Harassment in the USSR: How did the model Leka Mironova pay for the refusal of escort services and nude filming for the Central Committee
Harassment in the USSR: How did the model Leka Mironova pay for the refusal of escort services and nude filming for the Central Committee

Video: Harassment in the USSR: How did the model Leka Mironova pay for the refusal of escort services and nude filming for the Central Committee

Video: Harassment in the USSR: How did the model Leka Mironova pay for the refusal of escort services and nude filming for the Central Committee
Video: MAKEUP REVOLUTION X TAMMI, CHATTY GRWM, SUBSCRIBER PICKS MY TUTORIAL, MODELING, BODY IMAGE - YouTube 2024, November
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Soviet Audrey Hepburn - this is how Leka Mironova was called abroad
Soviet Audrey Hepburn - this is how Leka Mironova was called abroad

The profession of a fashion model in the USSR was not prestigious and low-paid, but even then some girls achieved success in this field. Now she would be called a top model, but then she was one of the most famous Soviet fashion models. Leka Mironova could receive much more than the official salary - 76 rubles, if she agreed to the offer to take part in a candid photo session and be more supportive of one of the members of the Central Committee. But the girl refused, for which she had to pay.

Leka Mironova
Leka Mironova

Leka (Leokadia) Mironova never dreamed of the profession of a fashion model. She entered the Model House on Kuznetsky Most by chance, for the company with a friend. A young man approached her and asked: "Do you want to be a model?" This person turned out to be Vyacheslav Zaitsev, and this meeting was decisive for Leka.

Leka Mironova collaborated with Vyacheslav Zaitsev for over 50 years
Leka Mironova collaborated with Vyacheslav Zaitsev for over 50 years

The requirements for fashion models were significantly different from modern ones. Leka Mironova recalls: “Many were short. I, for example, compared to current models of average height. There were even models with a 56th clothing size. It often happened: two slender girls are walking along the catwalk, and between them is a plump, beautiful lady. The age of the employees was also different - from 17 to 70 years. Because the main task of the profession in our time was to show that any woman, of any weight category and of any age, can look beautiful. By the way, getting into the world of fashion was not considered such a good luck - just an ordinary job."

Models are being prepared for photography
Models are being prepared for photography

For a long time, Leka Mironova was not allowed to travel abroad: her father was repressed and declared an enemy of the people, and her mother was of noble origin. But abroad, the model was known and even called "the Soviet Audrey Hepburn" - the external resemblance was really noticeable.

Soviet Audrey Hepburn - this is how Leka Mironova was called abroad
Soviet Audrey Hepburn - this is how Leka Mironova was called abroad

Leka Mironova was one of the first to openly announced the harassment of high-ranking officials. It is for this reason that her professional life was very difficult. Once Leka was brought to the shooting for the magazine, but they kept silent about the details. As it turned out, it was necessary to shoot naked - they were preparing something like "Playboy" for the workers of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The girl replied with a categorical refusal. She was offered to provide escort services, to which she also did not agree. After that, she was not invited to work for a year and a half.

One of the most famous Soviet fashion models
One of the most famous Soviet fashion models

Mironova still does not give names and surnames, citing the fact that the officials were too famous and influential. But she does not hide other details: “During the international screenings, the party members, assigned to monitor the moral image of the girls, came to the rooms with wine. And getting a turn from the gate, they began to take revenge. They scribbled anonymous slander, accusing the resigned girl of espionage and connections with the enemies of the USSR. I myself came under this pressure when I turned down one big person, and then spent a year and a half without work. They threatened to jail me for parasitism, evict me from Moscow and even hit me with a stone. But I didn't break. And I am not ashamed for a second of my life."

Leka Mironova and Antanas
Leka Mironova and Antanas

Mironova's personal life also did not work out - once she met a person with whom a relationship was impossible, but she could not forget him. The Lithuanian Antanas was a member of a nationalist organization, and he was threatened with reprisals for his connection with the Russian. In order not to endanger him, Leka decided to leave herself. After that, she never got married, she had no children.

Leka Mironova worked as a model in adulthood
Leka Mironova worked as a model in adulthood
Leka Mironova worked as a model in adulthood
Leka Mironova worked as a model in adulthood

But even at the age of 70, she continued to take care of herself and repeatedly took to the podium - their cooperation with Vyacheslav Zaitsev lasted more than 50 years.

Leka Mironova and after 70 goes to the podium
Leka Mironova and after 70 goes to the podium
One of the most famous Soviet fashion models
One of the most famous Soviet fashion models

Representatives of this profession then often had to face difficulties. The first male model in the USSR: from demonstration of clothes to hockey … And some had to pay too high a price for their success. From all-Union glory to suicide: the tragic fate of the fashion model Regina Zbarskaya

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