Glamorous daughter of Putin ally, 19, mocked after embarrassing foray into politics

The glamorous daughter of one of Vladimir Putin's closest allies has been mocked after attempting to make the transition from Instagram Kid to political commentator. Yelizaveta Peskova, 19, is the daughter of Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Until recently, Yelizaveta was best known for her stylish social media uploads as she enjoyed the fruits of a life bestowed upon a child of Russia's ruling elite. She poutily flaunted designer clothes and accessories as she travelled the world and completed a marketing degree in France, a leading Nato nation.

Not short on self-belief, the youngster recently made an ill-judged foray into the political sphere, when she visited a shipyard in the Crimea to dish out some of her business wisdom. According to the Times, Yelizaveta made a dismal speech at a press conference during the visit, which included the following gem: "Shipbuilding is not something to be ashamed of."

She also confessed: "I don't know a single person who would even imagine that there are people who build ships."

Yelizaveta then met with workers in the Sevastopol shipyard and was able to return to her more natural element of having her photo taken and uploading it to Instagram.

She is reported to have worn a dress designed by the daughter of Chchen leader and Putin pal Ramzan Kadyrov.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny quipped: "A new star has finally appeared on the horizon of our government's feudal personnel policies, adding that Yelizaveta is a "ready-made government minister or head of a state corporation".

Russian Twitter users were less light-hearted in their appraisal of Yelizaveta's efforts. One wrote: "Our country is falling apart precisely because of things like this. All the real specialists are rotting away, working for 20,000 roubles (£255) a month."

Another said: "The circus with 19-year-old daughter of Peskova, summoned from Paris to solve the problems of a ship-building yard, is a cynical mockery by the Kremlin over the people."

"Is there no-one in Russia, apart from Peskova's daughter, to send to the ship-building yard in Crimea? The nepotism in power circles is driving me nuts," wrote another commentator.

Yelizaveta said that she had visited the shipyard at the request of staff, who were struggling to recruit the next generation of Russian shipbuilders. Ahead of the trip she pined that she was relishing "the opportunity to at least slightly improve the world by helping people".

Critics say the episode is symptomatic of wealth inequality and corruption within Russian society. A Credit Suisse report found that the richest 10% of Russians owned 87% of its wealth. Yelizaveta's father was spotted wearing a watch that allegedly cost £397,000 by anti-corruption activists last year. His official salary is about £160,000.