Grayling Blog

Melnikov Vladimir

Deputy General Director, Russia and Eurasia
Telephone: +7 903 790 28 22
vladimir.melnikov@grayling.com

Vladimir Melnikov is well-known amongst business journalists in Eurasia for his work for UES CEO and President of the CIS Energy Committee, Anatoly Chubais, as well as for his work with the owner of System Capital Management, the biggest investor in Ukraine. He was also secretary of the IPO Communications ‘SWAT’ Committee at state oil firm, Rosneft, which became Russia’s largest-ever IPO ($11bn) and is still the largest IPO on the London Stock Exchange.

Vladimir started his Public Relations career, after a period in state service, with the Vologda regional government where he became Communications Director. During this time he was campaign manager for Vladimir Putin's Presidential Election campaign in 2000.

Vladimir joined Grayling Russia in 2004 and has been working for a number of Russian and international clients handling financial issues management and Public Affairs. He is an experienced high-level media handler but has also worked with clients who have ‘government relations crises’, helping western clients navigate the complexities of Russian governmental and state agency structures. Vladimir’s unique talent is to share the same cultural and political DNA of the Russian state, but to combine this with the absolute best in western-style communications techniques. He is a pre-eminent crisis management counsellor.

A graduate of Vologda State University, Vladimir was awarded an MSc in economics and finance from the Russian Academy of Civil Service (Krasny Diplom) and, in 2001-2002, completed a second MSc in media and communications from the London School of Economics. He has guest-lectured on PR and media in Russia at California State University.