against loss, damage, or pickup delay (up to RUB 45,000),’ the press service says. You get the insurance payment in case of the following: — irreparable loss (RUB 1,500 per kg, RUB 45,000 max); — damage (the insurance covers the cost of repairs, RUB 45,000 max); — luggage pickup delay (RUB 500 for every

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 12, 2019. Ural hospitals will soon be using MegaFon’s telemedicine platform, which is expected to ensure more safety during complicated scheduled surgeries and emergency operations; the agreement to this effect was signed by MegaFon and V.D. Fedorov Russian Association for Endoscopic Surgery. According to the telecom company’s press service, the platform in question is a cloud service that makes it possible for clinics and hospitals to offer distance medical advice on patients’ health status, diagnosis, prognosis, and patient examination and treatment tactics, as

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, April 12, 2019. ChelPipe Group is going to supply 130,000,000 kg of large-diameter-pipes (LDPs) to Saryarka Pipeline in Kazakhstan, the company’s press service reports. The shipment will get sent to customer by September 2019. The pipes (diameter: 820 mm; wall thickness: 12 mm, 14 mm, and 18 mm; steel grade: K60) all have inner and outer corrosion-resistant coating and were made at the Group’s Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChelPipe). ‘Kazakhstan is one of the Group’s largest CIS markets. 47% of Russian-made pipes delivered to Kazakhstan last year came from ChelPipe Group.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 12, 2019. 1,781,082 people flew with Ural Airlines in the first quarter of 2019 (up 8% on a year earlier). 940,561 people flew on the airline’s domestic flights and 840,521 people flew internationally. According to the air carrier’s press service, the airline operated 12,806 flights in January-March 2019 (+5% on a year earlier), including 6,750 domestic flights and 6,056 international flights. The company’s passenger turnover rose by 9% and reached 4,384,388,000 passenger-kilometers. 662,991 people flew with Ural Airlines in March 2019, which exceeded the figures

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, April 12, 2019. Sintering Machine 1 got launched at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Sintering Plant 5 (currently under construction); the machine produced its first batch of sinter cake for the plant’s blast furnace department. MMK Chair of the BOD Viktor Rashnikov and Director-General Pavel Shilyayev both attended the launching ceremony, MMK’s press service reports. According to Viktor Rashnikov, once it gets launched, Sintering Plant 5 (projected capacity: 5.5m tons a year) will provide the plant’s blast furnace department with good quality sinter cake and will

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, April 11, 2019. Vietnam Expo 2019 International Industrial Exhibition opened in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi on April 10. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) is taking part in the event; as it happens, MMK’s Vietnamese market sales doubled last year. According to MMK’s Information & PR Department, visitors to the company’s stand at the exhibition can get acquainted with one of Russia’s major metallurgical businesses’ technological potential and learn about its produce characteristics. The focus is on the products for the building industry: hot- and cold-rolled coiled

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 11, 2019. Ural Airlines are introducing additional Moscow-Barcelona-Moscow flights for the May break. Flights U6 845/846 will get operated on May 6 and May 10, 2019. ‘This colorful city is a place where you feel at ease and carefree. Barcelona’s famous lacy, futuristic-looking buildings by Antoni Gaudí, its parks, and its ancient landmarks rub shoulders with the Mediterranean and its beaches. There’s always some festival in full swing here. In early May, for example, Barcelona will be hosting the Battle of the Nations, which is the international historic medieval

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 11, 2019. The Smart City Project implemented in Yekaterinburg’s District Akademicheskiy will be used as the basis for digitizing other towns in Sverdlovsk Region and Russia on the whole, Sverdlovsk Region’s Vice Governor Sergei Bidonko announced in the course of Smart City 2019/Digital Transformations in Energy & Utilities Sector Exhibition/Forum. When asked about the recent agreement Sverdlovsk Region Government signed with Rostelecom on launching the Smart City Project in Kamensk-Uralsky and Polevskoy, Bidonko said the Smart City solutions had been tried out