Estonian Pairs Skater Maria Sergejeva Is 2nd In Miss USSR UK 2015

[CaroLiza_fan]

Just thought you would be interested to know that Estonian Pairs skater Maria Sergejeva has finished in 2nd place in the final of Miss USSR UK 2015, held on Friday 1st May in London.

Or, to use the proper terminology, she was “1st Vice Champion”.

WELL DONE MARIA!!!!


Maria Sergejeva and Ilja Glebov (yes, as in Elena Glebova’s older brother) were Estonian Pairs Champions from the 2006/07 season to the 2008/09 season. Here is their ISU Bio, and a video of their 2010 SP from Europeans. (There are other videos of them, but this was the only one I could find with English commentary).

Since retiring from competition, Maria has been skating in shows, as well as doing some modelling (here is her profile on Star Now).

Like a lot of skaters, Maria is also on Instagram. Here is her address:

www.instagram.com/mariasergejeva


Here is Maria’s profile on the Miss USSR UK website:

http://www.missussr.co.uk/finalists-2015/marija-sergeejva-estonia/

There is a video about Maria on this page, as well as a selection of photos (including a very, erm, strange photo of her and Plushenko…)


Miss USSR UK is a beauty pageant for women aged 18 – 30 who are from countries which used to be part of the USSR. I don’t think it is a requirement that they have to be living in the UK – I think that part of the title is just a reference to where the contest is held.

Here is the contest’s website and Facebook Page

This year’s finalists consisted of:

8 Russians
4 Ukrainians
3 Estonians
3 Lithuanians
2 Moldovans

The winner of the 2015 contest was Estonia’s Anastasia Gavris (so, with Maria Sergejeva in 2nd, it was an Estonian 1-2), while Russia’s Ekaterina Daminova finished in third.

Here is a photo of the Top 3. Somewhat confusingly, Maria (with the blonde hair) is standing in the middle, with Anastasia (with the black hair) to her left (our right), and Ekaterina to Maria’s right (our left).

Unfortunately, I can’t find a proper run-down of the results, so those are the only positions I know.


Here are some photo albums from the 2015 final (Maria is finalist #3; Anastasia is #6; and Ekaterina is #17):

Rumm Photography (Backstage)
Getty Images (Make sure to go to page 2 for some good snaps of Maria’s dress)
Prasad Fernando Photography
Malitha Pathirana Photography


And here are some newspaper reports:

Angliya (in Russian)
Anglija Today (in Lithuanian)
The Sun (in English, but because it’s owned by Rupert Murdoch, you have to pay to read)

Please note: The Russian paper says that Ekaterina Daminova was the first runner up, and Maria Sergejeva was the second runner up. This is WRONG. If you look at the sash Maria is wearing in this photo of her with a friend, you will clearly see that she was the FIRST runner up.

There again, the Russians are probably just miffed because this is the third year in a row that the title has been won by somebody from one of the Baltic States. (In 2013, it was a Latvian, and since then it has been won by Estonians).


Despite that Russian paper trying to lessen her achievement, I am very proud of Maria finishing 2nd in this contest. It is so good to see a figure skater continuing to be successful in their life after their competitive career has ended.

Congratulations again, Maria!

CaroLiza_fan

(Wasn’t sure whether to put this in The Edge or Le Café, so if the Mods feel I have made the wrong choice, please feel free to move it).

 

[gmyers]

Who would have thought ussr lives on in Beauty pageants! And that Baltic states would pariticipate! Seems like participants are russian though.

Congrats!

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Who would have thought ussr lives on in Beauty pageants! And that Baltic states would pariticipate! Seems like participants are russian though.

Congrats!

Yeah, it was a surprise to me too! I had never heard tell of the contest until Saturday, when photos were starting to appear on Maria's Facebook profile.

But, I suppose it shouldn't be too big a surprise. We figure skating fans know that women from that part of the world tend to be very beautiful!

And hey, didn't the Beatles let everybody know that 46 years ago in "Back In The USSR"?! (lyrics; video)

But, I agree that it is surprising seeing some of the countries that are represented. Especially given the bad relations between these countries and Russia, both now and in the past.

We both mentioned the Baltic States in our comments. Well, according to that Russian newspaper, there are a bunch of Lithuanians that protest outside the contest venue every year. So, it hasn't gone down well with everybody.

But, I suppose that the participants are of an age that they wouldn't remember much from the days they were under Russian rule. So, it doesn't have the same meaning to them that it would their parents or grandparents.

I very much doubt that many of the participants see this competition as harking back to the "glory days" of the USSR. They probably just see it as just another beauty contest that they are eligible to enter.

