Press release

MTS Receives Notice from the Ministry of Communications of Turkmenistan

December 16, 2010

Moscow, Russian Federation — Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” — NYSE: MBT), the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS, announces that on December 15, 2010 it received a notice from the Ministry of Communications of Turkmenistan informing the Company of a decision to suspend licenses held by Barash Communications Technologies, Inc. (“BCTI”), MTS’ wholly-owned subsidiary in Turkmenistan, for a period of one month starting from December 21, 2010. MTS has been operating in Turkmenistan under a trilateral agreement(1) (“Agreement”) signed in November 2005 by BCTI, MTS and the Ministry of Communications of Turkmenistan, which expires on December 21, 2010, unless extended pursuant to its terms and conditions. The Company at all times had reasons to believe that the Agreement would be extended and had approached the Ministry of Communications within the required timeframe to formalize the extension. However, the Ministry of Communications failed to grant the extension in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.

MTS management is taking active steps to clarify the situation but no explanation, including in relation to the alleged breaches by MTS has been given by either the Government of Turkmenistan or its Ministry of Communications. The Company is currently considering all available options, including potential legal actions, and shall vigorously defend its legal rights and investment interests.

In any event, it is the Company’s opinion that the expiration of the Agreement does not preclude MTS from continuing its operations in Turkmenistan nor can any alleged termination of the Agreement serve as the basis for suspension of BCTI’s licenses, and that the notice must have been given as a result of misinterpretation of local laws and regulations by the Ministry of Communications of Turkmenistan. The Company has already approached the Ministry of Communications and will be making every effort to resolve the situation.

For the nine months of 2010, BCTI contributed to the MTS Group revenue and OIBDA of 1.9% and 2.7% respectively.

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For further information, please contact in Moscow:

Joshua B. Tulgan

Director, Investor Relations

Acting Director, Corporate Finance

Department of Investor Relations

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC

Tel: +7 495 223 2025

E-mail: ir@mts.ru

Learn more about MTS. Visit the official blog of the Investor Relations Department at www.mtsgsm.com/blog/

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Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS”) is the leading telecommunications group in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, offering mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the world’s fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 105.0 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Belarus, a region that boasts a total population of more than 230 million. Since June 2000, MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about the MTS Group can be found at www.mtsgsm.com.

(1)   As s habeen disclosed in the Company’s 20-F filings for the years 2005-2007, in accordance with certain provisions of this agreement, BCTI shares net profit derived from its operations in the country with the Ministry of Communications of Turkmenistan. The amount of shared net profit is calculated based on the financial statements prepared in accordance with local GAAP subject to certain adjustments. Under the terms of the agreement, BCTI shared 49% of the net profit since the date of acquisition through December 21, 2005, and 20% of the net profit commencing December 21, 2005.

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Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of MTS, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “will,” “could,” “may” or “might,” and the negative of such terms or other similar expressions.  We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not undertake or intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We refer you to the documents MTS files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the Company’s most recent Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned “Risk Factors” that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, the severity and duration of current economic and financial conditions, including volatility in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices and the value of financial assets; the impact of Russian, U.S. and other foreign government programs to restore liquidity and stimulate national and global economies, our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so, strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating acquired businesses, including Comstar-UTS, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, our competitive environment, dependence on new service development and tariff structures, rapid technological and market change, acquisition strategy, risks associated with telecommunications infrastructure, governmental regulation of the telecommunications industries and other risks associated with operating in Russia and the CIS, volatility of stock price, financial risk management and future growth subject to risks.

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MOBILE TELESYSTEMS OJSC

By:

/s/ Mikhail Shamolin

Name:

Mikhail Shamolin

Title:

CEO

Date:   December 16, 2010