Rostelecom (NYSE: ROS; RTS, MICEX: RTKM, RTKMP), Russia?s national long-distance telecommunications operator, today announced the lists of candidates to the Board of Directors and the Audit Commission of the Company.

On March 5, 2005 Rostelecom?s Board of Directors considered proposals on candidates to the Board of Directors and to the Audit Commission received from the Company?s shareholders.

The candidates to the Board of Directors included into the list are as follows:

1.   Stanislav Avdiyants — Executive Director — Director for Economic and Tariff Policies of Svyazinvest;

2.   Stanislav Vartanyan — Executive Director of the Investor Protection Association;

3.   Valery Degtyarev — General Director of Professional TeleCommunications;

4.   Dmitry Yerokhin — General Director of Rostelecom;

5.   Alexander Kiselev — Undersecretary of the Minister for Information Technologies and Communications of the Russian Federation;

6.   Sergei Kuznetsov — First Deputy General Director of Svyazinvest;

7.   Irina Ragozina — Director of Corporate Governance Department of Svyazinvest;

8.   Vitaly Slizen — Director of the Department for state policy on information and communication technologies of the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications of the Russian Federation;

9.   Mikhail Slipenchuk — General Director of METROPOL Investment Financial Company Ltd.

10.   Natalia Terentyeva — Risk Manager of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods;

11.   Sergei Chernogorodsky — Director of the Share Capital Department of Svyazinvest;

12.   Yevgeny Chechelnitsky — Deputy Head of the Federal Communications Control Service;

13.   Valery Yashin — General Director of Svyazinvest.

New members of the Board of Directors will be elected at the Annual General Shareholders? Meeting on the results of the year 2004. According to Rostelecom?s Charter the Board of Directors consists of 11 members.

Rostelecom?s Board of Directors also decided to include the following persons into the list of candidates to the Audit Commission of the Company:

1.   Konstantin Belyaev — Chief Accountant of Svyazinvest;

2.   Gennady Kovalenko — Head of division of the Legal Department of Svyazinvest;

3.   Svetlana Sinadskaya — Head of division of the Department of Economic and Tariff Policies of Svyazinvest.

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Certain statements in this press release are «forward-looking statements» within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby.

These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

These risks include the risk of changes the Company’s operations and business prospects, the general financial and economic circumstances, relating to regulation of the Russian telecommunications industry and the Russian legislation; the competition and other risks.

For a more detailed discussion of these and other factors, see the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for its most recently completed fiscal year and the Company’s other public filings with The  U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these factors are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict. Given these and other uncertainties, the Company cautions not to place undue reliance on any of the forward-looking statements contained herein or otherwise.

The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as maybe required under applicable the U.S. federal securities laws.

Rostelecom Headquarters Address: 14, 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya street, Moscow, 125047, Russia

Phone: +7 (095) 972–82–83 Fax: (095) 787–28–50