Image copyright @D_Suharev

A public display of patriotism by a Russian politician buying a Lada car backfired - as many focused on what appeared to be his luxury Swiss watch instead.

Shortly before the new year, Vitaly Milonov, a St Petersburg lawmaker, stepped out to buy a new Lada Vesta. Evidently he was keen that his purchase of a modest Russian-made family car should be well documented, because he asked a television crew to join him.

But when the footage emerged, it wasn't the car that attracted comments on social media. Instead, viewers seemed more interested in his wristwear. It's impossible to verify whether it's genuine, but he appears to be wearing a Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine. It regularly retails at more than $10,000 USD (£6,798 GBP), and could, depending on where it was purchased, make it more expensive than the car, costing a mere $9,000 (657,000 roubles).

Mr Milonov paid for half of the car upfront, agreeing to repay the balance in instalments over three years. "Milonov bought the Lada Vesta on credit. Yet his watch is more expensive than the car," wrote one suspicious Twitter user.

Milanov denies any wrongdoing. In a comment to Russian television channel REN, he said: "People have nothing better to do. The watch is 10 years old... Maybe my grandmother left it to me? I don't want to say anything - it's nobody's business."

In 2014, Milonov was reported to earn around $48,000 as a local politician. Not a bad salary, but one that many have suggested put luxury watches out of his price range. The implication by those tweeting, of course, was that the watch was obtained in exchange for political favours.

Image copyright Ulysse Nardin Image caption Dmitry Sukharev posted a picture of an apparently identical watch with a hefty price tag.

The social media trend is being driven by anti-corruption campaigners. One of the earliest messages about the watch came from Dmitry Sukharev, a member of Russia's Anti-Corruption Foundation. He tweeted a picture of Milanov buying the car, drawing attention to his timepiece. "Thanks to the depreciation of the currency, the watch is now worth more than a million roubles," he wrote.

But speaking to REN TV, the politician Vitaly Milanov said his watch was not worth that much at all.

He was awarded a medal of honour by President Vladimir Putin in September last year for "service to the fatherland". But controversial comments about homosexuality have seen him make international headlines in the past. In 2013 he described gay activists as "sick" and in 2012 he attempted to take both Lady Gaga and Madonna to court for speaking out in support of LGBT rights in Russia.

Politicians being quizzed online, after being photographed wearing expensive timepieces, is now a well established theme on social media. In August last year BBC Trending wrote about Dimitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, who was pictured at his wedding ceremony in a Richard Mille watch worth almost £400,000. Twitter users were quick to remind Milanov of the story. "It was a present from Peskov's wife, just ask her, she'll confirm!" wrote one.

More on this topic: The luxury watches that have caused international outcry

Image copyright www.navalny.com Image caption Translation: "Dmitry Peskov's watch is a 'Richard Mille' worth 37,000,000 Roubles ($620,000)"

A scandal involving a Russian official is just the latest in a string of stories about public figures being quizzed over their costly timepieces. READ MORE

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