By Tatiana Karpekina

The winner of Miss World 2008 title Ksenya Sukhinova was greeted in Moscow with snow, champagne, and bouquets of roses!

Fluffy snow and biting frost were what the 21-year-old beauty from Siberia missed the most as she fought for the Miss World title in the hot South African sun in Johannesburg. Ksenya passed all rounds of the competition with flying honors.

“I’m proud for myself and Russia,” she said, “and I’m happy that this year has proved so successful for Russia. Two months before the contest I was thinking of the victory of the Russian football and hockey players, of Dima Bilan’s victory at Eurovision, and I knew we had to win this time too. And we did.”

Ksenya Sukhinova is athletic herself – she is a brilliant biathlete, gymnast, and swimmer. Sports must have perfected her to ideal proportions – her measurements are 83-60-91 at a height of 178 centimeters.

The bright-eyed blonde from the Siberian city of Tyumen is like a delicate rose diamond in a gold frame! She impressed the journalists not only with her natural beauty, but also with her natural behaviour, sincerity, and with her child-like frankness. When our correspondent asked how many puzzling questions were put to her at the contest, Ksenya mentioned only one of them: What is the difference between a man and a woman?

“You know, if a man stops at nothing to achieve his goal, a girl usually makes zigzags,” Ksenya said.

The crown of the No.1 beauty in the world, it appears, will also be a zigzag in the biography of this beautiful girl. She will probably have to delay the defense of her dissertation for the diploma at the Tyumen Oil-and-Gas University. Throughout the year 2009 Ksenya will travel around the globe, taking part in charity events and humanitarian programs. There will be neither love stories nor marriages. Such are the demands of the Miss World title! “I would like to wish myself to remain worthy of this title, which is a symbol of good, beauty, and happiness,” Ksenya said.

In 2009, Ksenya Sukhinova will be the owner of the Miss World title – the girl who believes that “inner and exterior beauty are inseparable, and that Russian women are known for their interior beauty.”

Miss World’s home town celebrates her victory

The people in Tyumen, the home city for the Miss World beauty contest winner, were happy to know about her victory. More than a billion people watched the finals of the beauty contest and the awards ceremony in Johannesburg.

The media in Tyumen report that the 21-year old Siberian beauty had been engaged in sports – gymnastics, swimming, and biathlon – since early childhood. Ksenya said she had never thought seriously about taking part in beauty pageants, when her mother persuaded her to have a try. First, Ksenya was lucky enough to win the Miss Tyumen contest, and then she won the Miss Russia title.