Moscow, Russia – October 13, 2009 – “COMSTAR – United TeleSystems” JSC (“Comstar” or “the Group”) (LSE: CMST), the largest integrated telecommunications provider in Moscow and 69 Russian cities, today announced that it has received notification from Sistema of the completion of the sale of Sistema’s 50.91% stake in Comstar to Mobile TeleSystems (“MTS”) for a total consideration of RUB 39.15 billion (approximately US$ 1.32* billion) or RUB 184.02 (approximately US$ 6.21) per ordinary share. Sistema owns 52.8% of MTS, which is the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS.

* 50% of the sale price was pegged at RUB/US$ exchange rate of 31.9349, while the remaining balance was settled based on the official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Russia on October 12, 2009.