It's no secret that Svetlana Medvedeva enjoys the finer things. A regular fixture at benefits and fashion shows, the Russian first lady is partial to couture gowns, and she counts several of Russia's hottest fashion designers among her friends. So why are we hearing rumors that the editor of Russia's major business newspaper got fired over a photo of her wearing a $30,000 watch?

Yesterday, the business daily Kommersant issued an apology to Medvedeva for publishing a “needlessly edited” picture of her sporting her Reine de Naples watch. The photo, still circulating among Russia’s blogging class, is the black and white cover of Kommersant’s November 27 style insert, with the first lady's wrist candy highlighted in color. You know, just to bring out the bling a little.

The very idea of Kommersant’s editors feeling they had to issue an apology for this —

— is more remarkable than the apology itself, which is a terse sentence also apologizing to Itar-Tass, the Russian news agency from whom Kommersant apparently swiped the original shot. Itar-Tass must be thrilled about the shout-out, given the context. Thanks, guys.

But this, of course, is all just a prelude to the completely unverified back-story. Kommersant’s editor-in-chief, Andrei Vasilyev, recently lost his post at the paper. Well, we’re going off of pure LiveJournal gossip (and adrenaline) here, but apparently Vasilyev was “invited” to the Kremlin immediately after the photo was published. There, he was told he’d made a “political blunder” by “setting up” the first lady, showing her life of luxury in view of, you know, the global financial disaster outside. Vasilyev reportedly tried to backpedal, saying, “What? It’s just an ordinary stock photo purchased from a photo archive!” But no dice. Kommersant’s owners were asked to replace Vasilyev. Done and done. If it's true — and it sure feels true — the episode proves once that when it comes to the press the Kremlin needs just one accessory: a choke collar.

"Коммерсант" извинился перед женой Медведева за публикацию ее фото в часах за $30 тысяч [Polit.ru]

Photo courtesy of www.daylife.com