Sverdlovsk Region Ministry for Economics and Labor published its report on the competitiveness of regional municipalities in 2006. The Ministry’s analysts say those were some truly successful areas that won in most categories.

The municipality of Yekaterinburg was ranked first (compared with the second position in 2005), Verknyaya Pyshma was rated second (compared with the first position in 2005); Sukhoi Log was promoted from the seventh to the third position, Pervouralsk was demoted from the third to the fourth position, Nizhniy Tagil retained its fifth position.

The Ministry reports the municipality of Verkh-Neivinskiy was able to rise dramatically from the 64th to the 29th place last year due to great all-round growth; Severouralsk made it to the 18th position (being only the 40th a year earlier) because of improvements in the city’s financial, employment, technological, and entrepreneurial potential. Berezovskiy was among the Top 10 cities (the city rose from the 19th to the 9th position) due to improvements in its environment, technology, infrastructure, and entrepreneurial prospects.

Kirovgrad was among the towns doing quite badly in 2006 (it dropped from the 41st to the 56th position) because of poor infrastructure and technological and entrepreneurial performance. The same was true of Verknyaya Salda (demoted from the 4th to the 20th position), which had to do with low social and working morale.