It Girl Ksenia Sobchak is never afraid to speak her mind, whether she’s haranguing contestants on her reality show “Dom-2” or sticking the knife into a fellow socialite.
But she revealed an unexpected side recently when she gave an interview to Ekho Moskvy radio station about her trip to North Korea.
Sobchak said she chose North Korea on the advice of Alfa Bank president Pyotr Aven. She talked about visiting Pyongyang?€™s giant bowling alley and the national film studio, where the sets weren?€™t plywood but miles of solid concrete.
One evening she asked to try dog meat and got more than she bargained for. ?€?You come to the restaurant and you have 12 or 13 dishes all made of dog meat,?€? she said. ?€?If you don?€™t think about what you?€™re eating, it?€™s really delicious.?€?
She was obviously fascinated and horrified by the country and its weird atmosphere. ?€?You have a kind of bad feeling that you are doing something wrong, that you are coming to some kind of terrible, hellish human zoo,?€? she said.
Of course, many would say the same of ?€?Dom-2,?€? where blank-eyed participants spend years on a pointless building project, while proclaiming their undying love for each other and their eternal leader Sobchak. But at least they?€™re volunteers.
This week, Sobchak was also in the news for sneering at wealthy socialite model Olga Rodionova and her emeralds.
Last year, Rodionova posed for a book of erotic photographs by French artist Bettina Rheims titled ?€?The Book of Olga.?€? The photos were commissioned by her husband, magazine publisher Sergei Rodionov, and published by Taschen in a limited edition.
Last month, Silver Rain radio station held an award ceremony for the ?€?most dubious achievements in show business.?€? Sobchak presented Rodionova — who didn?€™t turn up ?€” with a prize called ?€?Naked and Funny?€?.
At the same time, she read out a letter from Rodionova?€™s lawyers warning that they would sue if the ceremony went ahead.
?€?Naked and Funny?€? is also the name of a late-night television show where busty women accidentally lose their clothing in various hilarious ways.
Sobchak continued the attack in her column in this month?€™s Tatler magazine. ?€?Under the pretense of high art, [Rodionova] showed the world her genitals in such high resolution that you could count the number of sapphires and emeralds in her vaginal piercing,?€? she writes.
She adds that she organized a girls?€™ night to discuss why Rodionova chose ?€?to show off her assets not to a narrow circle of lovers of silicon breasts and lips, but to the whole world.?€?
Rodionova also appeared in last week?€™s OK! magazine. The story is headlined ?€?I?€™m Not Just a Socialite. Unlike Many Others, I Work.?€? To be fair, that work isn?€™t just flashing her emeralds ?€” she also hosts shows on two obscure channels.
She posed fully clothed at her house in Croatia and next to her white Bentley, which has the license plate ?€?OLJGA.?€?
In an interview with Express Gazeta this week, Rodionova expressed disdain for Sobchak. She says Sobchak ?€?had the nerve?€? to ask her for a free copy of the book, claiming that it was too heavy to bring back on a plane. The real reason was that the book costs 350 euros, she hints.
Sobchak wanted to discuss ?€?what is beyond her financially, morally and aesthetically in the company of single girls like her,?€? Rodionova sneers.
She boasts that her husband is a ?€?wealthy man?€? who is ?€?deserving in all senses,?€? while poor Sobchak ?€?is well past first freshness and can?€™t hope for a tasty tidbit any more.?€? By the way, Sobchak is 27.
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.
Remind me later.