×
Enjoying ad-free content?
Since July 1, 2024, we have disabled all ads to improve your reading experience.
This commitment costs us $10,000 a month. Your support can help us fill the gap.
Support us
Our journalism is banned in Russia. We need your help to keep providing you with the truth.

Depressed Mrs. Russia Quits Over Unflattering Interview (Video)

Rossia journalist Boris Sobolev questioning Mrs. Russia 2012 Inna Zhirkova (Russian only).

The winner of the Mrs. Russia 2012 beauty pageant has given up her crown two weeks after an unflattering television interview went viral on YouTube in which she was stumped by simple questions such as whether the Earth revolves around the? sun.

Inna Zhirkova, the 23-year-old mother of two and wife of Makhachkala Anzhi soccer star Yury Zhirkov, has fallen into a state of depression after the interview attracted a barrage of ridicule, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.

She has decided to step down as Mrs. Russia, a title that she won in November, and will not participate in the contest this year, the newspaper said.

Zhirkova's supporters say she was baited by a reporter with Rossia state television, who interviewed her as part of? an documentary about beauty pageant scams titled "Crowned Heads." A? two-minute segment from? the film was subsequently posted on YouTube with the? title, "Footballist Zhirkov's Wife: She Has Money but No Brains." The clip has racked up more than 4.7 million views and hundreds of biting comments over the past two weeks.

In the interview, the reporter notes that Zhirkova was crowned as the? most beautiful and? "active" mother in? Russia and? asks her how she is active.

Zhirkova replies that she actually is not active. Asked whether she has ever held a? job, she replies, "For now I have not had any need to? work."

Later the reporter asks Zhirkova whether the? Earth revolves around the? sun or the? sun revolves around the? Earth. A? flustered-looking Zhirkova says, "Probably the? sun? — no, the? Earth." When pressed to? chose one, she laughs and? says, "I don't know!"

Related articles:

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more