NICOSIA—Action Global is set to significantly expand its Russian presence, in a bid to offer better coverage across several of the country's untapped PR markets.

Currently headquartered in Moscow, Action Global's Russian operation plans to extend its network to include Khabarovsk and Vladivostok in the Far East of the country, to St Petersburg, Kaliningrad and Novgorod in the North West. 

Other key locations will include Yekaterinburg in the Ural region, Tatarstan’s capital of Kazan, Bashkortostan’s industrial capital of Ufa and Siberia’s capital of Novosibirsk — the third most populous city in Russia.

Action plans to staff its presence via a mix of offices and correspondents. The Nicosia-based agency's PR network now spans more than 40 countries, including affiliates and minority ownership stakes, across entral and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the CIS countries, the Caucuses, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean.

"Russia is not only Moscow and St Petersburg and that is why a wider reach and approach is a necessity," said Action Global CEO Tony Christodoulou. "We have already set the ball in motion for our growth plans, working towards this goal for over seven months now."

Action's Russian plans come as Western international PR networks rethink their plans for the country, following Edelman's 2012 shutdown and Ogilvy PR's split with local affiliate SPN last year. Christodoulou is no stranger to entering markets first; in 2012 his firm became the first international PR agency to launch in Libya.