Ilya Ponochevny, head of the city of Dmitrov near Moscow, removed the Prada logo from his down jacket before posting images from a flower-laying ceremony on social media, according to a report by Telegram channel Mash.
The event was held at a local memorial to commemorate an anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad.
In a photo from the same event, published on the Dmitrov urban district administration’s website, the official's black down jacket features a red stripe with the Prada logo, which is absent from the image Ponochevny posted on social media.
A jacket similar to the one worn by the official can be found on the website of Moscow’s Central Department Store (TsUM), where it is listed at a price of 340,000 roubles (over $4,600).
In late December, Alexei Navalny's team published photos from a birthday party for Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov's wife, which was attended by Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov. One of the photos shows Ivanov pulling up the sleeve of Peskov’s cardigan to cover up the official’s wristwatch. As noted in the investigation, this watch is worth 6 million roubles (over $82,000) – half of Peskov's official annual income.
