Krasnodar, December 5, 2005: Southern Telecommunications Company (“UTK”) [(RTS: KUBN, KUBNP; OTC USA: STJSY), the principal fixed-line telecommunications provider for Russia’s Southern Federal District, reports that today Standard & Poor's Governance Services raised its corporate governance score (CGS) on Southern Telecommunications Company to 'CGS-4+' from 'CGS-4'. At the same time, Standard & Poor's raised its Russia national scale CGS on the company to'CGS-4.6' from 'CGS-4.4'.

The overall CGS on UTK is the result of four component scores on the global and Russia national scales of 1 (low) to 10 (high).

 - Ownership structure and external influences - 4/4.2

 - Shareholder rights and stakeholder relations - 6/6.3

 - Transparency, disclosure, and audit - 5/5.4

 - Board structure and effectiveness - 3+/3.9

According to Standard & Poor’s, the upgrade reflects the fact that the controlling shareholder Svyazinvest, a government-controlled holding company, and the board of directors have taken active, albeit delayed, steps to improve management oversight and internal controls at the heavily indebted company.

"A new management team has been appointed to tighten UTK's financial controls and improve profitability," said Standard & Poor's governance analyst Oleg Shvyrkov. "The executive appointments were welcomed by minority shareholders."

Additional information on UTK’s ratings can be viewed at the corporate site in the section Ratingsand at the site www.standardandpoors.ru.