Opinions & Interviews

Interview: Yekaterina Buraya, the winner of the international beauty pageant Miss Supranational 2012, was sure of her victory.

Belarusian girls are famous for its natural beauty far beyond the country’s borders. But no matter how hard our girls tried to reach the top, they didn’t succeed in winning the top title before this year. Nevertheless, Belarusian girls were so close to getting it more than once. So in 2009 Maria Yesman became the First Vice Miss Intercontinental. Besides, the representatives from Belarus took the 1st Vice Miss title at the international beauty pageant Miss Supranational. They are Marina Lepesha (2009) and Liudmila Yakimovich (2011). Yekaterina Buraya, a blue-eyed blonde girl, unexpectedly took the crown of the Miss Supranational 2012 international pageant. Because of her looks, the girl is often compared to Claudia Schiffer by mass media. It’s twice as pleasant that Yekaterina was considered the main claimant to the crown among all the representatives at the national Beauty Pageant Miss Belarus in the recent years by the competition organizers. The competition organizers made the right choice, as she bypassed all the competitors and became well known in the world. The other day Yekaterina came back to Belarus. She shared her impressions from her being in Warsaw with BelTA.

- Yekaterina, tell us, you were sure of your victory, didn’t you? Did it all happen out of the blue?

- On the one hand, I didn’t expect to win, on the other hand, subconsciously I wanted it so hard. That is why, estimating all the possibilities objectively, I was sure of myself and the victory was expected. There is no doubt that being a part of Miss Supranational competition was stressful. But it was worth it. And now I’m happy.

- Did you expect to be chosen the best by the competition organizers?

- No. I didn’t, but I was flattered by this fact.

- This year there were 53 girls taking part in the Miss Supranational. Which one of them did you consider to be your main competitor?

- To be frank, I didn’t think of other girls as my competitors. I considered them to be my friends. My main competitor was myself because in a crucial moment it’s very difficult to pull yourself together and show your best qualities so that you were noticed and singled out. I set myself a task to win. I tried to be friendly with the girls in order to have a good time in Poland and it helped to distract from bad thoughts and hard work.

- The girls from what countries did you have the best relations with?

- I liked Miss Brazil and Miss Venezuela lot. With Miss Georgia we shared the room and became really good friends. By the way we are still in touch and she is planning to visit me in Minsk.

- Do you remember who was the first to congratulate you on the title?

- My boyfriend. After I was just crowned by Monika Lewczuk, Miss Supranational 2011, the phone was passed to me from the audience so I had a chance to talk to him.

- You said you have a boyfriend. Does taking part in international contests affect your private life?

 - In reality, Miss Supranational is the first international contest I have taken part in. Before this, in 2008, I was in the final of our national beauty contest Miss Belarus. My boyfriend wanted me to become Miss Supranational from the very beginning and he is very proud of me.

- According to the terms of the contest, you are probably not allowed to get married for a year…

- I haven’t discussed the details with the sponsors and I haven’t signed the contract yet. Soon we will and I will know all the conditions. Even if it turns out that I cannot get married until the next contest, I don’t think it will be a problem for two people who love each other.

- On TV the Miss Supranational crown looked very big and expensive. At many beauty contests the crown is kept with the sponsors to prevent its possible theft, loss etc. Were you given the crown? And do you know how much it costs?

- Yes, I brought the crown in Minsk with me. It is in my place and I will keep it until I have to crown the next year’s contest winner. As for the price, I didn’t ask.

- Did you get any money prize at this competition? And how much is it?

- Of course, I did. But I haven’t even thought about it and I don’t want to. I am just enjoying the victory. The top title of the international beauty pageant Miss Supranational 2012 means much more than some material values.

- You are 23 years old, came from the town of Bobruisk. This year you have graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University, and you are a specialist in intercultural relations in the area of tourism. Don’t you want to shelf tourism and get involved in modeling?

- I’m not going to work in the field I’ve been trained. I have always been interested in creative professions. I think that the victory at Miss Supranational will help me make it come true.

- Yekaterina, we sincerely wish you good luck in accomplishing all the most ambitious plans of yours! It is nice that a Belarusian girl has finally won the well-deserved title at the international beauty pageant.

Tatyana Pastushenko

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