Braving sub zero temperatures spectators crowded into Moscow’s Red Square to see the contest. the contestants paraded on the outdoor stage, barefoot in swim suits only suitable for the warmest temperatures. The winner was crowned “Miss Constitution” as the audience cheered. All I can say is: Only in Russia.

When her moment of glory came, Masha Fyodorova was draped in the Russian flag and handed the keys to a brand-new, pink-and-orange Mini Cooper. She strolled off the stage in a shower of confetti and sparklers, an economics student from the provinces reborn as the official paragon of patriotic womanhood.

The gathering Friday of B-list pop stars and hundreds of die-hard pro-Kremlin youth activists on the edge of Red Square was beauty pageant as patriotic ceremony, emblematic of today’s sexed-up, nationalistic Russia. (LA Times)

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