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Journalists, it has to be said, kind of enjoy giving politicians a hard time. Now one Russian newspaper has struck on a timely way of doing it. The World’s Alex Gallafent reports.

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JEB SHARP:  I’m Jeb Sharp.  This is The World.  Journalists, it has to be said, kind of enjoy revealing politicians’ secrets.  Now one Russian newspaper has struck on a timely way of doing it.  Here’s The World’s Alex Gallafent.

ALEX GALLAFENT: If you’re a politician in a place where the economy isn’t too strong, where people are having a hard time, most places I guess, it doesn’t make much sense to flaunt your own personal wealth.  But that’s just what Russian polls are doing, according to Vedomosti, a daily business paper.  Now members of the Russian political elite generally don’t reveal their wealth, so Vedomosti guessed by looking at their wristwatches.  Turns out some Russian politicians have expensive tastes.  President Dmitry Medvedev owns a Breguet Classique Moonphase. In the US, that costs about $32,000.  Transport Minister Igor Levitin wears a Patek Philippe watch, almost 75,000.  The governor of the Samara region, Vladimir Artyakov, tells the time using a DeWitt watch.  That costs more than 200 grand.  And then there’s Ramzan Kadyrov.  He’s the powerful president of the Russian republic of Chechnya.  According to official documents, he earns $100,000 a year and owns a Lada, the fabled car of the Soviet proletariat.  But his wrist is adorned by a Bovet-Fleurier minute repeater.  That’ll set you back $300,000.  But wait for it.  Here’s the priciest watch worn by a Russian leader, and why not.  Let’s use the company’s online soundtrack for dramatic effect.  The watch is the DeWitt La Pressy Grande Complication.  Vedomosti, the business daily, reports that it’s worn by the deputy mayor of Moscow, Vladimir Resin. The timepiece is worth just over $1 million.  It’s a beautiful thing if you’ve got the cash.  And as another high end watchmaker puts it, a watch is not merely a method of telling the time.  It is a silent statement about your values.  For The World, I’m Alex Gallafent.

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