Google has acquired Begun, a Russian contextual ad service.

According to a Reuters report, Google paid Rambler Media, Begun's parent company, $140 million for the firm.

The contextual advertising market in Russia is estimated to be worth about $225 million per year, but little of that belongs to Google, which hasn't been able to make inroads there.

In addition to selling Begun to Google, Rambler also said that it would join Google's AdSense network.