Statement of Norilsk Nickel about information disseminated by UC Rusal regarding foreign court proceedings

Further to the information regarding foreign court proceedings that was disseminated today by UC Rusal, OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (“Norilsk Nickel” or the “Company”) wishes to make the following statement.

UC Rusal management asserts that it has been compelled to take such actions, whose purpose is allegedly to gather documents to be used in various judicial proceedings.

In actual fact UC Rusal senior executives are once more showing their complete disdain for the rights and interests of other shareholders of the Company and concealing their true objective and intent to gain control over Norilsk Nickel to the detriment of the other shareholders.

In support of UC Rusal’s claims before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, UC Rusal submitted written testimony from Maxim Sokov. According to Mr. Sokov, UC Rusal is seeking injunctions to stop Corbiere and Raleigh, subsidiaries of the Company, as well as Trafigura and Interros, from voting at the Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting (EGM) of Norilsk Nickel on March 11, 2011.

It is the belief of Norilsk Nickel that the point of this action is to prevent shareholders of the Company from taking part in the voting, so that only UC Rusal itself and some of the minority shareholders will be able to participate in the vote. All of this is taking place at the same time as UC Rusal has used the court in Nevis to block settlements with shareholders under the shareholder value enhancement program approved by the Board of Directors in late December 2010. As a result of such actions many minority shareholders that tendered their securities ended up not receiving payment for their shares while losing the ability to vote such shares at the EGM.

All of this leaves no doubt that the aggressive behavior of UC Rusal is aimed at gaining control over Norilsk Nickel – not by way of an open cash offer to all shareholders of the Company, but through the use of the court systems in various jurisdictions (Russia, the U.S., the U.K., Nevis).

In this situation Norilsk Nickel management will do everything in its power to protect the interests of the Company and its shareholders.