ABSTRACT
Government crisis communication skills are most visible during wartime campaigns. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union the field of public relations has experienced a tremendous growth in Russia. The new level of professional development in this area in the country became evident during the 2008 war in South Ossetia. The war communication campaign was handled quite successfully by Russian officials and public relations professionals. They were able to correctly identify key stakeholders and create effective strategies for working with them. Interestingly, they were able to catch the other side out on lies and fabrications and use that to their advantage.
