SibChallenge-Telecom Announces Commencement of Operation under the Trademark 'Golden Telecom'.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

KRASNOYARSK, Russia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 25, 2003

Golden Telecom, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLDN) announced that from today OOO SibChallenge-Telecom and ZAO Tel will operate under the trademark "Golden Telecom".

On August 27, 2003 the acquisition of 100% of the shares in OOO SibChallenge-Telecom, a major independent wireline telecommunications operator in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and ZAO Tel, an ISP 100% owned by OOO SibChallenge-Telecom, was completed. From today, OOO SibChallenge-Telecom and ZAO Tel will provide a full range of communication services, (apart from cellular services), under the trademark "Golden Telecom".

Sibchallenge has worked with Golden Telecom since 1998, during which time it has connected numerous Golden Telecom corporate customers in Krasnoyarsk. In Krasnoyarsk, SibChallenge-Telecom has built and is operating a telecommunications network with 100,000 telephone numbers, which includes an Electronic Worldwide Switch Digital (EWSD) switch, approximately 200 kilometers of fiber-optic cable, 170 kilometers of copper cable and over 30 points of presence in the city. At present, SibChallenge-Telecom services 17, 000 wireline users, 8, 000 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) fixed wireless users, over 12, 000 Internet users, 20, 000 Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX) numbers and 40,000 numbers for a mobile operator.

ZAO Tel estimates that its share of the dial up Internet access market in Krasnoyarsk is 50%, its share of the IP services market is 70% and that services over 80 users of the RANETka wireless integrated network. In addition to this, ZAO Tel is the only communications operator in the Krasnoyarsk Region which assists in the electronic preparation and presentation of accounting and tax reports to local authorities.

In 2004, SibChallenge-Telecom`s seventh communication node with 100,000 numbers will be commissioned, doubling the numbering capacity of the network. This numbering resource and the widely branched fiber-optic network will make it possible to connect wireline customers in practically any district of the city and offer new telecommunications solutions to business customers. In addition, Sibchallenge plans to introduce new up-to-date telecommunication services to meet the diverse needs of exacting customers, telebanking, Call Center services, wireless Internet access points (Hot Spots), and Internet TV.

Alexander Vinogradov, President and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Telecom, commented "We expect that these two prosperous companies will fit well with Golden Telecom. We have worked with SibChallenge-Telecom and Tel for five years already. We believe that the impressive infrastructure which the Krasnoyarsk operators have built over 10 years of operation, including the equipment, numbering capacity and licenses, is a good springboard for future operations in Krasnoyarsk, particularly in the Small Medium Enterprise and residential sectors."

Alexander Kosolapov, General Director of OOO SibChallenge-Telecom added: "Joining a major telecommunications holding like Golden Telecom gives SibChallenge-Telecom the resources and impetus for further development. SibChallenge-Telecom now has the financial resources, the professionals and the facilities to meet the diverse communications needs of a diverse customer base. We guarantee a high quality of service for the mass market and an individual approach to each business customer."

About Golden Telecom (www.goldentelecom.com)

Golden Telecom, Inc., (NASDAQ:GLDN) is a leading facilities-based provider of integrated telecommunications and Internet services in major population centers throughout Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The Company offers voice, data and Internet services to corporations, operators and consumers using its metropolitan overlay networks in Moscow, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk and Nizhny Novgorod and via intercity fiber optic and satellite-based networks - including 150 combined access points in Russia and other countries of the CIS. The Company offers mobile services in Kiev and Odessa.

About SibChallenge-Telecom and Tel (www.scn.ru)

OOO SibChallenge-Telecom is a leading CLEC in the Krasnoyarsk Region, which has been operating in the field of telecommunications for 10 years. SibChallenge-Telecom owns a developed telecommunications network, which includes a state-of-the-art digital automatic exchange, a widely branched transport fiber-optic network (SDH, PDH) and networks providing radio access to local telephone networks, which use advanced wireless technologies, including CDMA.

Holding all necessary licenses the company provides a wide range of telecommunication services - from conventional wire telephony to up-to-date integrated telecommunication services. Its subsidiary, Tel, provides Internet services, unique for the region, such as mobile Internet access services based on the up-to-day Wi-Fi technology, services of the integrated Ranetka network, Internet TV, electronic commerce services.

Statements made in this press release are forward looking and are made pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements concern the expected development plans of SibChallenge and future prospects for SibChallenge. It is important to note that such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause outcomes to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility that demand in Krasnoyarsk may not meet expectations and the expansion of SibChallenge`s network infrastructure may not materialize. Additional information concerning factors that could cause results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements is contained in the company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission including the Company's periodic reports on Form 8-K and Form 10-Q filed during 2003, the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002.