Miss Russia 2009 has been chosen in Moscow. This beauty contest would normally be just one in a series of beauty pageants if not for the fact that recent winners have claimed the Miss World and the Miss Universe crowns.

After blondes dominated the contest in recent years, it was time to pass on the baton on to a brunette. Sofia Rudieva from St. Petersburg was the proud winner of the 2009 Miss Russia crown.

The competition was tough among the fifty participants who came from all over the country. But 18-year old Sofia’s sophistication shone through.

“I had serious support from my twenty friends from St. Petersburg. I want to thank them all. I hope to hug them soon. I miss my friends and family awfully as I have been cut off from them for a month,” Sofia confessed to journalists.

The Miss Russia prize included a $US 110,000 voucher. Sofia assured the press that the money would be given to a charity which protects Russia’s environment.

The event was spiced up by such guests as last year’s Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza and Miss World 2008 Ksenia Sukhinova.

Sophia said she hadn’t yet made up her mind about which international pageants she would enter. But with her 34-24-36 proportions and good English, Russia’s new beauty has every chance to repeat the success of her predecessors who took on the world and won.