— What emotions did you experience when you received the coveted crown?
“To be honest, I’m still in the process of accepting what happened to me. This is a complete shock to my body and condition. It was all so unexpected. I worked so hard to win but I still can’t believe this happened to me.
— How did you decide to participate in the competition? How did you prepare for this?
— From the age of 18, the director of the Miss Russia contest wrote to me and invited me to take part in the casting. But at that moment I realized I wasn’t ready. For several years, I got myself and my body in order, studied English from a teacher, started learning Italian, and continued to improve my acting and speaking skills. All this was very useful for me. In my penultimate year, when I was old enough to enter the competition, I was able to give 100%.
—Which was the most difficult exam for you?
— It was probably the hardest test, the most unpredictable; preliminary jury. We didn’t know what they would ask us, so we were worried. This took too long; Each of the 50 finalists was contacted individually. But I balled my will into a fist. There, too, I was asked to sing just like in the intellectual competition, I was not surprised at all and I sang Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”. I quoted this song on “The Voice”.
— What was the atmosphere like behind the scenes of the competition? Was there competition among the participants?
– Not exactly. We would like to thank our teachers who organized many psychological training and team building organizations to bring our women’s team together throughout the competition. We supported each other as much as we could during the final as well as during these three weeks. Even at the stage where I was selected for the top 10, I received many promises of support. The girls came up to me and said: “Margot, you are very worthy of this crown, we support you.” Some even admitted that they voted for my candidacy and not for themselves in the online voting. This is much more valuable to me than the jury’s choice.
— If it’s not a secret, what do you plan to spend the million you earned?
“Part of the funds will be used to prepare for the upcoming Miss Universe pageant.” I will invest the rest of the funds in my personal project – a music school for low-income families and large families where children can engage in creative work, especially vocal, on a budget basis. Nowadays, it is very difficult to find clubs and departments where you can get reasonable education for free. Academies of all kinds – like Igor Krutoy’s – are all very expensive. This project requires funds much more than one million rubles. Unfortunately, in modern realities this is a very small amount, so I will look for support from grants, perhaps state funding.
— Isn’t this project under development?
– Yes. In order to become more competent in this field, I plan to open a school and get a teaching profession when I graduate from university. So all this is not just for show, but actually benefits society.
—Aren’t you afraid to represent Russia at Miss Universe? Last year’s participant, Anna Linnikova, said she was bullied by participants from other countries…
– I am aware of all responsibility and I accept it. I understand that it will be difficult, but I think I have a strong enough character and can overcome this. I also hope to conquer both the jury and all the contestants with my pure and open soul and good heart. I’m sure everything will be fine.
— Have you started preparing for Miss Universe?
— Today, in addition to the photo shoot, we held an organizational meeting with the competition director and determined the tasks we need to complete in such a short time. These are podium lessons, master classes on make-up and hairstyles – in the morning I will have to get ready on my own and look stylish every day. Maybe there will be work with a psychologist who will help me maintain my mental state and gain self-confidence. And of course, working with an English teacher to be able to freely answer questions from foreign journalists.
— After winning the contest, you probably have a constant stream of fans on social networks? Is your heart busy?
“I get a lot of messages asking me to meet, see each other, send flowers. I am alone now and I think I will be so for the foreseeable future. This is my personal preference. Even before participating in the Miss Russia contest, I decided that I wanted to spend this year on personal development. I am sure that a worthy partner will enter my life as soon as I become a full-fledged person.
— Please tell us about your modeling journey in a few words. When did you decide to become a model? How did you get hired by your first modeling agency?
— By chance, I got into a modeling agency. I never thought that my appearance was that of a model, that I could attract attention, I was just involved in creativity: I have been singing on stage since I was five years old.
At one point I decided to try my hand at acting and signed up to cast a dumpling commercial. Casting is usually done in giant business centers that resemble multi-storey labyrinths. And so it happened that I found the wrong door: I ended up going to a casting call at a modeling agency. But at that moment I did not understand this, I went in and began to expressively and loudly read the prepared text about the most tender dumplings, thereby causing an incredible reaction from the casting director. As a result, St. I was offered to become a model in one of the best agencies in St. Petersburg and worked with them until I was 18.
