Government Social Responsibility in Public Diplomacy: Russia's strategic use of advertorials

•Russian advertorials published in the Washington Post and the Times of India were analyzed for key themes.•Advertorials aimed at American readers presented Russia as a dependable partner in the area of global cooperation.•Advertorials aimed at Indian readers presented Russia as a long-term partner that shares cultural and global interests.•The advertorial is a useful public relations tactic for issue management.•The advertorial is a useful public relations tactic for public diplomacy. The current study analyzes Russia's use of the advertorial as a tool of direct communication with readers of the Washington Post and The Times of India. The study introduces the concept of government social responsibility (GSR) and discusses its role in government to foreign citizen public diplomacy.