The Russian presidential administration has terminated a contract with the Effective Politics Foundation headed by well-known spin doctor Gleb Pavlovsky, a Kremlin source said on Wednesday.
The source declined to comment on the causes of the move.
There has been wide-ranging speculation as to why Pavlovsky might have fallen out of grace with the Kremlin.
Some commentators link this to his indiscreet comments about the upcoming presidential elections in 2012.
According to the Vedomosti business daily, Pavlovsky’s Kremlin pass was revoked personally by presidential deputy chief of staff Vladislav Surkov.
The EPF, an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1995, specializes in political consulting, organization and conducting of election campaigns, and running PR and media projects.
In 1996, it helped run Boris Yeltsin’s election campaign. Since mid-1996 the EPF has been a permanent consultant to the presidential administration, taking part in developing state information strategy and providing ongoing information support and planning.
The EPF has been instrumental in creating a number of well known Runet (Russian Internet) projects, including Russky zhurnal (www.russ.ru), Lenta.ru (www.lenta.ru), Kreml.org, and Public Opinion foundation (www.fom.ru).
Gleb Pavlovsky was a member of the presidential election campaign staffs in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)