Then I moved to Moscow to study. My focus shifted to my studies, so I didn’t have time to get contracts with agencies. I continued acting, but now I continue acting freelance, without an intermediary. I was the one present most of the time, I also tried acting in movies, videos and commercials and worked as a stewardess. This helped me feel confident and improve my communication skills with different people.
— What kind of movies and clips?
— I starred in the video “You’ve Got a Range Rover” – it’s a popular song on TikTok. There were also many episodic roles in the series: “The Oncoming Road”, “He Kept Women”, “Fitness”, “Vampires of the Central Zone”, “Ballet”. This is probably no mean feat.
I was intrigued to see how everything worked from the inside. When I found myself on the set, I was stunned because I saw a lot of props, I realized that the apartments of the main characters that the viewer saw on television were actually not apartments, but cardboard walls. The way the actors wear their make-up, how much time they spend waiting to go on stage… It’s such a difficult job that I only realized it after sitting on the set for an entire shift. As a result, my face was shown for literally four seconds, but I shouted: “Mom, I starred in a movie!” That period of my life was wonderful. Over time, I lost interest in it and realized that I wanted to strive for more.
Just two months ago I was invited to star in a video directed by a very famous director. It will be published soon. I can’t reveal the name of the artist yet, but I will say that it was not actually a video, but a real movie, with the work of a huge director, script, interesting images and locations. It’s remarkable that we shot the whole thing in one day, we moved four locations in Moscow, I did reshoots, and I was in the frame almost every second.
— Was your family against your modeling career?
— There are stereotypes, my family was worried. But the director of the agency said: “Bring your mother, let her see how we work, how the casting and shooting goes.” In the first month, my mother went everywhere with me and realized that there was nothing wrong with it, that there were worthy agencies that only engaged in modeling with girls, and this was the same business as any other profession.
We are four children in the family, I am the oldest. I have a 14-year-old brother and a 9-year-old brother and sister. St. They live in St. Petersburg. My mother is an anesthesiologist and resuscitation specialist in an oncology hospital. My father is an engineer and works in vending machines. By the way, my grandmother is a biology teacher at school. My younger brother and sister also followed in my footsteps; They study singing and dancing and go to art school. And my middle brother has a slightly different mentality. He is engaged in design and modeling, writes programs on the computer. He is interested in exact sciences.
— Apart from the Miss Russia crown, what achievements are you particularly proud of?
— If we list the titles in chronological order: “Miss Kalinin Pearl – 2018”, “Miss Students Russia – 2021”, “Union State Students Vice Queen”, “1. Miss European Vice-Miss – 2023”.
— You appeared on “The Voice” in 2021. They decided to continue making music despite the judges not turning towards you. Are you one of those people who are not offended by criticism?
— It’s important to understand that “The Voice” is, first and foremost, a show. Everything is done for a beautiful picture on the broadcast, many moments are cut. Therefore the situation outlined in my statement is not entirely correct. Actually, I competed last and the only place left was Pelageya’s team. Maybe he didn’t come back to me because I sang his song or for some other reason, this is his personal right. However, the other members of the jury, Agutin, Bilan and Gradsky, were very supportive of me. They even shouted at Pelageya: “Why didn’t you turn around? “The girl sings very beautifully.”
Alexander Borisovich supported me the most. He asked me to sing another song and said, “You have a great voice, believe in yourself, go study.” Thanks to his guidance, I decided to retake the Unified State Exam, learned solfeggio from scratch in six months, and entered a creative university for the first time.
— Today you are studying at the Russian Customs Academy and the Moscow State Institute of Cinematography. How do you manage to combine your studies at two universities?
— At the Russian Customs Academy, I switched to distance learning from the fourth grade so that my sessions did not coincide and I had time to pass exams both there and there. I have to make a choice, sacrifice something, but in the end, I always end the sessions with “good” and “excellent”.
— Every model has her own beauty secret. What is yours?
— My secret is quite simple: proper nutrition, exercise and working on your feminine energy and charisma. If your eyes sparkle, you radiate a light that would outshine even the most beautiful woman in the universe.