Putin's Luxury Jacket Worth Tens of Millions Won During Wartime... Controversy Over Extravagance Spreads

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing criticism both inside and outside Russia for the luxurious outfit he wore at the event commemorating the approval of the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories. The Italian luxury brand jacket, which was also controversial at the 8th anniversary ceremony of the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula last March, has sparked controversy again. The outfit is known to cost around 10 million KRW, and analysts say that dissatisfaction among Russian citizens, who are struggling due to partial mobilization orders and economic downturn, is growing.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian on the 3rd (local time), Putin's outfit at the event commemorating the approval of the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories on the 30th of last month is causing controversy inside and outside Russia. According to the Ukrainian media Ukrainska Pravda, the jacket he wore at the event is a product of the Italian brand Brioni, costing 435,000,000 rubles (approximately 10.75 million KRW).

This is not the first time President Putin's luxurious outfit has caused controversy. At the 8th anniversary event of the Crimean Peninsula annexation held last March, he also wore a jacket from the Italian luxury brand Loro Piana, which sparked criticism. The jacket he wore at that time was known to cost $16,000 (approximately 22.8 million KRW), drawing criticism both inside and outside Russia.

Especially amid the partial mobilization order across Russia and the severely deteriorated economic situation due to sanctions against Russia, wearing such a luxurious outfit has been criticized as inappropriate behavior. With the economic downturn and sanctions against Russia, the average annual salary of Russian workers last year was only 678,000 rubles (approximately 7.9 million KRW), further worsening public opinion.

Concerns are also emerging that this will negatively affect President Putin's approval rating, which has already dropped since the partial mobilization order was announced. According to a survey conducted by Russia's independent polling agency Levada Center from the 22nd to the 28th, shortly after the mobilization order was announced, among about 1,600 Russian citizens, Putin's approval rating was 77%, down 6 percentage points from the previous month. This is the lowest since March, right after the invasion of Ukraine, marking the end of the 80% range after six months.