Kseniya Sobchak

Kseniya Sobchak
Kseniya Sobchak imitating Yulia Tymoshenko's trademark hairdo
Born	Kseniya Anatolyevna Sobchak (Russian: Ксе́ния Анато́льевна Собча́к) (1981-11-05) November 5, 1981 St. Petersburg, Russia
Partner(s)	Maxim Vitorgan (2013–present)
Parent(s)	Anatoly Sobchak Lyudmila Narusova
Kseniya Sobchak's voice recorded November 2012

Kseniya Anatolyevna Sobchak (Russian: Ксе́ния Анато́льевна Собча́к), born November 5, 1981 is a Russian TV anchor, journalist, socialite, and member of political opposition. Sobchak became known to the wider public as a host of the reality show Dom-2 on the Russian channel TNT. She is sometimes described as Russia's "It girl"^[1] and "Russia's Paris Hilton".^[2] She transitioned from a celebrity socialite into a political activist, and has been protesting alleged electoral fraud by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Sobchak is an anchor at an independent TV channel Dozhd and a member of the Russian Opposition Coordination Council.

Biography

She is a second daughter of the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak and Lyudmila Narusova, a Russian politician. She identifies herself as of Jewish heritage, but not religiously.^[3]

On January 13, 2015, American channel PBS showed a Frontline Documentary "Putin's Way". In the first half of the documentary, there was an elaborate discussion of the corrupt business transactions that occurred in the Mayor's office under Anatoly Sobchak, father of Kseniya Sobchak. Principal state Investigator who was delegated to examine the embezzlement of state funds by Anatoly Sobchak was removed from his position and the case was closed.^[4] The Investigator was interviewed by the Frontline staff and he cites that Anatoly Sobchak embezzled $1.5 billion rubles during his term as a Mayor of St. Petersburg.^[5] A team of 20 state investigators was in charge of reviewing illegal transactions of Anatoly Sobchak ^[6]

Kseniya Sobchak has always maintained that her father was an honest man and a true liberal. Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, she has been dodging questions about the accusations of corruption against her family.

As a child she attended the ballet school attached to the Mariinsky Theatre and the Hermitage Museum art school. In 1998, Ksenia left the school attached to Herzen University, and enrolled at the Saint Petersburg State University (Department of International Relations). In 2001 she moved to Moscow and enrolled in the International Relations program at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. In 2002 she enrolled in a masters program at the department of politics at the same university.

Sobchak acted in the 2004 film Thieves and Prostitutes.^[7]

She is also known as a clothes designer and promoter of rubber boots. In June 2006 she created her first collection of such boots.

In 2004, Sobchak was identified as a candidate to become Russia's first national Space Tourist, flying to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz rocket. She may have undertaken some initial tests and cosmonaut training, but the project came to nothing.

She also acted against the newly produced law that prohibits sharing of private lives of Russian celebrities without their permission.

On 28 December 2008, Sobchak was on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to New York when she and other passengers determined that the pilot was drunk prior to take-off. Sobchak used her socialite status to call Aeroflot representatives and remove the pilot from the cockpit.^[8]

Russia's Tatler magazine made the list of most desirable single women in the country. The list is based on women's fortune and their celebrity status. She is known across Russia as a socialite, TV host and presenter. Ksenia is Russia's No.1 'it girl', an analogue to Paris Hilton.^[9]

Career

TV

Kseniya Sobchak first got famous in 2004, when she became a host of the reality show Dom-2. She left the show in 2012, because the show's low-brow orientation became incongruent with her political activism.^[10]

In 2008-2010 Sobchak was a host of the reality shows Who does NOT want to be a millionaire?,^[11] Last Hero-6,^[12] and Sweet life of a blonde, Myz-TV Awards, and Two stars.

In 2010 Sobchak became a host of the TV program Freedom of thought on the state-run Channel 5. However, she soon left the program, since, according to her, it turned into a never-ending discussion of public utilities maintenance.

Since 2011 Sobchak is hosting the program Sobchak Live on the independent channel Dozhd.

On September 7, 2012 MTV Russia launched a talk-show GosDep (State Department) with Kseniya Sobchak. The show was supposed to cover hot social and political issues. The first episode of the show, titled "Where is Putin leading us?" featured interviews with the head of Left Front Sergei Udaltsov, member of "Solidarnost" (Solidarity) movement Ilya Yashin, and eco-activist Yevgeniya Chirikova.^[13] However, the show was promptly shut down after one episode. The second episode was supposed to feature an interview with anti-corruption blogger Aleksey Navalny. MTV Russia representatives explained their decision to cancel the show with the lack of interest in politics among the channel's audience.^[14]

Political background and activities

Sobchak's father, Anatoly, helped Vladimir Putin launch his career in politics when he was the mayor of St. Petersburg. Putin then helped Anatoly flee Russia when he was wanted on corruption charges.^[15] According to the Moscow News, "Putin's reported affection for the Sobchak family is widely believed to give Ksenia Sobchak a protected status, which may also explain her boldness", such as her encounter in October 2011 with Vasily Yakemenko, the controversial leader of the pro-Kremlin Nashi youth movement, when she reprimanded him for eating at an expensive restaurant in Moscow and published a video of the encounter on the internet.^[15] However, less than two months later her further actions have caused her relationship with Putin to look more questionable. After the parliament elections held on December 4, 2011, which are known for the large number of alleged fraud reports, Sobchak joined the protest rallies held in Russia as a response to the alleged electoral frauds.^[16] She also took part in the campaign against Putin's re-election, working as an observer during the president elections held on March 4, 2012. She was one of the Russian protest leaders targeted by the Investigative Committee of Russia on June 12, 2012 when her apartment in Moscow was entered and searched.^[17]

Videos

• 2007: Dance (Потанцуй) (With Timati)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kseniya Sobchak.

• The Guardian: She has a TV show and a Porsche. Now Moscow's Paris Hilton wants a party too
• Candidates for Space Tourists
• Ksenia Sobchak, the Stiletto in Putin’s Side July 3, 2012 New York Times
• Kseniya Sobchak at the Forbes