VimpelCom announces first quarter 2003 financial and operating results
29 May 2003

Moscow and New York (May 29, 2003) - Open Joint Stock Company "Vimpel-Communications" ("VimpelCom" or the "Company") (NYSE: VIP) today announced its financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2003. VimpelCom reported continued subscriber growth and an increase in net operating revenues, EBITDA and net income. For the quarter ended March 31, 2003, VimpelCom reported net operating revenues of $244.4 million, a 68.5% increase from the $145.1 million reported for the same period in 2002; EBITDA of $107.9 million, a 70.6% increase from the $63.3 million reported for the same period in 2002; and net income of $41.4 million, an increase of 47.6% from the $28.0 million reported for the first quarter of 2002. The Company's EBITDA margin for the first quarter of 2003 was approximately 44.2% compared to approximately 43.6% for the same period of 2002. As of March 31, 2003, VimpelCom had approximately 6.19 million subscribers on its wireless networks and networks operated by VimpelCom's subsidiaries, including approximately 3.95 million subscribers in the Moscow license area and 2.24 million subscribers in the regions, a total year-on-year growth of approximately 132.5%. As of today, VimpelCom's total number of subscribers reached approximately 6.92 million, with approximately 4.22 million subscribers in the Moscow license area and 2.70 million in the regions outside Moscow.

Using independent sources to estimate the number of subscribers of the Company's competitors in the Moscow license area, VimpelCom estimates that its market share in the Moscow license area was 49.5% at the end of the first quarter of 2003, compared to the Company's estimated market share of 51.5% reported at the end of the first quarter of 2002. On a nationwide basis, independent sources estimate VimpelCom's market share at 29.0% at the end of the first quarter of 2003, compared to the Company's estimated market share of 26.0% recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2002.

Commenting on today's announcement, Jo Lunder, Chief Executive Officer of VimpelCom, said, "Our first quarter results demonstrate continued success of VimpelCom's expansion in the Russian cellular market. We are particularly pleased with the further progress in our financial performance, having reached the breakeven point at the net income level in our regional operations and improved margins in our consolidated financial figures. Going forward, we intend to continue pursuing our policy of profitable growth focusing on rapid nationwide expansion and improving the quality and strength of our profitable Moscow operation."

VimpelCom

Altimo, a leading private equity group, operating on some of the world's most desirable and potentially lucrative mobile telecommunications markets, was created in 2005 from Alfa Telecom, which itself was established in 2004 to hold the telecoms investments of the Alfa Group Consortium (Golden Telecom, Inc., Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Kyivstar GSM, MegaFon, VimpelCom, Sky Mobile). Those assets are in Russia, the CIS and other promising emerging markets.

VimpelCom consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed and broadband technologies. The Group includes companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Armenia, in territories with a total population of about 340 million. The Group companies provide services under the "Beeline" brand.  VimpelCom was the first Russian company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (under the symbol "VIP").  In Q1 2008, VimpelCom acquired 100% of the oustanding share capital of Golden Telecom, a leading facilities-based provider of integrated telecommunications and Internet services in Russia and the CIS.

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