Date:29/09/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/09/29/stories/2002092901581400.htm

International

Ex-beauty queen back on beat

The former Miss Universe, Oxana Fedorova, walks carrying flowers after answering questions on the hot line set by the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda in Moscow, recently. — AP

ST. PETERSBURG Sept. 28. Russia's ousted Miss Universe faced the public for the first time since her return from the United States, slamming contest organisers and denying reports she had grown too fat.

Oxana Fedorova, draped in black silk and diamond jewellery, told reporters yesterday that she would commit herself to her career as a police officer after being stripped of her title for failing to carry out her responsibilities.

But the 24-year-old sharp-shooting policewoman, the first Russian to hold the title, denied reports she had gained weight, become pregnant or married secretly after being elected in May.

``Whoever saw me before can say I did not put on seven kg. And of course, I am not pregnant,'' Ms Fedorova told a news conference in Russia's second city, flanked by her police force superior. ``I dream of becoming a mother, and maybe I will — it would be wonderful, but not now.''

And she had not acquired a husband. ``This is simply not true,'' she said. ``Anyone can check this very simply by asking at the registry office.''

Ms Fedorova, replaced this week by Miss Panama in a New York ceremony, said the Miss Universe contract had been unclear and made available to her only in English.

``I did not in fact sign any contract — I was sent one in English after I won the contest,'' she said. ``I am Russian and normally I should have been sent a contract in English and Russian, as far as I understand.''

The dark-haired Ms Fedorova, who sparked a wave of patriotic pride when she won the title, said she considered herself no more than an ordinary Russian girl.

``I count myself among regular girls who were luckier or unluckier, as the case may be,'' she said.

Ms Fedorova's supervisor, the head of the St. Petersburg Interior Ministry University, said he was glad to see the beauty queen return to her studies. She is due to defend her thesis later this year. ``I hold Oxana in very high regard as a professional policewoman,'' Viktor Salnikov said. ``She herself chose to give up show business and to return to work on her dissertation.''

Ms Fedorova told the conference that her removal had been rooted in a dispute with organisers over a two-month break for her to defend her doctorate.

Reuters