There is such a profession - the wife of a deputy. And here are its brightest representatives. Recently there was a resonant post on Scribe. The wife of a State Duma deputy boasted of a collection of dresses worth 30,000,000 rubles . That story was promoted by the American magazine Vogue - they say that she alone ensures sales for the elite brand Rodarte, buying dozens of outfits made of lace, feathers and “scales”. This, in general, unsurprising news (are there not enough rich women in Russia prancing around in furs and diamonds?) aroused keen interest when the domestic media clarified the beauty’s marital status: the wife of a United Russia Duma deputy. As a result, the media went further and found out which other of the bright socialite party girls had a reliable rear in the form of “statesmen”?
Ilona Stolier
Husband: Vitaly Yuzhilin, member of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes
The same lady about whom the post was. Our media have already calculated that the owner spent more than 30 million rubles on this brand alone. Model, athlete, traveler, guest of VIP parties and friend of celebrities - from these photos you can get an almost complete idea of what kind of life Ilona lives. In the upper right corner next to our heroine is the American film star Uma Thurman:
But, willingly sharing portraits of her children and friends, she kept her husband secret. There is only one photo - happy birthday. At the same time, the deputy, who can only be recognized by people who know him well, is designated by the mysterious initials VA (Vitaly Alexandrovich).
A couple more joint photographs can be found in the media archives. 2012: at the film premiere in the Barvikha Luxury Village hall in 2012 (photo: Valery Levitin / RIA Novosti)
2015: at a charity event on the French Riviera
In 2013, Yuzhilin’s fortune was estimated at $600 million, but then he sold his logistics company and dropped out of the Russian Forbes list. Judging by the latest parliamentary declaration, his income for 2014 was modest - something like 4 million rubles . However, as far as one can judge, the family did not become poor.
The Ural model explained her role in blackmailing the ex-governor of New York
The Chelyabinsk model said that she had nothing to do with the scandal with Spitzer (left) and his mistress Svetlana Zakharova (right) Photo: EPA/NINA BERMAN/NOOR/nydailynews.com
Lawyers for the Russian top model from the AVANT agency Svetlana Zakharova are preparing lawsuits against the media for calling her a participant in a sex scandal in the United States and extorting money from the ex-governor and former Prosecutor General of New York State Eliot Spitzer. The model has no relation to the real defendant in the high-profile case, her manager Eldar Sagitov told URA.Ru.
“Currently, lawsuits are being prepared against the media that disseminated false information about the involvement of our model Svetlana Zakharova in the scandal in the United States. In fact, we are talking about her namesake and namesake. But we don’t know who she is and what she does,” Sagitov said.
Model Svetlana Zakharova is a graduate of the Chelyabinsk agency "Exclusive", which is part of the well-known image club "Svetlana" in the city. Several years ago she signed a contract with Moscow AVANT. Zakharova shoots for major international magazines and participates in fashion shows. “We haven’t communicated for several years. Svetlana Zakharova is indeed our student. Now she is being produced by the Moscow AVANT,” confirmed Alena Morozova, director of the Chelyabinsk modeling agency “Exclusive”.
The age of both Svetlana Zakharovs is also different - the Russian woman accused by the US authorities is 26 years old, the Chelyabinsk top model is 23 years old.
Chelyabinsk resident Svetlana Zakharova is ready to sue for her good name
Photo: Mojeh magazine cover
As American journalists found out, Svetlana Travis (Zakharova) flew to the USA several years ago. She managed to get married and divorced in 2013, leaving herself the surname of her ex-husband. She was engaged in prostitution, earning up to 5 thousand dollars per session. Her clients included politicians and businessmen. Possibly Eliot Spitzer too. She published a frank article “Sex is Sex, but Money is Money” in the online publication Medium, where she talked about the life of an elite prostitute.
A sex scandal involving her erupted in February, when Svetlana Travis (Zakharova) called the police to her Plaza Hotel room and said that her lover, the ex-governor and former Attorney General of New York State, 56-year-old Eliot Spitzer, had tried to strangle her. The man’s aggression was allegedly caused by her announcement of her return to Russia. The next day the girl flew to Moscow.
