Anna Zakharova, a resident of Karaganda who received a watch as a gift from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has decided not to sell it after a wave of public criticism, reports infohub.kz.
Initially, she had listed the commemorative watch for sale at 2.9 million tenge, noting she was open to reasonable offers. According to her, she received the watch with the president's autograph in 2023 during a meeting with him. At that time, Zakharova gave Tokayev a one-and-a-half-month-old Tazy puppy and received the signed watch in return.
In the listing, she explained that she did not plan to wear the watch and believed it might interest collectors. The buyer would also receive supporting documents along with the gift.
However, after numerous comments from users condemning her decision, Zakharova removed the listing and explained her actions. "Many reminded me that there are things whose value cannot be measured solely in monetary terms," she wrote on Threads.
She said that after reading the comments, she reconsidered her attitude towards the gift and concluded that the memory of the meeting with the president is more important to her than any potential profit. "I realized that in years to come, the memories of this event will mean much more to me than any amount I could have gotten from selling it," she noted.
In the end, Zakharova decided to keep the watch and called her initial decision to sell it too pragmatic. "Today I am sure that it is right to keep this watch. Let it stay with me as a memory of an important event, of a meeting with the head of state, and of a moment that will never repeat in exactly the same way," she wrote.
She concluded by saying she had come to a simple conclusion: "memory is indeed more valuable than money."