Moderator: 1 revision

2026-05-16T20:06:41Z

1 revision

GreenC bot: Rescued 1 archive link; remove 1 link. Wayback Medic 2.1

2017-03-29T16:42:55Z

Rescued 1 archive link; remove 1 link. Wayback Medic 2.1

New page

{{Infobox model
| name = Ruslana Korshunova
| image = Ruslana Korshunova.jpg
| imagesize = 280px
| caption =
| birth_name = Руслана Серге́евна Коршунова<br>Ruslana Sergeyevna Korshunova
| other_names = Russian Rapunzel
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1987|07|02}}
| birth_place = [[Almaty]], [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakh SSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2008|06|28|1987|07|02}}
| death_place = [[Manhattan, New York]], U.S.
| resting_place = Khovanskoye, [[Moscow, Russia]]
| death_cause = Suicide by jumping
| occupation = [[Fashion model]]
| parents = Sergey Korshunov †<br>Valentina Kutenkova
| height = {{convert|1.73|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}
| haircolor = Blonde
| eyecolor = Grey
}}

'''Ruslana Sergeyevna Korshunova''' ({{lang-ru|Руслана Серге́евна Коршунова}}; 2 July 1987 – 28 June 2008) was a [[Kazakhstan]]i [[model (person)|model]] of [[Russians in Kazakhstan|Russian descent]].<ref name="FMD">{{cite web|url=http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/models/ruslana_korshunova |title=Profile of fashion model Ruslana Korshunova |accessdate=2007-12-11 |date=2005-02-10 |publisher=Fashion Model Directory}}</ref> She established herself as a rising figure in the fashion industry by posing for magazines including [[Vogue (magazine)|''Vogue'']] and designers such as [[Vera Wang]] and [[Nina Ricci (designer)|Nina Ricci]].
Korshunova's unexpected death, which was ruled a [[suicide]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,373604,00.html#ixzz1AbVLDm1Q|title=Suicide Model Said to Be Confused About Life, Lonely|date=2008-06-30|publisher=foxnews.com|accessdate=10 January 2011}}</ref> became a longtime controversial subject of international attention.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2228868/Model-Ruslana-Korshunovas-suicide-conspiracy-theories.html|title=Model Ruslana Korshunova's 'suicide' conspiracy theories|date=2008-07-01|publisher=telegraph.co.uk|accessdate=10 January 2011}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
Ruslana Korshunova was born in [[Almaty]], [[Kazakh SSR]].<ref name="vogue">{{cite web|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/vogue_daily/story/story.asp?stid=23447 |title=A FACE TO BE EXCITED ABOUT |accessdate=2007-12-11 |date=2005-02-10 |publisher=[[Vogue (magazine)|vogue.co.uk]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303153304/http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/2005-02/050210-a-face-to-be-excited-about.aspx |archivedate=2009-03-03}}</ref> Her father, Sergey Korshunov, died in 1992 when she was 5 years old.<ref name="NYDN"/> Her mother, Valentina ([[married and maiden names|née]] Kutenkova) and her elder brother, Ruslan, live in [[Kazakhstan]].<ref name="NYP"/> With different degrees of fluency she spoke Russian, Kazakh, English and German.<ref name="FMD"/>

She was discovered in 2003, when ''All Asia'' magazine printed a story on Almaty's local German language club, which Korshunova was then attending. Her photograph, which was featured in the article, caught the attention of Debbie Jones of [[Models 1]]; Jones tracked down and signed up the then 15-year-old Korshunova,<ref name="NYDailyNews">{{cite news |first=Paul |last=McNamara |author2=Xana O'Neill|author3= Carrie Melago |title=Russian supermodel with 'fairytale' beauty, age 20, plummets to her death |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/28/2008-06-28_russian_supermodel_with_fairytale_beauty.html |publisher=Daily News |location=New York |date=2008-06-29 |accessdate=2008-06-29 |quote=The nearly 5-foot-9 model's interest in German led to her discovery in 2003. A journalist from All Asia magazine visited her German language club and featured her photo in a story, according to an article in Continent, a Kazakh magazine.}}</ref> who was nicknamed the Russian [[Rapunzel]] for her knee–length chestnut hair in her early work.<ref name="NYDN">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/30/2008-06-30_camera_loved_russian_rapunzel_from_first.html |title=Camera loved 'Russian Rapunzel' from first shoot, photographer says |date=2008-07-01 |accessdate=2008-07-03 |publisher=[[New York Daily News]] | first1=Veronika | last1=Belenkaya | first2=Corky | last2=Siemaszko}}</ref><ref name="NYP">{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/06292008/news/regionalnews/supermodels_death_plunge_117767.htm |title=SUPERMODEL'S DEATH PLUNGE |accessdate=2008-07-01 |date=2008-06-30 |publisher=New York Post}}</ref> Korshunova was represented by [[IMG Models|IMG]] (New York, Paris, London and [[Milan]]),<ref name="img">{{cite web |url=http://www.imgmodels.com/details.asp?ar=3404&im=&sl=&modelid=164279&agencyid=9050&sexid=2&careerid=1&subnameid=3403 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702071841/http://www.imgmodels.com:80/details.asp?ar=3404&im=&sl=&modelid=164279&agencyid=9050&sexid=2&careerid=1&subnameid=3403 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=2008-07-02 |title=Ruslana |accessdate=2007-12-11 |publisher=[[IMG Models]] }}</ref> [[Beatrice Model agency|Beatrice]] (Milan), Traffic Models ([[Barcelona]]), [[Marilyn Model Agency]] and iCasting Moscow, which was her mother agency. British Vogue hailed Korshunova as "a face to be excited about" in 2005.<ref name="vogue"/> Korshunova modeled for the covers of French ''[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]'' and the Polish and Russian versions of ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]''. She also modeled in print-ads for [[Nina Ricci (brand)|Nina Ricci]], [[Blufin|Blugirl by Blumarine]], [[Clarins]], Ghost, [[Marithé François Girbaud|Girbaud]], Kenzo Accessories, Marithé & François, [[Leon Max|Max Studio]], [[Moschino]], Old England, [[Pantene]] Always Smooth, [[Paul Smith (fashion designer)|Paul Smith]] and [[Vera Wang]] lingerie.<ref name="FMD"/>