After some time, she sent the former governor a letter of apology for slandering him. The case against Spitzer fell apart. But Svetlana Travis (Zakharova) began to demand money - to pay for a trip to Paris and buy her real estate in exchange for silence, threatening to speak publicly about their relationship and ruin the life of the ex-governor.
The American recorded several such calls on audio, after which he filed a lawsuit demanding protection from prosecution and compensation in the amount of a symbolic one dollar. The statement said that Spitzer managed to pay the girl a large sum, but she continued the blackmail. The last straw was the Russian woman’s June letter on Facebook, where she promised to tell the details of her relationship with Spitzer to his daughter. According to lawyer Adam Kauffman, who represents the ex-governor, Svetlana Travis (Zakharova) wanted his client to resume and possibly legalize his relationship with her.
The former official’s lawyer handed over the correspondence with the Russian woman, including audio, to the investigator. In July, a criminal case was opened for attempting to extort $50,000 from Spitzer. The victim claimed that he “was not involved in a romantic relationship with Zakharova,” but refused to explain the nature of their relationship.
Svetlana Travis (Zakharova), according to American media, worked as an elite prostitute - she received up to 5 thousand dollars for one session
Photo: depositphotos.com © URA.Ru
On the evening of October 10, Svetlana Travis (Zakharova) returned to the United States. Police arrested her at New York airport. She was charged with forgery and extorting $50,000 by blackmailing Eliot Spitzer. On Tuesday, October 11, a Manhattan court set bail at $1 million, the Associated Press reports. An assistant district attorney in Manhattan stated in court that Zakharova received transfers ranging from $3,000 to $50,000 to Russian bank accounts over the course of two years.
It is noteworthy that she made such accusations of violence not only against the former governor. According to RuNYweb, in 2013, after a wild party at a friend’s birthday at New Cats Cafe, Zakharova and several of her friends went to continue to her apartment. There, according to a civil lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, one Ernest Atayan attacked her, began to choke her, slammed her head on a countertop, threw her to the floor and kicked her. Zakharova was unable to sue for compensation because her lawyers called the claim very dubious and abandoned the case.
Former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, became governor amid promises to fight corruption, drug addiction and prostitution. He left his post in scandal in 2008 after admitting to having sex with prostitutes. Spitzer was called a "patron of pimps" during a federal investigation, but was never charged.
Elena Likhach
Husband: Andrey Skoch, United Russia deputy, member of the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Relations with Compatriots
Quote from Tatler: “Skoch tirelessly showers Elena with tokens of love like diamond tiaras or a private A-320 jet with icons on board. With regal equanimity, Elena does not pay attention to the evil tongues attributing to her husband, a member of the inter-factional parliamentary group for the protection of Christian values, an un-Christianly dashing past. Be that as it may, the couple signing checks for charity is downright disarming.”
And one more thing: “The breadth of soul of a State Duma deputy (Andrei Skoch) is usually measured in carats,” writes the same magazine, openly hinting that in the most luxurious jewelry boutiques in Paris, his wife is known as their own. 2012: at the birthday party of the president of the De Grisogono jewelry house in a club with the telling name Billionaire (“Billionaire”) in Sardinia. (Photo: Valery Levitin / RIA Novosti)
By the way, there, in Sardinia, according to secular gossip, Elena throws grand parties for her most influential and wealthy friends. And he never misses glamorous parties during the Cannes Film Festival, where, of course, he sails on his own yacht. Elena Likhach with the wife of Italian millionaire, Formula 1 manager Flavio Briatore:
According to Forbes, Skoch, with a fortune of $5.7 billion (investments and metallurgy), is among the top 20 richest Russians. The same Forbes reported in 2014 that the couple was divorcing, but this is probably just a formality. Judging by later Tatler chronicles, Andrei and Elena are still together.
Alena Soboleva
Husband (former): Ildar Samiev, Socialist Revolutionary deputy, member of the State Duma Land and Construction Committee
But this couple really broke up in 2014, and Alena had something to lose. Again, we turn to Tatler, the one and only chronicler of the Russian super-elite: “The husband bathed Alena in luxury beyond kitsch. This marriage had everything: a private jet trimmed with ostrich leather, the only canary-colored Bentley Mulsanne in the world, Alla Pugacheva’s concert for the birthday of her daughter Eva, a dress made from the petals of rare light green carnations, yellow diamonds the size of walnuts.” Here is that same carnation dress (it’s the same one in the first photo above):
And here is a unique car on the streets of Monaco:
However, a Bentley is not yet the most expensive gift for the languidly bored queen of light. In 2011, for example, she received a castle on Lake Geneva for her birthday.
