Spartak's Shirokov Purchases Gold iPhone to Show Off Patriotism

By The Moscow Times

Dec. 11, 2014

The captain of Russia's national football team, Roman Shirokov, has purchased a gold-plated iPhone 6 adorned with the Russian coat of arms in order to show off his patriotic spirit in the face of Western sanctions.

In a Reuters video published Wednesday on the YouTube channel of Caviar, the Italian luxury brand that produced the Spartak Moscow midfielder's 179,000-ruble ($3,200) phone, Shirokov said it would look "patriotic" during his trips abroad.

"We have to show everyone that we are not afraid, that we don't plan on standing down, and that we are not scared so easily," Shirokov said.

< In June, the Italian luxury brand release the "Supremo Putin," an iPhone that boasts an 18-karat gold exterior boasting either a portrait of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian coat of arms or the first verses of the country's national anthem.

The newest version can be purchased for 147,000 rubles.

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