Putin prowled the stage in his dark-blue, knee-length jacket reportedly made by the Italian fashion brand Loro Piana. The coat, which costs 1.4m rubles in Moscow’s swankier department stores, is made from quilted cashmere with white goose down feathers for padding, goat suede trims and 100 per cent virgin wool. 

Loro Piana will not thank Putin that he appears to have chosen to wear their “stealth wealth” label that, according to fashionistas, is a favourite of the super rich. 

Putin, who officially earns £70,000 a year as president, must have borrowed it or else dipped into his meagre savings. Putin likes the brand. According to reports, he has previously worn a Loro Piana tracksuit, retailing at £2,500, for a fitness publicity stunt. 

Million ruble puffer jacket

Lyubov Sobol, a close ally of the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, tweeted: “Putin stays true to himself: he was sporting a 1.4 million ruble Loro Piana puffer jacket at Luzhniki.” 

In his speech, Putin quoted from the Book of John: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Russia has lost an estimated 7,000 troops so far in its illegal war.