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In Russia there is a great tradition of breeding, education, and
sophistication of young women. This tradition has largely been adopted
from France, for the courts of Russia used to be places where French
was spoken, French culture was revered, and French practices were
perfected and given a distinct Russian flavor. From this Francophile
environment came the perfection of the upper class Russian girl
through various social methods.
Lika is a perfect example of this system. While many Russians remain
poor, and have been so throughout history, there has always been
an upper class that can strut their stuff with any culture in the
world. The members of this sophisticated set pride themselves on
their cultural and conversational abilities. They can play violin,
dance ballet, speak five languages, and share profound and piercing
views on everything from Asian politics to American art to Brazilian
literature. Such a phenomenon is Lika.
She was born in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), and immediately
began her training with top notch nannies. Her father is a diplomat,
as is her mother, and their family money and influence go back hundreds
of years. By the time Lika was five, she was already learning three
languages – Russian, English, and French.
Throughout her pre-teen years, she studied a variety of essential
activities for the Russian debutante – dance, philosophy,
etiquette, literature. She performed with the Russian ballet and
attended debutante balls. By the time she hit her teens, and was
ready to begin entertaining young men, she was a thoroughly refined
specimen.
Through her teen years, Lika used her education to her greatest
advantage. She was very discriminating with young men. First she
dated the son of a friend of her father, who was also in the diplomatic
corps. Then she moved on to the son of the curator of the Hermitage,
the world’s largest museum, located in Volgograd. But by the
time she was 18, she was beginning to feel restrained by her circumstances,
and she started dating more heavily.
This upbringing, nevertheless, stuck with her, and you can see it
in her photo shoot. Here is a highly pristine and perfected young
woman. She knows how to move, how to hold herself, how to “show
her best side.” There is nothing taken for granted in her
presentation. She is all good looks and fine charm.
Enjoy these savory images of a true Russian debutante!
Join Met-Art to see this remarkable series.
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