If a few years ago I was told that a Russian woman would represent Armenia in the Miss Universe competition, I would laugh and take it as a joke. However, I recently found out that Irina Zakharova, who is a Russian debut singer and law firm owner in Russia, won Miss Universe Armenia 2024 and thereby gained the opportunity to represent Armenia at the 73rd Miss Universe competition in Mexico.
The other piece of absurd information I received is that this year the Miss Universe Armenia contest was organized not in Armenia but in Russia. The candidates were mostly of Russian nationality, with few exceptions of Armenian candidates who were most likely residents or citizens of Russia. Armenian contestants could have flown to Russia to take part in the contest if they really wanted to participate, one might think. Well, as journalist Zara Ghazaryan stated, Armenia-based contestants of Armenian nationality were not informed about the details of this year’s contest and its location. So even those who would be willing and financially able to fly all the way to Russia did not have the chance to take part in the contest.
According to Ghazaryan, one of the reasons Armenia will be represented in Miss Universe by a Russian woman is that Russia itself will not participate in this year’s contest. Therefore, it has found an alternative shortcut to join the contest — be represented under the name of Miss Armenia.
When doing research about the situation, I came across an article in Sputnik Armenia titled “Why will the Russian model represent Armenia in the ‘Miss Universe’ competition, and who is ‘guilty’?” In Sputnik Armenia’s conversation with Gohar Harutyunyan, the former president of Miss Universe Armenia, Harutyunyan said that the new management of the Miss Universe international beauty contest has completely changed the procedure for selecting participants.
“Previously, there were strict laws that I followed. Even those from the diaspora did not have the right to participate in the national contest Miss Universe Armenia if they did not live in Armenia. They had to have an Armenian passport, be under 28 years old, unmarried. Now everyone can participate in the competition, regardless of age, whether they are married or not, whether they have children or not. In addition, the national director of the competition can also be anyone who can pay the highest amount of money to participate. In the past, there were clear standards for the national president as well. They were closely monitoring what the president did with the contests, whether s/he had a sympathetic attitude towards the contestants, the organization, etc. Now, you become a national president of Miss Universe simply by paying,” Harutyunyan said.
She added that this was exactly the reason why she did not organize a contest in Armenia last year and this year. She hoped that other Armenian organizations, which held beauty contests and regularly competed with her in the past, would take advantage of the opportunity and allow Armenian women to participate in the competition.
However, this wasn’t the case. Instead, Yulia Pavlikova, a Russian national from Crimea, became this year’s national director of Miss Universe Armenia. Harutyunyan believed that Pavlikova would come to Armenia and organize a contest, but instead, the contest was held in Moscow and had a Russian winner. “I don’t know how she will represent our country, what problems she will raise. Previously, our girls have raised many issues — they have talked about Artsakh, about women’s rights. Even though we did not take a high place, at least our voices were heard in the contest,” Harutyunyan said.
From my understanding, even though the rules regarding age and marital status have changed, the citizenship eligibility criterion remains the same. According to reigning Miss Universe Armenia 2022 Kristina Ayanian, “Per the Miss Universe international rules, title holders must be a citizen of the country they’re representing, and they have to live in the country they’re representing for a certain period of time. The current representative of Miss Universe Armenia 2024 is not a citizen of Armenia, not of Armenian descent, and has not lived in Armenia.”
“How can someone who does not identify as Armenian, who is not Armenian, speak to the rich heritage of our culture, represent our culture, our history, be a voice for Armenia in a time when we need it most?” Ayanian posed.
Another article I came across during my research explicitly states: “Each delegate must be a citizen of the country she represents.” Based on this information, either we need to be presented with clear official evidence that Zakharova has Armenian citizenship, or the current situation goes against the Miss Universe international rules.
The current situation not only potentially breaks rules but also traditions. Ayanian says she has not been contacted by the pageant or Pavlikova to crown her successor, abandoning the tradition of inviting the current titleholder to pass on the crown.
I do not have anything against Zakharova, Pavlikova or Russia as a state. However, I strongly believe that this is an unfair approach, both to Armenian women, who lost a great opportunity to present themselves in the international arena, and to Armenia as a country, which lost the chance to raise issues of paramount importance and share them with international audiences. Although I do not comprehend the very concept of a “Miss Universe” and believe that beauty cannot be measured or defined by body weight or height, I’m still convinced that if Armenia has chosen to take part in such a contest, it should be represented by an Armenian woman.
Additionally, one might derive unpleasant implications regarding Armenia’s status as a sovereign state and its dependence on (or extent of influence from) Russia. The new rules of the contest, and the way they have been applied in the case of Miss Universe Armenia, are absurd from a moral, political, diplomatic and logical point of view. Being represented in Miss Universe by a Russian president and a Russian model means that our participation in the contest is no longer of any value or meaning. Either the rules of the contest need to be revisited, the way they are applied to Miss Universe Armenia need to be changed, or Armenia should withdraw from the contest entirely as it currently risks not gaining anything but losing a lot.
Milena Baghdasaryan
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All things end in farce just like the open definition of gender and the Olympics and other sports competitions…
Why!!! do we have to have a Russian presenting Armenia!! Don’t we have Armenian from Armenia to present us….In that case we have so many beautiful and knowledgeable Armenian ladies from all over the world with last names ending with ian or yan to represent Armenia.
Armenians in Armenia are “outraged” by a Russian repping them in Miss Universe 2024 while Armenians speak Russian, eat Russian, live Russian, and breathe Russian, in Armenia. What a bunch of hypocrites and cry babies. Irina Zakharova is HOT HOT HOT, and smart, so Armenia may actually have a chance of winning this time. I don’t care if a goat was entered in Miss Universe 2024 representing Armenia. If it had a chance of winning, SEND THE GOAT!
These competitions should have disappeared long ago. Who cares?
Armenian women are beautiful.
If this woman has some claim to be Armenian the let us all hope that she will win!
Armenians need to be cheered up with a victory!
This situation is quite surprising! 😲 It’s hard to believe a Russian woman will represent Armenia at Miss Universe. This raises questions about representation and eligibility. 🤔 Let’s hope for more transparency and fairness in future contests! 🌍💖