dmitry medvedev

In Russian politics, I've seen a trend sometimes that seems to translate into "with great responsibility comes great humility." Russian leaders are expected to connect well with the people. Current elected Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is generally well liked and considered more liberal than his friend and predecessor Vladimir Putin (according to Wikipedia). Interestingly enough, the same source reports that Medevdev earned an income of $80,000 in 2007 with a similar amount of money in savings. How is it then that he is seen in this picture wearing a watch valued at around $30,000?

Looking at a blown up image of the picture, I've detected that Medvedev is wearing a Breguet Moon Phase Power Reserve Ref. 3137BR /11/ 986. While his taste is good, it begs the question where the watch (or funds for it) came from. This particular Breguet model is based on a classic pocket watch dial design from Breguet. It features an automatic wound Breguet caliber 502DR movement with the hours, minutes, moon phase, and a power reserve indicator (no seconds). The watch case is about 36mm wide available in yellow or white 18k gold. Typical of all Breguet watch the dial features rich guilloche engraving while the gold rotor seen through the sapphire caseback is engraved beautifully with decorations fit for a king, I mean president.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

U.S. government and business officials aren't the only ones facing scrutiny over lavish trips. Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev has warned senior officials to stay out of the international spotlight. He issued a document telling his administration members and key ministers to tell him where they are going away for vacation. The new rules came down after newspapers showcased high-profile Russian officials partying it up in the luxurious French ski resort of Courchevel. Medvedev is worried that this type of display is bad for the country's image and could upset the people who have lost their jobs as Russia is experiencing similar economic pressures to the ones we have here in the States.