FORGET the sacking of Moscow's mayor or Russia's chances of beating England to host the 2018 World Cup. Russia's blogosphere was on Tuesday buzzing with a discussion of President Dmitry Medvedev's state-of-the-art stereo system.

Sharp-eyed bloggers, however, spotted Medvedev's extraordinary stereo lurking in the background. Experts estimated it was worth up to $200,000. It includes giant speakers, a CD player, amplifiers and other expensive gadgets. It is not clear whether the stereo belongs to Medvedev himself — a Deep Purple fan and keen vinyl enthusiast — or is the property of the state, in this case the Russian Federation.

Either way, it is a tantalising clue in a country where any mention of Putin or Medvedev's personal wealth is strictly taboo.

Bloggers professed themselves unimpressed by Medvedev's choice of audio equipment — it includes a bespoke Avid Actus Reference SP turntable (made in the UK) and two Swiss-made Daniel Hertz M1 speakers which cost a cool $75,000 a pair, it was estimated.

One blogger, yarosh, declared: “The experts I've talked to tell me this is a bit of a vulgar stereo complex. There's nothing special about it. You can find something cooler and cheaper in Russia and, most crucially, with a superior sound,” he suggested. Others wanted to know why Medvedev had not bought a Russian model. They also wondered whether he had paid for the music centre himself or used taxpayers' cash. “If the stereo belonged to Obama, or any European leader, this would be a scandal rather than a joke,” one blogger, westernstorm, pointed out.

Official photos from the meeting show Medvedev crouching down to change the CD. It is not clear, though, whether the meeting took place against a backdrop of Deep Purple and British rock from the 1970s. Putin, for the record, is said to prefer listening to patriotic ballads. — The Guardian, London