Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The St. Petersburg G8 summit is at the center of a public relations maelstrom, reports The Times. "While the Russian Federation has hired the big American PR firm Ketchum to soften President Putin's image at home and abroad, British PR companies are hard at work to counter its efforts." The Bell Pottinger firm tried to purchase ad space in the G8 program on behalf of Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky's Civil Liberties Foundation. The ads, which were critical of Putin, were rejected. APCO Worldwide is using the G8 to criticize Putin for jailing prominent Russian "oligarchs" Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, with help from the London firm Luther Pendragon. Lastly, the firm Portland is providing "media advice" to the G8 organizing committee. Portland will represent the Kremlin throughout its year-long presidency of the G8.
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