ɪt wʌz fˈaʊndᵻd ˌɔn wˈʌn dᵻsˈɛmbɚ nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti sˈɛvən baɪ ˈɛnəl, fɹˈæns tˈeɪleɪkˌɑːm ænd dˈɔɪtʃ tˈɛlᵻkəm, ænd ðˈɛn pˈæst ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd fˈaɪv ˌʌndɚ ðə kəntɹˈoʊl ʌv wˈɛðɚɹ ɪnvˈɛstmənts, wˌɪtʃ ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd ɪlˈɛvən wɪl bɪkˌʌm pˈɑːɹt ʌvðə vɪmpˈɛl kˈɑːm ɡɹˈuːp.
It was founded on 1 December 1997 by Enel, France Télécom and Deutsche Telekom, and then passed in 2005 under the control of Weather Investments, which in 2011 will become part of the VimpelCom group.