[8][9] The history of the company began in the 1990s when the American-Swedish Millicom International Cellular established mobile network operators which provided D-AMPS services in various regions of Russia.

In 2001 Millicom sold its Russian assets to the Swedish holding Tele2, which started implementing GSM services in its networks and moved them to their own brand.

[12][13] On October 17, 2013 the VTB Group closed the selling of 50% of Tele2 Russia shares to a consortium of private investors holding the Rossiya Bank, including Yury Kovalchuk (the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Rossiya Bank) and Alexei Mordashov (the Severstal co-owner), and also 5% of the shares were sold to Sogaz insurance group.

[14][15][16] On February 6, 2014 Rostelecom and Tele2 Russia signed a framed agreement on integration of mobile assets into the ownership capital of the joint venture (JV) T2 Rus Holding.

On March 28, 2014 the first stage of the deal on integration of Rostelecom mobile assets and creation of a new federal cell operator was completed.

[17][18] Seven Rostelecom subsidiaries — Sky Link, Nizhny Novgorod Communications, Baikalvestcom, BIT, Volgograd GSM, ETK and AKOS-came under the operational and financial control of Tele2 Russia.

On August 5, 2014 earlier than scheduled, Rostelecom completed the second and final stage of the deal with Tele2 Russia to create a new federal mobile operator, having transferred 100% of the shares of its affiliate RT-Mobile to the joint venture (JV).

[20] On February 12, 2020 Rostelecom entered into a legally binding agreement on purchasing of 55% of T2 RTK Holding shares with VTB Bank and a consortium of investors.

The information about it came up in January, and in February the Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo) gave resolution to increase the share of the state-owned company.

Until 2013, Russia for Tele2 AB was the major market, which, as of 2010, provided more than a half of subscribers in total and 34.7% (the biggest percentage among all the countries) of EBITDA.

[29] In June 2018 a digital medicine project – an application allowing to get a telemedical advice - was launched in partnership with the company Doc+.

[31] In October 2017 Tele2 Russia started a loyalty program named “Bolshe” (En: More) which was intended for subscribers’ personal preferences.

The new concept involves an emphasis on innovative products that reflect the preferences of subscribers and support their lifestyle, and on excellent customer.

[33] In October 2017, also first-ever on the Russian communications market, an additional feature was introduced – exchange of minutes to gigabytes.

[37] On May 14, 2019 at the decision of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media (Minkomsvyaz), the release of Tele2 Russia eSim was suspended.

The pilot 5G zone operates in the 28GHz band in NSA (Non-standalone) mode, which allows deployment of 5G in LTE networks and simplifies the implementation of the latest standard at the initial stage.

The live-stream was broadcast by Sony Xperia 5G device outdoors, on Tverskaya Street and Theater Square, in conditions of heavy traffic.

[44] On August 15, 2020 Tele2 in association with a Swiss mobile operator Sunrise Tele2 launched 5G service for Russian subscribers arriving to Switzerland.

In November, the company launched their own MVNE-platform (mobile virtual network enabler), a set of standard systems, including billing, CRM, analytics tools and other components necessary for the work of MVNOs.

It contributed to the United Nation's SDG 12 "Responsible Consumption and Production" and increased the environmental awareness of Russians.

Everyone who brought an old device for recycling before November 1st received prizes from Tele2 including: a certificate for 1,500 rubles for the purchase of a smartphone or 10 gigabytes of mobile internet.

In October 2020, Tele2 scaled the project up and set special boxes for e-waste in 579 brand stores in 60 regions of Russia.

Tele2 chose this topic (electronic waste and how it harms the environment) because it knows many in the high-income class is interested in it and not only that, public opinion polls have shown that it worries almost half of all Russians.