Why a Russian Model Represents Armenia in the Miss Universe Contest

The new management of the Miss Universe beauty pageant has completely changed the selection process for participants, allowing any woman, regardless of age, to participate. Additionally, anyone willing to pay the highest price can become a national director. This was stated in an interview with Sputnik Armenia by the former director of Miss Universe Armenia, Gohar Harutyunyan.

This year, the representative of Armenia in the Miss Universe contest is Irina Zakharova, who is of Russian descent. The Miss Universe Armenia contest was held not in Armenia, but in Moscow. The rights to organize the competition were acquired by Yulia Pavlikova.

At first glance, it seems that the contest has been conducted in violation of the rules; however, according to Gohar Harutyunyan, the organizing committee of the Miss Universe competition has changed in the last two years, leading to chaos.

Previously, the Miss Universe beauty contest was held under the auspices of former U.S. President Donald Trump, and later Endeavor’s IMG purchased the rights to organize the contest, which was sold two years ago to Thailand’s JKN.

“At that time, there were strict rules that I adhered to. Even those from the diaspora were not allowed to participate in the Miss Universe Armenia national contest unless they were residing in Armenia. They had to have an Armenian passport, be under 28 years old, and unmarried. Now anyone can participate, regardless of age, marital status, or whether they have children or not. Moreover, the national director of the contest can also be anyone who pays the highest amount for participation. Previously, there were clear standards for the national director. They closely monitored how connected the person was to competitions, whether they cared about the participants, the organization, and so on. Now it's just about paying the money and becoming the national director,” Harutyunyan concluded.

Further details can be found in the source article.