Russia mulls campaign to boost image

Russia's image leaves room for improvement

Russia is considering spending millions of dollars on an advertising campaign to improve its image in the West.

According to the Russian Minister for the Press, Mikhail Lesin, the campaign - mainly on television, but also on billboards and in newspapers - would be designed to counteract the "exclusively negative" views of Russia put about in the Western media.

Lesin: Made a lot of money in advertising

"How long can Americans go on being deceived about processes under way in our country," he told a news conference in Moscow, adding that no expense would be spared.

He also said Russia was preparing a report on free speech in the United States, in response to a recent US State Department report which criticised the Russian Government, and Mr Lesin personally, for exerting "considerable pressure" on the media.

Brand management

According to the Russian web newspaper Gazeta.ru the campaign to establish a new Russian "brand" could cost between $50m and $100m in March alone, and could continue for more than a month.

This is not funny at all. This is very serious

Press Minister Mikhail Lesin

The newspaper says the aim will be to show people in the US and Europe that Russia is a "wonderful country with unique, often as yet unrealised potential" in order to cultivate a reflex of tolerance.

It also reports that Mr Lesin believes the US State Department is responsible for the "anti-Russian hysteria" in the West, and to some extent secretly finances it.

The BBC's Jonathan Charles in Moscow says officials complain that when Russia is mentioned in the Western media it is usually associated with complaints about human-rights abuses in the long-running war in Chechnya or profiles of organised crime gangs engaging in widespread corruption.

But he says that after years of bad publicity, even spending such large amounts of money on advertising may make little difference.

'Not funny'

Mr Lesin said the US behaved like an "obnoxious policeman" in criticising Russia's record on freedom of speech, and added that Russia was considering supporting organisations fighting for freedom of speech in America.

Lesin wants West to dance to a new Russian tune

When reporters laughed, he warned: "This is not funny at all. This is very serious."

The Russian report on freedom of speech in the US, he said, would be released in two weeks.

Gazeta.ru said both Russian and Western advertising agencies would be likely to compete for the contract.

Mr Lesin was a founder of Video International, which controls up to 70% of the Russian television advertising sales market, and brought him considerable wealth.

He officially resigned from the company in 1994.