At the end of the day, whatever the contest represents, it's something they can put on their CV.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Alba]

Maybe they are russians, from these ex republics. Anyway, when it comes to these stupid things they all like the USSR.

 

[karne]

Miss USSR?

Why not just have Miss British Empire of India while we're at it? Miss Belgian Congo?

The USSR has not existed for more than twenty years. Why on earth are they having a beauty pageant with that title? It's ridiculous.

 

[NaVi]

Miss USSR is likely kind of a way of being PC... it's hard to get away with saying "Miss Russian"(lots of different Russian ethnic groups in Russia, lot's of ethnic Russians outside of Russia)... Miss Slavic would run into problems too.

Why not just have Miss British Empire of India while we're at it? Miss Belgian Congo?

There are a lot of ethnic centic beauty contests though... like "miss asian" and "miss indian"... there even was a Miss Asia Moscow that ran for two years but apparently wasn't held last year... I found it interesting considering how many small east asian ethnic groups are in Russia.
http://vk.com/miss_asia_moscow

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Maybe they are russians, from these ex republics. Anyway, when it comes to these stupid things they all like the USSR.

Miss USSR?

Why not just have Miss British Empire of India while we're at it? Miss Belgian Congo?

The USSR has not existed for more than twenty years. Why on earth are they having a beauty pageant with that title? It's ridiculous.

I know, it is kinda silly when you think of it like that.

I suppose the organisers wanted a title where people would instantly understand who could enter, and that was the best they could come up with. Because, let's face it, hardy anybody has heard tell of the term "Commonwealth Of Independant States", never mind knowing what it means!

But, there are lots of titles related to places that are no longer political entites, particularly when it comes to aristocratic and Royal titles.

For example, the Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward, has the title of Duke of Wessex. Apart from 5 years in the 80's when it was a European Parliament constituency, Wessex hasn't existed as an entity since the 10th century.

So, although it may seem strange, it is nothing new.

But, let's not let the name of the contest take away from the fact that a figure skater has done well in the contest!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Miss USSR is likely kind of a way of being PC... it's hard to get away with saying "Miss Russian"(lots of different Russian ethnic groups in Russia, lot's of ethnic Russians outside of Russia)... Miss Slavic would run into problems too.

True. That is something a lot of people here in "the west" can't appreciate, that there are so many ethnic groups within Russia. We just tend to classify everybody in Russia as "Russian".

Take Liza Tuktamysheva. Apart from die-hard fans of Liza's, very few people in "the west" have even heard tell of Udmurtia. And even fewer know that the Udmurts are a distinct ethnic group, with their own language (unrelated to Russian), customs and culture.

Even back when the USSR was in existance, most people didn't take into consideration that there were Soviet Socialist Republics other than the Russian SFSR. EVERYBODY from the USSR was "Russian", whether they were ethnic Russian, Estonian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Kazakh, etc.!

Which is a shame, given the great diversity of cultures that were located within the borders. At least since the USSR broke up we are starting to recognise that there is a diversity. But, there is still a long way to go.

There are a lot of ethnic centic beauty contests though... like "miss asian" and "miss indian"... there even was a Miss Asia Moscow that ran for two years but apparently wasn't held last year... I found it interesting considering how many small east asian ethnic groups are in Russia.
http://vk.com/miss_asia_moscow

Cool!

Hey, I just had a thought. Given that Kazakhstan has a large Korean population (the most notable example for us being Denis Ten), I wonder if they have anything similar catering for their ethnic minorities...

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Just to let you know that there are a few videos about the contest out there.

Firstly, there are lots of photos and videos on the Miss USSR UK Instagram page:

https://instagram.com/missussruk/

(Incidentally, in case any of you missed it, I added Maria's Instagram address to the Original Post a couple of days ago)


Secondly, somebody that was in the audience has uploaded a couple of videos to YouTube:

The Finalists
Elegant Wear

Oh, who is that at the start of those videos...?!


Finally, a report about the contest on the MSN website.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/watch/video/vi-BBjcI7b

And guess who is the first person that talks to camera...

There were also a few things I found out that I didn't know, like the fact that all the dresses were designed by Elizabeth Emanuel. (OK, so I have to confess that I knew Maria's dress was designed by her, as she mentioned it a few times in her posts. But I didn't realise that everybody else's was as well).

Just be warned - there are inaccuracies in the report. Most notably, they get the nationality of the winner wrong! (She is Estonian, not Lithuanian).

And, they commit the cardinal sin of referring to all the participants as "Russian" at the start of the report.

Typical British press!

CaroLiza_fan