24th April - VimpelCom announced that according to official information from Federal Communications Agency (the "Agency") VimpelCom became one of the winners in the tenders for three licenses for provision of IMT-2000/UMTS (3G) mobile radiotelephony communications services.

Commenting on the tender results, VimpelCom's CEO, Alexander Izosimov said: "We are satisfied with the tender results. In our view, VimpelCom's victory was well-deserved, and we are pleased that our experience, knowledge and resources will be fully utilized in the deployment of 3G networks in Russia. I believe that the decision made by the commission will contribute to healthy competition in the Russian telecommunications sector and is in the best interests of Russian consumers, the Russian telecommunications industry and the Russian economy in general."

This press release contains "forward-looking statements", as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These statements relate to competition in the Russian telecommunications industry as a result of today's license awards and are made on the basis of information currently available to VimpelCom's management. There can be no assurance that the licenses awarded today will result in additional competition in the Russian telecommunications industry, that the results of the tenders will not be challenged successfully, or that the license awarded to VimpelCom will be issued or will not be revoked after issuance. Additionally, 3G network rollout requires significant financial investments and there can be no assurance that VimpelCom will be able to roll-out a 3G network on economically favorable terms. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in any forward- looking statements include the risks described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2005 and other public filings made by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference. VimpelCom disclaims any obligation to update developments of these risk factors or to announce publicly any revision to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this release, or to make corrections to reflect future events or developments.

The VimpelCom Group includes cellular companies operating in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and recently acquired companies in Georgia and Armenia. The VimpelCom Group's cellular license portfolio covers a territory with a population of about 240 million. This includes 77 regions of Russia (136.5 million people, representing 94% of the Russia's population), and the entire territories of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, and Armenia. 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".

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