- Title: RUSSIA-SPOKESMAN/WATCH Putin spokesman's $620,000 watch causes uproar in Russia
- Date: 3rd August 2015
- Summary: ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (FILE - SEPTEMBER 5, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DMITRY PESKOV AT NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 18th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA4SH2VKCUFF0M2MHMDWGL7YKH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny has called out a $620,000 timepiece spotted on the wrist of President Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, in his recent wedding photographs.
The 47-year-old married his girlfriend, former Olympic champion figure skater, Tatyana Navka, 40, last weekend in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The lavish ceremony was attended by an A-list crowd of Russian politicians, businessmen and showbiz stars, and dubbed by media commentators as "wedding of the year".
However, discussions of Navka's wedding dress were quickly eclipsed by social media discussions on Peskov's wristwatch seen in wedding photos.
Navalny in a blog post on Sunday (August 2) identified that Peskov was wearing a Richard Mille RM 52-01, a watch reportedly worth $620,000, with only 30 such timepieces ever made.
Peskov's official annual salary is about $145,000 and the wristwatch was not declared a gift.
"Peskov's watch deserves to be known about in a country where 23% of the citizens fall under the category of 'poor'", Navalny tweeted.
As the media furore unfolded, a politician attending the wedding told a Russian newspaper that Peskov had "borrowed the watch from one of the guests to pose for photos".
Peskov himself told RIA news agency in the evening that the watch was a wedding present from Navka.
Opposition activists pointed out several other photos, one dated February 2014, where Peskov was seen wearing the same watch. Navka herself told a Russian TV chat show earlier in July that she doesn't have money to pay utility bills.
Despite the media furore surrounding the expensive timepiece, Russians strolling in the centre of the capital Moscow were happy to accept it could have been a gift.
"I think it is normal if a man can afford it. I like expensive watches too, and I would be pleased if my woman gave me expensive, nice watches," said Dmitry from Moscow.
"Why not? They are independent adults. I think there is nothing wrong in this. An Olympic champion earns enough to have the possibility to make such presents," Viktoria agreed.
"It is their choice what presents to give each other. I think if people earn enough then why not? Let them spend," said another Muscovite Sergei.
"She probably loves her man if she gave him such a watch. There are superstitions but I don't like to think about them. I think a man should wear an expensive watch. If she loves and respects him then she believes he's worth it," said Nina.
In 2012 the Russian Orthodox Church had to apologise for doctoring a photograph of Patriarch Kirill to remove what bloggers said was a luxury wristwatch following accusations that he lives a lavish lifestyle.
It responded after eagle-eyed bloggers said an archive photo of the Patriarch on its website showed the reflection of a Breguet watch worth about $30,000 in the polished surface of a table where his arms rested during talks. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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