First Deputy Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Galina Kovaleva conducted a meeting of interdepartmental committee devoted to assisting the local companies in entering the WTO. The agenda of the meeting covered protection of the food market and development of the infrastructure of the region’s foreign economic activity. ‘Quite a few food producers are not ready to operate on the free market. Modern equipment and advanced managerial technologies give our western counterparts a great competitive advantage, whereas Russian producers have to use some obsolete equipment (nearly half of which is

A meeting devoted to the setting up of the French consulate in Yekaterinburg was held in the Ministry for International and Foreign Economic Relations of Sverdlovsk Region. The meeting was attended by Minister Viktor Koksharov and First Secretary of the French Embassy in Russia Thierry Vautrin, reports the spokesperson for Governor of Sverdlovsk Region. According to M. Vautrin, the French party has handled a number of technical issues related to the introduction of the consulate, which will serve three purposes: giving visas, facilitating economic partnership, and building up cultural and

According to the spokesperson for SKB-Bank, First Vice Prime-Minister Dmitriy Medvedev announced at the recent online conference that he believed reducing interest rates on mortgage loans was possible. ‘We aim to make it go down to as little as 6% or 8%. This is absolutely feasible.’ ‘Reducing interest rates on mortgages naturally fits into the whole strategy of the national project known as Affordable Housing. Undoubtedly, given the favorable market opportunities (that is, the slowing inflation rate), we shall have some drops in the interest quite soon. I would say it is possible that the

‘The introduction of the visa section in German Consulate-General gives local people extra opportunities to travel to Schengen area; it’s just that one will have to spend the better part of time in Germany,’ says Olga Gular, Director of Zima-Leto Travel Agency. ‘As a matter of fact, there are quite a few ethnic Germans in Ural Federal District, so, with a chance of getting a visa in Yekaterinburg, more people will undoubtedly start traveling to Germany at the invitation of their relatives of friends. We used to send such applications to Moscow, but things got much easier now. I think we’ll

Minister for International and Foreign Economic Relations of Sverdlovsk Region Viktor Koksharov held a meeting with some British builders, reports the spokesperson for the Governor of Sverdlovsk Region. British architects, developers, legal and consulting experts arrived in Yekaterinburg to conduct a workshop devoted to multi-faceted town planning and development. Mr. Koksharov presented a report on the state of events in the city, saying that over 1,280,000 square meters of dwellings were commissioned last year, with the builders’ total turnover coming to over 56 billion RUR. He said the

‘Today’s opening of visa section in German Consulate-General in Yekaterinburg is a very happy event for us. We would like our tourists to have an opportunity of traveling to Germany, given especially the availability of direct flights from Yekaterinburg. Regional residents find going to Moscow for a visa interview expensive and inconvenient, so a visa section here is going to make trips to Germany much more affordable,’ Inna Averyanova, Director of Inna Tour Travel Agency, said to UrBC. The solemn opening ceremony took place on March 6, 2007. The Consulate is already issuing Schengen visas,

According to SKB-Bank’s press officer, the number of accounts opened with the bank every month has gone up 2.5 times since the beginning of the year. ‘This dramatic increase is the result of a combination of some attractive offers we’ve made, namely, new flexible tariff schemes, high technologies, and extensive office network,’ says Business Development Director Evgeniy Pavlov. At the end of 2006, SKB-Bank came up with some new schemes for point-of-sale services known as Start, Comfort, and Business Class. The cost of things like money order and getting cash now depends on the intensity of

The solemn opening ceremony of visa section in Consulate-General in Yekaterinburg took place on March 6, 2007. The event was attended by the Consul General in Yekaterinburg Tilo Klinner and Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel. The Consulate is already issuing Schengen visas, with applications accepted since February 27; there have been over a few hundred applications already. Due to some technical problems, these are only the residents of Sverdlovsk Region that can apply for a German visa here. People living in other Ural regions will still have to apply in Moscow. A visa can only be

‘Russian meat-processing companies might have to raise prices due to bans on import from the U.S., France, Germany, Uruguay, and Brazil, since we’ll eventually switch to new suppliers. The only companies that will manage to deal with the constant supply shortages will be those seriously considering setting up their own meat source. Our plant, for example, started renovation of Laiskiy pig farm meant for 108,000 head of cattle as early as 2003,’ says Sergey Emelyanov, CEO Good Taste Meatpacking Plant. Rosselkhoznadzor (the state agricultural watchdog) put temporary limits on meat export from a

