OJSC Polyus Gold (RTS and MICEX: PLZL), the leading gold producer in Russia, announces the launch of a Level I American Depositary Receipts (ADR) Program in respect of its ordinary shares.

The registration statement with respect to the American Depositary Shares (ADSs) of OJSC Polyus Gold evidenced by ADRs was declared effective by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 10, 2006. Each ADR represents the right to receive 1 ordinary share of OJSC Polyus Gold.

Pursuant to the approval of the Federal Service for Financial Markets (“FSFM”) of Russia granted to OJSC Polyus Gold on June 22, 2006, the number of the Company’s ordinary shares that may be circulating outside the Russian Federation and with respect to which ADRs may be issued is equal to 66,719,711 shares, which constitutes 34.99% of the total number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares of OJSC Polyus Gold.

The ADR program will be administered by The Bank of New York (BoNY), one of the leading US banks with total assets exceeding 103 billion US dollars, acting as the depositary bank. ING Bank (Eurasia) ZAO will serve as the custodian bank for the program. Together with The Bank of New York, the Company plans to develop investor relations activities aimed at increasing liquidity of the Company’s stock and building a strong secondary market for its shares and ADRs.

The ADRs will be traded in the over-the-counter (OTC) market in the U.S. and on an unlisted basis on the European stock markets as well.