10 CULTURE The Times Thursday, November 11, 2011 BELTA Olga Khizhinkova of Vitebsk wins finals of 6th Miss -2008 National Life after bright triumph: fates of Miss Belarus queens Since 1998, every other year, Belarus has organised a Republican Beauty Pageant. Who are our top beauties, entrusted to wear the longed-for crown? Who has represented our country at global beauty contests for a two year period? What happens to these ‘Cinderellas’ after the ball? Where does life lead them? mathematics at the for several years, attending Vitebsk. Before the contest, Moscow Educa- a local arts school and the she worked as a manager and Olga Antropova with the Miss Belarus-2004 crown tional Centre and, Italian Culinary Academy. headed a fashion theatre club By Lyudmila Minakova last year, participat- Her cooking skills are now at Vitebsk’s College of Light ed in the Teacher of the Year contest. exemplary: she makes a Industry (from which she Shifting from being a She was named among the top ten good tiramisu and her graduated). “Of course, model to a teacher teachers in Moscow. Also, Svetlana pasta is delicious. On re- my life changed after Th e fi rst Belarusian beauty was now has two charming children. turning home, she entered the pageant,” Olga crowned in 1998: Svetlana Kruk, the Moscow Detali Inter- admits. “I moved from Grodno. At that time, she was Young miss national Design School into the Minsk a graduate of the National Beauty In 2000, Anna Stychinskaya, 17, and is now involved in flat I’d been School and a Grodno State Uni- from Mogilev, took the crown. Being art, while dreaming of given and versity student. Later, she married under 18, she couldn’t travel abroad opening her own con- entered the Sergey Kuznetsov, also from Grod- for many foreign contests but made fectionery company. Belarusian no, and they moved to Moscow. She a name for herself in the fashion State Uni- worked as a model in Italy and vis- industry, working as a model. She Always versity’s Jour- ited the USA but, in the later became a modelling director positive nalism Institute. course of time, and teacher, touring abroad with the In 2006, Journalism is my replaced beau- Fashion Mill Festival. when Yekater- major passion now. ty pageants ina Litvinova I write for an Internet with other Happy mother site, preparing inter- occupations. In 2002, Olga Nevdakh, from views and writing arti- Th ese days, Brest, was studying at the Minsk cles. I’m also involved Svetlana Institute of Modern Knowledge. in the ‘Dreams Come lectures in Aft er winning her crown, she True’ charity. Model- toured half the world, taking part ling is just a hobby. in and and winning the ‘Photo Singing queen Model’ nomination at the In 2010, Lyudmila World Championship Yakimovich, 22, from for Performing Arts in Grodno, was a fi ft h year Hollywood. She then student at the Belarusian returned to her native Institute of Law, special- Brest and now heads ising in legal psychology. “I the Brest branch of haven’t changed in myself,” the Sergey Nagorny she asserts, speaking of her Fashion Studio, life following her crowning. while bringing up “I still view the world around her daughter, Masha. me positively, feeling love for people. However, my life plans Beauty with a have changed as I’m now working brush Journalism is new occupation on a musical project, preparing to for Olga Khizhinkova Aft er winning the debut as the lead singer with a band. Miss Belarus title in won the pageant, she was a Belarusian- Of course, I still model, combining 2004, Olga Antropova, Russian University student. Several the pleasant and the useful.” Not from Brest, liaised with months on, she moved from her native long ago, Lyudmila returned from a model agencies in Is- Mogilev to Minsk, becoming a model Polish beauty pageant as ‘First Run- tanbul, Milan, Miami agency commercial director. Yekateri- ner Up’, having beaten girls from 69 and New York. She na worked as a TV host for a while and other countries. won Top Model In- now specialises in advertising. Next year, we’ll crown a new ternational in 2005 Belarusian beauty. Already, selec- but decided to give Dreams come true tive rounds have been held coun- Miss Belarus-2010 Lyudmila Yakimovich is up modelling. She In 2008, the crown went to 21 trywide, gathering entrants for the Miss Belarus-2006 Yekaterina currently involved in musical projects settled in New York year old Olga Khizhinkova, from 2012 crown. Litvinova tries modelling