Fortunately for Alena, she did not have to wean herself off from luxury: soon after her divorce from the “king of real estate” Samiev (whose official annual income, according to the parliamentary declaration, is a ridiculous 3.9 million rubles ), the lady was consoled by the attention of some new billionaire. In fact, “you never know how many Pedrovs are in Brazil...” 2012: still a deputy’s wife with a designer friend at a party for the De Grisogono jewelry house in Moscow. (Photo Valery Levitin / RIA Novosti)
Marriage
Before meeting Svetlana, Timur Ivanov was also not free. However, he managed to leave the family quietly and delicately, chivalrously leaving everything to his ex-wife.
He proposed marriage to Svetlana at the end of 2009. This happened in the church of the village of Sychevka, not far from Smolensk. The ring from the Daniel K collection with a ten-carat diamond, which he placed on the bride’s finger in honor of the engagement, was delivered from New York a day before the special moment. A month later, in January 2010, they got married.
Soon Timur and Svetlana became one of the most luxurious couples of domestic bohemia. Their social media pages were filled with colorful photographs from all over the world. London, Courchevel, Africa, Japan, fashion boutiques in France, dinner parties, presentations and resorts - this was their happy family life.
From the very beginning of their relationship, the luxurious lifestyle and well-being of this couple became the reason for a lot of gossip. Timur, according to established tradition, continues to give his beloved Svetlana an obscenely huge bouquet of roses every morning.
Svetlana Zakharova
Husband: Timur Ivanov, General Director of Oboronstroy
For a long time, this lady “with a charming smile and an iron grip,” the owner of exclusive boutiques, was known under the name Maniovich. She was married to businessman Mikhail Maniovich for 15 years, divorced in 2009 - publicly and rather messily, after which the socialite received the nickname “bloodthirsty.” 2007: the Maniovich couple at a charity dinner on the Cote d'Azur. (Photo: Ekaterina Chesnokova / RIA Novosti)
The glossy press enthusiastically rinsed their underwear, here are just a few quotes. Mikhail: “My wife demands a minimum of 50 thousand income per month!” (obviously not rubles - media note) “During a divorce, the wife takes the children away. Then a nice lawyer comes: “Do you want to see the children? 100,000 per month.” For what?" “Svetlana’s fashion business was absolutely unprofitable, and I was plugging the holes. One day my ex-wife said: “I have progressed over these 15 years. Unlike you. I became a style icon, a specialist in the fashion business, and you remain who you were.” A style icon is great, but that's on my money. If you cut off your oxygen, there will be no style.” Svetlana: “What’s mine will still be mine. In all honesty, I own half of that marriage. I won’t fight for it, struggle, I won’t even want it - but I’ll still get it.” On the left - at the fashion and beauty ball, 2010. On the right - before the start of the gala dinner as part of the largest international conference dedicated to luxury, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Moscow, 2008. (Both photos: Ekaterina Chesnokova / RIA Novosti)
The acquaintance with the new husband took place in 2007 at one of the social events; Timur Ivanov was at that time the executive director of Rosenergoatom. Maniovich’s rejected husband then considered him a “gigolo boy.” But it turned out that the current head of Oboronstroy is able to satisfy the VIP requests of the “most influential blonde in Russia.” 2008: Timur and Svetlana at a ball in Tsaritsyno, still in the status of lovers (Photo: Ekaterina Chesnokova / RIA Novosti)
For example, she immediately switched from a red Bentley, given by her ex-husband, to a black Aston Martin, given by a new one. Then she “persuaded” Timur to buy a new apartment in a two-story townhouse on Ostozhenka. Here's how Vogue described it: “Had to look through a string of expensive apartments with low ceilings, pretentious and old-fashioned decoration, before she came across this one: spacious, flooded with light, open to all the winds, like the deck of an ocean liner, and at the same time very separate, fenced off from the rest of the world, like a fortress.”
The happy wife of the man in charge of housing for the military is not without “simple little joys”: her husband brings her flowers every day. “Heavy bouquets, at least a hundred flowers. One day he sent a basket containing five hundred and one tulips,” Timur boasts.
