Google Grabs Russian Advertising Agency

Google is adding a Russian contextual advertising company into its AdSense program.

Google bought ZAO Begun for $140 million, the company announced early this morning. Begun, as it’s called, appears to be the Russian equivalent of AdSense, with about 40,000 advertisers and another 140,000 in a partner site. Along with the deal, Begun’s parent company — Rambler Media — has agreed to use Google search and advertising on its own web site.

The deal is expected to be finalized by September.