Open Joint Stock Company

Investment Telecommunications Company

(SVYAZINVEST)

Str. 2, Plyushchikha 55, Moscow, 119121;

www.svyazinvest.ru

INFORMATION DEPARTMENT

Telephone: (095) 727-0418, facsimile: (095) 727-0475;

pr@svyazinvest.ru

11.08.2004                     Moscow

Sergei Ivanovich Kuznetsov has taken office as the first deputy general director of Svyazinvest. His main tasks will be to oversee promotion of telecom services on the market, frame holding-wide business processes and establish a unified information network between Svyazinvest and its subsidiaries and related companies.

Svyazinvest’s CEO Valery Yashin commented on the recent appointment as follows: “Sergei Kuznetsov is a strong and efficient manager. His extensive experience in the telecom business, namely management of Svyazinvest’s largest subsidiaries, will no doubt improve corporate governance standards of our entities. We are quite certain that his appointment will give Svyazinvest a shot in the arm and reinforce its positions on the Russian telecom market”.

Reference:

Sergei Ivanovich Kuznetsov was born on December 25, 1953in Rustavi, Georgian SSR. 

After graduating in 1981 from the North West Correspondence Polytechnic Institute with a major in Data Processing Machines, he lives and works in Leningrad(St. Petersburg). In 1992 he completed coursework at the ColumbiaUniversityBusinessSchool(USA) with a degree.

He then pursued a professional career working his way from electrician at the PetrogradTelephoneCenterto chief engineer at the NekrasovskyTelephoneCenterof the Leningradcity telephone network.

From 1992 to 1994 he acted as the general director of CJSC Delta Telecom;

Later from 1994 until 1995 he worked as the vice-president of Russia’s representative office of Complus Holding;

From 1995 through 1998 he headed Telecominvest as general director;

From 1998 to 2001 he acted as the general director of CJSC Peterstar;

From 2001 to 2003 he performed the duties of Rostelecom’s CEO;

From October 2—3 until present he is the general director of North WestTelecom.