BGR Government Affairs is representing billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili who plans to challenge Mikheil Saakashvili, a strong U.S. ally, for the presidency of Georgia, the former Soviet state.
The Economist (De.c 3) profiles Ivanishvili as a plutocrat worth $5.5B who made his fortune in Russia by investing in banking, mining and hotel ventures.
In Georgia, he resides in a “hilltop fortress, complete with helicopter pad and water cascade, is guarded by a small army of security men, as if it belong in a Bond film,” according to the Economist.
Ivanishvili claims that he wants to create a democracy that will “astonish the world,” but the magazine believes “his motives are murky: is he just seeking power, is he acting from fear of (or with encouragement from ) the Kremlin, or does he really wish his country well?”
BGR is to do outreach to U.S. government officials, media and other targeted parties on behalf of Ivanishvili with the goal of “promoting a stronger Georgian democracy, through fair, open and honest elections in 2010.” London-based BGR Garabara is handling the pan-European push.
The contract is worth $25K a month.