Vladimir Putin’s spokesman sparks outrage after flashing £400k luxury watch at

The British press had a field day with another wristwatch, this one worn by Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov at his wedding to former Olympic Ice Dancer Tatyana Navka last week.

Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, jumped on the scandal, repeatedly re-tweeting the photo, snapped at the wedding ceremony in Sochi, along with a magnified image of the luxury timepiece – a Richard Mille RM 52-01 “Skull” watch, of which fewer than three dozen are said to have been made.

On Sunday, Navalny said on his blog that it was impossible for Peskov to have received the watch legally, since Peskov had been working as a civil servant since 1989 with no other income but his state salary, which Navalny estimated at $146,000, based on information about Peskov’s past property declarations.

‘Because of the “wedding of the year”, there were so many photos of the watch that we decided to ask these questions publicly. “Where could the head of state’s press secretary get a watch worth four times his annual income?” asked Navalny.

For his part, Peskov claimed that his watch had been a gift from his bride.

Officials in Russian Federation have to declare gifts that are worth more than 3,000 rubles (£30), he added on the blog. The traditional clock-face watch on one side of the watchband is complemented by a 38mm Apple watch that sits opposite, resting against the inside of the wrist.

Oleg Mitvol, a politician who attended the wedding, said that Mr Peskov borrowed the watch from a very rich friend for the trick.

Putin also appears to have a taste for luxury wristwatches, a claimed 11 in total.

‘It’s a gift from Tanya, ‘ he told RBK media group.

“Peskov’s mustache is more expensive than his watch”. But it is considerably less expensive than some comrades are saying.’.

Mr Peskov declared an annual income of 9,184,358 rubles (about £93,000 at current exchange rates) in 2014.

Peskov said where his bride Navka was able to find the money “does not concern anyone”.

A 2012 report by leading opposition figures, including Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated outside the Kremlin earlier this year, detailed allegations of how Peskov’s boss, Putin, had 15 helicopters, 4 yachts, and 43 airplanes at his disposal.

But this isn’t the first time the Russian elite’s love of extravagant timepieces has landed them in hot water.

Meanwhile Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, provoked internet backlash when his £19,000 Breguet watch was airbrushed out of a photograph.