Moscow and New York (December 17, 2008) - Open Joint Stock Company “Vimpel-Communications” (“VimpelCom” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VIP) the leading provider of telecommunications services in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), today announced that its Chief Executive Officer Alexander Izosimov has been elected as the new Chairman of GSMA Board for a two-year term replacing Craig Ehrlich, a board member of Hutchison Mobile Communications.

Rob Conway, CEO and board member stated that Mr. Izosimov “with his exceptional telecom experience and understanding of leading international businesses will enable the GSMA Association to build on the foundations laid by Craig, providing the commercial, strategic and technical insights that will prepare our industry for an era of mass-market mobile broadband services and an increasingly rich mobile lifestyle for its billions of customers.”

“The GSMA Board, with its wealth of expertise, intellect and business acumen, is well placed to steer the mobile community through the opportunities and challenges presented by the global economic slowdown, the rise of investment-stifling regulation, the release of new spectrum and the convergence of mobile and Internet services,” Alexander Izosimov said. “It is a great honour for me to become the Chairman of the Association and I am looking forward to working with the CEO and the Board to ensure that the GSMA remains at the vanguard of our industry.”

The new GSMA Board consists of 26 members: 25 representatives of GSM operators and the Association CEO Robert Conway. Alexander Izosimov has been a GSMA Board member since January 1, 2007.

The GSM Association is the global trade association representing more than 750 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries and territories of the world. The Association's members represent more than 3 billion GSM and 3GSM connections - over 86% of the world's mobile phone connections. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives as key partners. The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. For more information, please visit www.gsmworld.com

The VimpelCom Group 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. The VimpelCom Group has licenses to operate 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 ("NYSE"). VimpelCom's ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbol "VIP".