Dark leather chair

Roman Abramovich's girlfriend Daria Zhukova was accused of racism because of a photo of an African-American woman on a chair

On January 20, Miroslava Duma's Buro 24/7 publication published an interview with Daria Zhukova , editor-in-chief of Garage magazine and friend of oligarch Roman Abramovich. Ordinary material for a glamorous party would have gone unnoticed by the general reader, if not for a scandalous photograph from a photo shoot for an interview.

In the photo originally posted in the interview, Zhukova is sitting on a pouf, the stand of which is made in the form of a half-naked African-American woman, whose legs are tied with a belt. Despite the apparent realism, the dark-skinned girl is not real.

Western media took up Zhukova and the Duma: the date of the interview surprisingly coincided with Martin Luther King Day, celebrated in the United States on the third Monday of January. A photograph of a Russian socialite sitting astride a chair shaped like a dark-skinned woman on the day of remembrance of the African-American rights activist sent journalists into a frenzy.

The editor of the fashion blog Fashion Bomb Daily, Claire Sulmers, discovered Zhukova’s interview and was outraged by Buro 24/7’s antics. Salmers' publication attracted the attention of other popular publications, such as the Huffington Post and the Daily Mail ; the latter called Zhukova “the Russian oligarch’s girlfriend,” referring to billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Salmers remembered that she had once seen a similar chair. The idea was indeed not new: artist Allen Jones created similar furniture in 1969, and Buro 24/7 even wrote about it in February last year. However, Jones used white models.

Allen Jones' composition "Table, Chair, Hanger"

In the interview, the scandalous photograph of Zhukova is preceded by her passage about the undesirability of copying and the rich cultural heritage of Russia.

Tell me, how can we best promote contemporary Russian art in order to stand out from other countries?

Our country has been culturally isolated for many years, and we simply need time. And, nevertheless, any creative endeavor that originates in Russia must be original and independent and should not copy what is happening abroad. This is the key to success. You need to be honest with yourself and the rest of the world - then everything will work out. After all, Russia has a very rich cultural heritage.

The editors of Buro 24/7 responded to accusations from readers, explaining that the chair is the work of Jones. However, readers were not satisfied with this answer: they noticed that the artist’s works were provocative in many ways, and the editors had to understand what kind of reaction such a photo would cause.

A few hours later, Buro 24/7 cropped the photos with the notorious chair on the site, leaving only the woman’s heels sticking up.

Miroslava Duma’s Instagram was flooded with English-language commentators who began teaching her morals. Under pressure from users, the socialite deleted the scandalous photo.

As in the case of the scandalous interview with Ksenia Sobchak , which she took from Pussy Riot, the material began to be widely discussed in Russia only after coverage in Western media.

Until today I had never heard of Daria Zhukova. and now she is my idol

— Tommaso (@xyeku) January 21, 2014

I imagined Daria Zhukova sitting on me with her legs on my shoulders. I'm getting excited.

— Gera Chechen (@gerachechen) January 21, 2014

Dasha Zhukova's balls, they are simply huge.

— Grishenka (@Karapuzzik) January 21, 2014

The topic brought to mind the scandal with licorice-flavored Haribo marmalade, which was discontinued in Sweden on January 20 due to accusations of racism.

Racist hysterics, what with Haribo bears, what with Dasha Zhukova. It’s strange, it’s like cold, but there’s aggravation all around

— shiksa (@davletkildeeva) January 21, 2014

They did not ignore Zhukova’s financial situation.

wait, so it was Dasha Zhukova’s sculpture? with her money she could afford a live chick. otherwise it’s somehow undignified, inauthentic

— Rational idea (@morkvo) January 21, 2014

Daria Zhukova runs the British art and fashion magazine Garage, which is published twice a year. It's working out, poor thing.

— Jerzy (@ata_pin) January 21, 2014

With the Olympics approaching, Western commentators couldn't help but draw a parallel between the treatment of minorities at Buro 24/7 and the level of tolerance during Sochi 2014.

This image on @buro24_7 is so disgustingly racist: http://t.co/FsNdjF2D7B Beware the sickening levels of racism in #Russia #Sochi2014

— Sunny Singh (@sunnysingh_nw3) January 20, 2014

For some, Zhukova’s chair even reminded them of the recent story with paired toilets at the Sochi 2014 press center.

Yesterday Lyokha @navalny amused us with a photo of a toilet with two toilets, today - with Daria Zhukova’s chair. Sorry sight.

- Ramzan Kadyrov. (@KadirovRussia) January 21, 2014

Some girl named Dasha Zhukova was unlucky: instead of a real socialite, commentators on social networks mentioned her account.

It’s interesting, people who tweet/Instagram something mentioning Dasha Zhukova don’t see that they are mentioning a completely different Dasha?

— Dasha (@dashazhukova_) January 21, 2014

Art, of course, was a separate topic.

It’s interesting that Daria Zhukova is condemned for her afro-chair by the same people who talk about the value of provocative contemporary art.

— Igor Gukovsky (@jstoruser) January 21, 2014

I wonder if Dasha Zhukova’s chair was white?

I wonder if Dasha Zhukova was black?

— Maksim Kononenko (@kononenkome) January 21, 2014

The State Duma will adopt a statement in support of Daria Zhukova, who is guarding civilizational priorities and cultural identity

— Gonzo-Bureaucrat (@miteque) January 21, 2014

Here it was impossible to do without the opinion of the famous art historian and film critic Roman Volobuev.

Post by Roman Volobuev .

Colleagues from The Village distinguished themselves by laughing at the situation.

Post by The Village .

Separately, we note that Ksenia Sobchak, one of Miroslava Duma’s friends, did not publicly participate in the conflict.

Abramovich has a chair from Daria Zhukova,
Nikita Likhachev,
TJournal

#Scandal #Daria_Zhukova #Roman_Abramovich #Miroslava_Duma #Buro_24_7 #Huffington_Post #Fashion_Bomb_Daily #Claire_Salmers #Daria_Zhukova_chair_from_African-American