Moscow, Russian Federation – Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” – NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, announces that the MTS brand has been ranked as the most valuable Russian brand by InterBrand, a world’s leading brand consultancy. With a brand value of $7.753 billion, MTS leads the “Best Russian Brands-2010” ranking.

Since 2008, when the previous InterBrand ranking was published, MTS has increased the value of its brand by 12% to reach $7.753 billion. According to the methodology used by InterBrand for calculating brand value, only performance of MTS Russia operations was taken into account.

InterBrand’s method analyzes all of the many ways in which a brand benefits its organizations – from attracting talent to delivering on customer expectations. Three key aspects contribute to the assessment: the financial performance of the branded products or services, the role of the brand in the purchase decision and the strength of the brand.

Mikhail Gerchuk, MTS Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, said, "We are pleased that MTS' success in brand building and our leadership among Russian brands have been recognized in one of the most respected international rankings published by InterBrand. We have been extending the MTS brand by expanding into adjacent markets, such as fixed broadband, pay TV and content services. As more people are becoming MTS customers through a variety of services we offer across multiple markets, we expect our brand to continue growing in value and gaining global recognition."

In 2010 the MTS brand was ranked the most valuable Russian brand in the BRANDZ™ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands, a ranking published by the Financial Times and Millward Brown, a leading global market research and consulting firm. The BRANDZ™ ranking is based on primary research and therefore reflects the perceptions of consumers. The study covers 50 000 brands worldwide. MTS was the first Russian brand to enter this global ranking in 2008. Since then MTS has increased its brand value in this ranking by more than 20% and was valued at $9.723 billion in 2010.