Russian state-media outlet ‘Sputnik’ gets a new corporate relations director

Peter Lidov, a former public relations official for Philip Morris International and the Russian mobile phone operator MegaFon, has accepted a position as corporate relations director for the Russian state-funded media outlet Sputnik.

In late June Lidov lost his job at MegaFon after a series of PR snafus that culminated in a June 14 tweet, where he said the thousands of protesters who demonstrated that month against corruption were “underage degenerates.” Lidov later apologized for his word choice, but it proved to be the final straw for his employers.

According to Lidov's Facebook page, his new role at Sputnik will be to “promote its brand in Russia and beyond.”