Number One Swan - Anastasia Volochkova

Bolshoi prima ballerina, actress, celebrity and United Russia party member Anastasia Volochkova has been unceremoniously removed from the race to decide the next mayor of Sochi, Russia. Sochi, the aging but well known Black Sea resort, was resurrected by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to win the bid to be the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Volochkova, who has won numerous ballet awards including the prestigious Serge Liefer competition and Prix Benois de la Danse, entered the contest for the Sochi mayoral post on March 26, one day after infamous former Russian porn actress and reality tv show contestant Yelena Berkova did the same.

By throwing her hat into the ring, Volochkova brought the number of contestants to 26, including a convicted murderer and another who earlier in the week survived an ammonia attack.


Anastasia reportedly was aced from the running for failing to include her birth date on the deposit slip with her entry fee of 282,000 rubles ($8,400).

Volochkova responded that she will appeal her abrupt dismissal, saying it was fear of her on the part of the male establishment that spawned her ouster from the race.

Controversy seems to follow Volochkova everywhere the svelte specimen goes. In 2003 she was dismissed from the Bolshoi Ballet Company in Moscow which claimed it couldn’t find male partners strong enough to lift the 5’6, 109 pound star after performing for five years with the famed troop. An admitted lover of ice cream, Volochkova said during contract negotiations at the time that she expected nothing but starring roles, and wouldn’t settle for a part as “fourth swan”.

Provided her appeal is overturned and she is successful in her bid for a mayoral debut she would join a growing list of Russian celebrity women who have run successful political campaigns. The best known Russian femme politico is currently Alina Kabaeva, Russia’s most celebrated rythmic gymnast and member of the Duma, Russia’s state parliament.