Two truisims :
1. Powerful Russians like their watches
2. You can never, especially as a public figure, hide from the internet trail

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov is the latest to have his horological proclivities revealed for all to see, with the revelation that a Richard Mille RM52-01 Skull Tourbillon was his wristwear of choice during his recent wedding to Olympic ice dancer Tatiana Navka.

This is not a watch for someone who doesn’t want his wrist to be noticed.

The man at the centre of the media storm has been opposition politician and corruption investigator Alexey Navalny, who has stated that the price of the Mille, at a bit over $600k, is four times Peskov’s declared income of 9.2 million Rubles ($147,200) in 2014. Peskov’s response to this to a Russian newspaper has been to say that it was a wedding gift from his wife. Tatiana Navka has defended her husband, saying that she earned the money to pay for the gift, and that she decided on it after much thought about how best to celebrate their wedding.

One minor technicality – if this was a present she decided to get for the wedding after much rumination, then perhaps she should have told her new stepdaughter, as it is visible on the instagram account of Elizaveta, Peskov’s daughter from his first marriage, posted 15 weeks ago. Not quite in sync with their comments that it was a wedding day gift.

Navalny has also posted photos of Peskov wearing brands such as Omega, Rolex and Hublot as well as Richard Mille.

To date, he hasn’t resigned, unlike some other politicians.

Categories: Hublot, News, Omega, Richard Mille, Rolex, watches