The Beauty of Russian Women: A Cultural Perspective
On the west, men of any age are sure that Russian women are different from all the other women on the planet. Nowhere in the world is a woman subject to so many stereotypes and obsessions as in Russia. Men reading books dream of Anna Karenina; those watching TV dream of Helena Lenina, and admirers of court tennis think of Maria Sharapova and Anna Kurnikova.
We offer you to look at the last 10 years’ winners of the main Russian beauty contest, Miss Russia. But first, a few words about the contest itself: castings of ‘Miss Russia’ take place in 83 places across the Russian Federation and are visited by more than 30,000 girls from the whole country.
A winner of ‘Miss Russia’ receives a prize of 100,000 dollars from the Bank Russian Standard, the General partner of the Contest. The 1st and 2nd vice-miss are presented with a possibility to receive an education in any higher educational establishment in the world. The final of the show is annually watched by 12 million people. The winner of the Miss Russia contest has the exclusive right to represent Russia at the prestigious international contests, ‘Miss World’ and ‘Miss Universe.’
Winners of Miss Russia
- Miss Russia 2005 – Alexandra Ivanovskaya, 16 years old, Chabarovsk. Alexandra took the main prize.
- Miss Russia 2006 – Tatyana Kotova, a 21-year-old beauty from Rostov-on-Don who received a crown, a check for 100,000 dollars, and a chance to present Russia at two prestigious contests.
- Miss Russia 2007 – Ksenia Sukhinova from Tyumen, recognized as the winner in December 2007.
- Miss Russia 2009 – Sofia Rudyeva, an 18-year-old model from St. Petersburg.
- Miss Russia 2010 – Irina Antonenko, an 18-year-old model from Yekaterinburg.
- Miss Russia 2011 – Natalia Gantimurova from Moscow.
- Miss Russia 2012 – Elizaveta Golovanova, a 19-year-old winner from the Smolensk region.
- Miss Russia 2013 – Eldmira Abdrazakova from Mezhdurechensk.