‘70% discount on tickets to Israel offered by Ural Airlines is enjoying great demand. The prices fell on February 19, 2007, and a lot of tourists have already taken advantage of the offer. We have been told the tickets are not easy to buy at the moment since they get sold out well in advance. Now is the best time for visiting Israel: it’s not too hot, so one can enjoy the tours and pay a visit to Jerusalem. I think the offer of Ural Airlines will appeal not only to local Hebrews but to travelers just wishing to see this beautiful country as well. This discount is a very nice thing for our

Federal Antimonopoly Service in Sverdlovsk Region received a payment order which states that Heineken Commercial Service based in Saint-Petersburg paid their fine, reports the spokesperson for Federal Antimonopoly Service. The antimonopoly authority had earlier declared Heineken was violating the advertising law and imposed a 40,000 RUR fine. The suit was initially filed against the company based on complaints placed by Agency for Protection of Cultural Heritage in Ural Federal District. Heineken Commercial Service placed neon signs saying ‘Heineken’ and ‘Guinness’ on the façade of Bolshoi

‘The arrival of federally important players on Yekaterinburg’s catering market has made the competition fierce; so far, however, it has only done good to both consumers and local chains. The market has not become saturated yet, which is why it is highly unlikely that any of the companies are going to leave. In this respect, McDonald’s hasn’t changed much,’ says Nadezhda Buriko, the spokesperson for Kupets supermarket chain. ‘Fast food as such is not very popular in this country. Russians are used to having a full-course meal rather than just picking up a hamburger. This is why restaurants

Краткое описание проведённого мероприятия Ниже сами картинки

The Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin signed a decree appointing lieutenant-general Vladimir Kucherov Head of the Department of Internal Affairs in Ural Federal District, reports the President’s press officer.

According to the ranking compiled by Interfax CEA (Center of Economic Analysis), Bank 24.ru got on Russia’s Top 300 largest banks list based on its net wealth. It hit the 228th position on January 1, 2007. There are 27 Ural banks on this list altogether, for example, Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Metcombank, and some others. Originally, as many as 1,005 Russian banks were ranked by Interfax, reports the spokesperson for Bank 24.ru.

‘Any illegal video downloading online is, as a matter of fact, an act of piracy, so providers allowing users to do that must be prosecuted in compliance with the copyright laws, even if this means filing a criminal suit against them,’ claims Tatiana Pryanishnikova, Marketing Director of EA Cinema Holding, relating to Internet providers who have been offering new videos at very low prices. ‘These offenders must be fought against here and now before this illegal business grows stronger. We haven’t received any complaints of this kind yet, but I am inclined to think this is a matter of time.

‘Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) might act as the third party in court I order to support a bank’s borrower in case the latter files a petition asking to use our experts’ report for the case,’ says Elena Bogacheva of Ural division of Rospotrebnadzor. Kommersant newspaper has recently reported that for the first time, a claim has been laid by a borrower against a bank regarding illegal additional commissions connected with mortgage lending. Rospotrebnadzor is to support the borrower for the first time as well. This claim, laid against RosEuroBank, is unique in that it is

According to the official report placed at Severnaya Kazna’s website, Russian Tax Association (run by Igor Teuschakov) has reduced its share in the authorized capital of the company twice within this week. This share amounted to .105% on March 1, 2007, whereas on February 26, 2007, the figures halved from 6.447% to 3.438%. This means Russian Tax Association sold 6.342% of its shares in two installments (3.009% and 3.333%). Severnaya Kazna had to officially publish this information as this is a legal requirement for all shareholders possessing more than 5% of a company’s authorized capital. In

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel held a meeting with First Deputy CEO of MetalloInvest Management Company Ltd. Nazim Efendiev, reports the Governor’s press officer. Mr. Efendiev said that Uralmash Russian Machine Building Concern with Yekaterinburg-based headquarters was expected to set up soon. ‘A globally recognized brand would unite former assets of Uralmash and of a number of other enterprises,’ he noted. ‘Russia needs Uralmash, as this is the only plant that produces unique equipment for various industries, and there will never be another one like it. Sverdlovsk Region