On December 25, 2002 OJSC VolgaTelecom held a Board of Directors meeting at which the following issues were discussed: the acquisition of 50% interest in Nizhninovgorod-based cellular operator ZAO Nizhgorod Cellular Communications, and convening an extraordinary shareholders meeting.

The Board of Directors decided that it would be expedient to raise the interest of OJSC VolgaTelecom in the charter capital of ZAO Nizhgorod Cellular Communications to 100% by acquiring a block of shares in ZAO Nizhgorod Cellular Communications which consists of 50,000 common registered non-document shares.

A motion was also passed to hold an extraordinary general shareholders in the form of in absentia voting on the issue "on approving the transaction to purchase 50,000 (fifty thousand) common shares of ZAO Nizhgorod Cellular Communications between the Company and Russian Telecommunications Development Holding Corporation, which is to be held on February 12, 2003.