The power, which has a communicative nature and acts as a means of special communication, implements these functions through government public relations (PR). In Russia, starting from the turn of the 1980s - 1990s, PR in the system of state and municipal government went through three stages of institutionalization. The results of the study, conducted by the authors, allowed to draw the following conclusions: nowadays, clear boundaries of PR-activities in government structures have been set, a staff has been formed with professionals, and a set of functional responsibilities has been developed. At the same time, a specific renaissance of propaganda technologies should be noted in a government communication activity.