If you have ever wanted to own a piece of the glamorous celebrity world, now is your chance. Russian celebrities are going on the market, and at bargain prices, too. For as little as $13, you can snatch up a new centerpiece for your fireplace, which is bound to serve as an eternally exquisite memento of the glorious 2010s.
The bid for a share of Russian celebrity fame begins at just $12.93. That is how much it will cost you to buy a Barbie-like doll of the ex-member of the scantily clad band ViaGra, Anna Sedokova. The limited-edition doll, titled "Anna Sedokova, famous singer," can be bought in the United States or through the Internet. Sedokova is in Los Angeles recording her new album and gained fame for being Jennifer Lopez's opening number during the singer's concert in Moscow. The extra publicity caught the attention of some American doll-makers, who settled on Sedokova when picking which Russian celebrity beauty to feature as their new doll.
Another potential buy is a piece from the new fashion line of Anna Grachevskaya. Director Boris Grachevsky's young wife decided to become a designer and recently presented her first works on her social network page. They include sweatshirts with photograph prints, T-shirts and handbags. If Grachevskaya's seem a tad odd to you, don't despair. You can still buy something from the fashion lines of reality show host Olga Buzova and the 22-year-old daughter of famed Russian designer Valentin Yudashkin, Galina.
For a slightly heftier purchase, consider renting the apartment of the late singer Vladimir Vysotsky. The apartment, near Krasnopresenskaya metro station, where the Soviet icon lived from 1975 to his death in 1980, is available to rent for 125,000 rubles ($4,160)per month. The move-in date would be in August, when the current one-year contract expires. The apartment has the same floor plan as during Vystosky's residence there, though there have been repairs, and the furniture was removed. Fans previously wanted to turn the apartment into a museum but found the logistics around that a bit problematic considering its location on the eighth floor of a residential building.
For other celebrities, solving apartment-related problems can be more simple — if they have President Vladimir Putin's help, that is. The boisterous singer Lolita Milyavskaya published an open letter recently in which she complained about her building's homeowners association. Milyavskaya bought an apartment near Taganskaya metro station, but repairs are taking place, so she doesn't live there. Milyavskaya said she had gotten large bills for the upkeep even though she has won six legal cases excusing her from payment. This week, the singer got some much-needed relief when Putin sent an e-mail saying officials are looking into her complaints.
Of course, not all Russian celebrities are so focused on material things. Quite the opposite. Former presidential hopeful and popular actor Ivan Okhlobystin announced on his blog that he will hold a series of "spiritual conversations" in March in which he promised to talk about "the most important questions," including love, fear, separation, self-search and spiritual discipline. These enlightening episodes will take place in Minsk, Ivanovo, Tula, Nizhny Novgorod, Tver and Obninsk.
Contact the author at e.smirnova@imedia.ru
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