A Russian monarchist is seeking to buy three uninhabited islands in the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati to restore the Romanov empire and create an “alternative Russia”.

Anton Bakov, a businessman and former Russian MP, is visiting the tiny nation this week after he was invited there to discuss his plan to purchase or lease three southern islands.

He has proposed creating the capital of the new Russian nation on Malden Island, an empty coral atoll in the south Pacific, where he says he plans to invest £280 million on resorts.