New generation: Alexandra Maniovich moved to Paris. How does she live in a foreign country?
Time passes, the heroes of our “ New Generation ” grow up and learn to live an independent, adult life, without the help of their parents. Do you remember how Alexandra Maniovich (18), the daughter of the owner of the Metropol fashion group Svetlana Zakharova (42) and businessman Mikhail Maniovich (58), talked about studying at Britannia and how she plans to enter Parsons ? She succeeded. And today she tells PEOPLETALK about all the difficulties that arose during the moving process - from cooking scrambled eggs to finding an apartment.
The hardest part about moving to France was finding an apartment. At first I tried to do this myself through well-known sites ( air.bnb , for example), but a huge number of problems appeared in the process. Firstly , it is simply impossible to contact French realtors - they seem to have no interest in renting out an apartment to you. Secondly, everything I saw on these sites was, for some unknown reason, incredibly expensive, despite the small area.
At some point I gave up and turned to friends . I have a friend who sells antiques in Europe. She lives in Paris and literally found me an amazing apartment in just a couple of days (though not exactly in the area where I wanted to live). It is located in a family building, and Saint Laurent once lived in the neighboring house . The concierge who works in my house was his housekeeper for many years.
The district (seventh) is very quiet, on the next street I have several ministries, so the place is as safe as possible, which is important for the current situation in France - there are either strikes or terrorist attacks.
There was no Wi-Fi and no furniture necessary for the apartment, for example. I bought everything at Galeries Lafayette and Maison du Monde , they have a very cool selection.
This is the first apartment in which I live alone, and I really enjoyed setting up my “den” on my own. (Laughs.)
I don't speak French at a native level . Yes, I try to speak French, but sometimes difficulties arise, and basically no one speaks English.
After I bought a vacuum cleaner myself, dragged it into my apartment (and I don’t have an elevator in my building), assembled it and it started working, I felt like I could rule the world! (Laughs.) For some this is nonsense, but for me it’s the first time.
I also realized that until I do something myself, no one will do it for me. Until I put things in the closet, for example, they will just be lying around.
at the university ( Parsons School of Design, direction - Fashion Design ) for a couple of weeks now. The study is very interesting - there is a huge difference between what it was at Britannia (British Higher School of Design - editor's note) and what I see now. There is a huge emphasis on theory and writing. We write, discuss, read, etc. a lot, but there is still little practice (unlike “ British ”) - it will begin in the second semester, when we will be divided into different faculties. For now we have mixed classes.
The Parsons building itself is very small and is located right next to the Grand Opera, in the heart of Paris. There are two classrooms on each floor. Our entire university, all courses of all faculties, are only 150 people, half of whom are Americans, and the other half are 40 different nationalities. There are four Russian girls for the entire institute. Two of them are in the first year, one is in the second year, and one more is in the third year.
Another innovation for me is public transport, which I almost never used in Moscow. In just a week, I got really good at navigating the Paris metro (and its layout is very confusing). But most often I use Uber taxi, although sometimes I have to wait a long time for it, and since I don’t speak French well, it’s difficult for me to negotiate with drivers.
Honestly, as much as I enjoyed this period of organizing my apartment, I want it all to end as soon as possible. It's time to take care of the wardrobe, not the sofas and candlesticks.
The beauty industry in Europe is much less developed than in Russia, especially everything related to manicure and pedicure . Most salons here are simply scary to go to! They do not process the instruments in any way. I accidentally found a Russian beauty salon on Facebook , which is located right in my area - it’s a 10-minute walk. Naturally, I immediately signed up for it and was absolutely delighted. I recommend it to everyone – it’s called “Vernissage”.
I don't cook - I just don't know how. Yes, I can cook buckwheat or make scrambled eggs, or at most spaghetti with tomato sauce. Therefore, I have breakfast at home, have lunch somewhere in a cafe near the university, and for dinner I either cook something with a friend, or go to a restaurant.
Everything related to documents (a lot of them appeared when moving to France). An agency called “Latin Quarter” helped me with this; it is located in Paris and has a branch in Moscow. I signed a contract with them, and now they resolve my issues and take care of everything related to my moving here - insurance, bank account, etc. In this regard, I was very lucky!
