OREANDA-NEWS. Rostelecom OJSC (the “Group”) (MICEX - RTS: RTKM, RTKMP; OTCQX: ROSYY), Russia's national telecommunications operator, today announces that Maria Florentieva has been appointed Vice President of Strategic Planning and Investor Relations with Ekaterina Ustinova appointed Head of Investor Relations. Ms. Florentieva will sit on the Management Board, and will play a key role in the implementation of Rostelecom's strategy and Investor Relations efforts. Ms. Ustinova will be responsible for developing Rostelecom's relationships with the investment community.

Sergey Kalugin, President of Rostelecom, commented: “We are constantly challenging ourselves to improve efficiency and business processes across the Group, with a view to delivering maximum shareholder returns. Maria Florentieva's strong management skills and track record for successfully implementing complex high-tech projects gives her the skill set to play a key role in helping us meet these objectives.”

“I would like to welcome Ekaterina Ustinova as Head of Investor Relations. As a public company, Rostelecom is fully committed to maintaining a best practice Investor Relations function, and we wish to maximize our relationships with the investment community and improve transparency for the benefit of all investors. Ekaterina has a wealth of capital markets experience in the investment banking sector and her comprehensive industry expertise which will lead to more informative communications with investors. She will play a vital role in explaining our progress to the financial community. I would also like to thank Masha Eliseeva, following her recent departure as IR Director. Masha played a key role in developing a leading IR function and in successfully communicating great change at Rostelecom to the capital markets," said Maria Florentieva, Vice-President of Rostelecom.

Maria Florentieva is a Moscow State University graduate (Economics Faculty) and also holds an MBA from the London Business School. Maria is one of the founders of WebMediaGroup, where she was responsible for Finance, Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Prior to that, she was Director of Corporate Development of "National Telecommunications" and worked in the investment banking industry for more than ten years.

Ekaterina Ustinova is a Graduate of the International Economic Relations faculty at MGIMO University. She started her career in banking, and between 2000 and 2006, she worked in a variety of investment banking roles. In 2006, she moved to the National Telecommunications Group of Companies, where she was responsible for the private placement of the company. She has been Head of the Project Office of Rostelecom's Moscow macro-regional branch since July 2012, where she has been working on integrating Rostelecom's assets on the Moscow market.