==Death==
On 28 June 2008, at around 2:30 p.m., Korshunova died after falling from the ninth-floor balcony of her apartment at 130 Water Street in the [[Financial District, Manhattan|Financial District of Manhattan]], USA. Police stated there were no signs of a struggle in her apartment and concluded that Korshunova's death was an apparent [[suicide]], although no suicide note was found. One of Korshunova's friends stated that she had just returned from a modeling job in [[Paris]], noting that she seemed to be "on top of the world" with no apparent reason why she would commit suicide.<ref name="death">{{cite web|url=http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Kazah_Model_Ruslana_Korshunova_Dies_In_Apparent_Suicide_19654.html |title=Kazah Model Ruslana Korshunova Dies In Apparent Suicide |accessdate=2008-06-29 |date=2008-06-29 |publisher= |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624131546/http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Kazah_Model_Ruslana_Korshunova_Dies_In_Apparent_Suicide_19654.html |archivedate=2009-06-24}}</ref> Korshunova planned to celebrate her 21st birthday on Wednesday in [[Pennsylvania]]. Korshunova's former boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, stated that he dropped Korshunova off at her apartment several hours before her death after they watched the [[Patrick Swayze]] and [[Demi Moore]] film ''[[Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]'' together.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2218274/Ruslana-Korshunova-plunges-to-her-death-in-New-York.html|title=Ruslana Korshunova plunges to her death in New York |accessdate=2008-06-29 |date=2008-06-30 |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk | location=London | first=Catherine | last=Elsworth}}</ref> "I feel that she came to say goodbye", said Perchenok.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/30/2008-06-30_untitled__2fall30m-4-1.html?page=1#ixzz0I1rfTOFx&D Model's suicide shocks boyfriend] NY Daily News. (06/30/2008). Retrieved June 10, 2009.</ref> "She was a good person", he added to ''[[The New York Post]]''. However, Korshunova appeared brokenhearted and angry in some of her postings on a social networking site. Korshunova's most telling message came in March 2008: "I'm so lost. Will I ever find myself?".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/28/2008-06-28_models_web_rants_pined_for_love.html|title=Model's Web rants pined for love |accessdate=2008-06-29 |date=2008-06-29 |publisher=NY Daily News | location=New York | first1=Veronika | last1=Belenkaya | first2=Brian | last2=Harmon}}</ref>

Friends said Korshunova had a stomach ache before her death. Police said that some prescription pill bottles with Russian labels were found in her apartment .<ref>{{cite web|url=
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Story?id=5293003&page=3 |title=Ruslana Korshunova's Suicide Hints at Underbelly of Fashion Industry |accessdate=2008-06-29 |date=2008-12-02 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref> Experts did not find traces of someone else's skin underneath her nails. Korshunova's mother, Valentina Kutenkova does not believe in her daughter's suicide. "She told me about her work problems about a year ago. She said that she wanted to quit the modeling business. Everything was fine with her recently though. If she had problems at work, she would have told me", she said.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/105743-0/ |title=Russian model Ruslana Korshunova died because of 500,000-dollar lawsuit|accessdate=2008-07-09 |date=2009-01-20 |publisher=Pravda.ru}}</ref>

Muhammad Naqib, a concierge who worked in Korshunova's building stated, "I was shocked when I saw her on the pavement. She was on the road, small and pitiful, in a puddle of blood, surrounded by a crowd. Her arms and neck were broken", the man said. Muhammad was immediately suspicious. "Only next day I realized what was wrong. It was her hair! It was much shorter than when I last saw her that night, lively and happy. It seemed like it was cut in a hurry since the ends were uneven." [[Moscow]] mortician Sergey, who worked on her makeup in a Moscow morgue, stated "All I got is a polite 'thank you'. But nobody called me for an interview ... [t]he hair could fall out because of a strong impact, but it could not become shorter. When I was preparing the body for a funeral, I noticed that the hair was in a very poor condition. I even offered to find her a wig, but her relatives refused. The ends were uneven, as if someone had cut it with scissors." According to the testimony of many witnesses, no strangers or suspicious people were noticed on the day of Korshunova's death in her building on Water Street. The back exit in the yard is visible to the concierge, and nobody could pass by the reception unnoticed. During her last visit, Korshunova's mother stopped at the apartment. According to Korshunova's friends, Valentina spent several hours at the door of the apartment. She is still hoping to find the answer from the local police.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/22-09-2009/109425-korshunova-0/|title=Russian Model Ruslana Korshunova Was Killed Because of Her Hair|accessdate=2009-09-21 |date=2009-09-21 |publisher=Pravda.ru}}</ref> On July 7, 2008, Korshunova was buried at [[Khovanskoye Cemetery]] in Moscow.<ref name="KomsomolskayaPravda">{{cite news |first=Elena |last=Sheremetova |title=Ruslana Korshunova buried at Khovanskoye Cemetery in Moscow |url=http://www.kp.ru/daily/24125.5/347037/ |publisher=Komsomolskaya Pravda |location=Moscow |date=2008-07-07 |accessdate=2008-07-21 |language=Russian |quote=Как мы уже рассказывали, поначалу предполагалось, что модель похоронят на Митинском кладбище – этот вопрос обсуждался еще в Америке во время прощания с Русланой. Однако уже в Москве все "перерешили" – место для могилы «Русской русалки» выбрали на Хованском кладбище.}}</ref> Her mother stated to Russian newspaper ''[[Komsomolskaya Pravda]]'' that the Russian capital was one of her daughter's favorite cities, and that "[She] would want her beloved Moscow to be her last resting place."<ref name="Belenkaya">{{cite news |first=Veronika |last=Belenkaya |author2=Oren Yaniv |title=
Model Ruslana Korshunova will be buried in Moscow Monday |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/07/06/2008-07-06_model_ruslana_korshunova_will_be_buried_.html |publisher=Daily News |location=New York |date=2008-07-06 |accessdate=2008-07-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |title=Heartbreak drove Kazakh supermodel to suicide|url=http://entertainment.oneindia.in/hollywood/top-stories/scoop/2008/ruslana-heartbreak-caused-suicide-040708.html |publisher=Entertainment.OneIndia.in |location=India|date=2008-07-05 |accessdate=2008-07-04 }}</ref>

British TV producer and filmmaker [[Peter Pomerantsev]] has theorised that Korshunova's suicide was related to her involvement with Rose of the World, a controversial Moscow-based organisation which describes itself as "training for personality development". While researching for a documentary into Korshunova's death, Pomerantsev learned that the model spent three months attending training session at Rose of the World. These sessions—which encourage participants to share their worst experiences and recall repressed memories—are modelled after [[Lifespring]], whose controversial methods were the subject of multiple lawsuits for mental damages in the US during the 1980s. Korshunova attended training sessions with a friend, Ukrainian model Anastasia Drozdova, who committed suicide under similar circumstances in 2009. Friends of the two women reported changes in behaviour after several months at the Rose. Korshunova became aggressive, while Drozdova experienced violent mood swings and grew reclusive; both lost weight. After three months of training, Korshunova returned to New York to look for work, where she wrote of feeling lost and doubting herself. Rick Ross, head of the Cult Education Forum, argues that organisations such as Rose of the World "work like drugs: giving you peak experiences, their adherents always coming back for more. The serious problems start when people leave. The trainings have become their lives—they come back to emptiness. The sensitive ones break." Only months after leaving the Rose, Korshunova was found dead.<ref>{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Pomerantsev |title=The Lost Girl |url=http://www.newsweek.com/2011/05/01/the-lost-girl.html |publisher=Newsweek |date=2011-05-01 |accessdate=2011-05-21 |authorlink=Peter Pomerantsev}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Fashionmodel}}
* [http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-ruslana-korshunova-080630-ht,0,5643244.story Ruslana Korshunova's death ruled a suicide]
* {{find a Grave|31842902}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korshunova, Ruslana}}
[[Category:Kazakhstani female models]]
[[Category:Russian female models]]
[[Category:Female models who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Suicides by jumping in the United States]]
[[Category:Suicides in New York City]]
[[Category:People from Almaty]]
[[Category:People from Moscow]]
[[Category:Kazakhstani people of Russian descent]]
[[Category:1987 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]

← Older revision	Revision as of 20:06, 16 May 2026
(No difference)

Ruslana Korshunova - Revision history

Moderator: 1 revision

GreenC bot: Rescued 1 archive link; remove 1 link. Wayback Medic 2.1