Russian National Crowned Miss Armenia 2024 Withdraws from Miss Universe 2024

Irina Zakharova, who was crowned Miss Universe Armenia 2024, will not participate in this year’s Miss Universe competition. The news was announced on the official Instagram page of Miss Universe Armenia, where it was revealed that Zakharova had to make the difficult decision to withdraw due to family circumstances.

“Unfortunately, Irina Zakharova, our Miss Universe Armenia, will not be able to travel to Mexico City for the Miss Universe 2024 contest. We have gone through an extensive preparation process, and we were determined to represent Armenia to the best of our abilities. However, due to personal family reasons, Irina had to make the difficult decision to step back,” the statement read.

The Armenian Report reached out to Irina for a statement, and she told us, “You will find out everything when everyone else does.”

Zakharova’s journey to the Miss Universe title has not been without controversy. Earlier this year, when the Miss Universe Armenia contest took place in Moscow, many Armenians questioned how a Russian national had been selected to represent their country. Zakharova, a 31-year-old Russian singer, won the title amid widespread criticism from the global Armenian diaspora.

Journalist and feminist activist Zara Ghazaryan took to social media to express her discontent. “How did a Russian singer come to represent Armenia at Miss Universe? This decision undermines opportunities for Armenian women,” she wrote on Instagram. The criticism centered around the fact that Zakharova does not have Armenian heritage or citizenship, which many felt went against the principles of the competition.

Kristina Ayanian, Miss Armenia 2023, also weighed in on the controversy, noting that she was not invited to crown her successor, which is a break from the competition’s traditional rules. In a video statement, Ayanian emphasized that, per Miss Universe rules, participants must be citizens of the country they represent and should have lived there for a certain period. “The current Miss Universe Armenia does not meet these requirements, which raises concerns about the legitimacy of the selection process,” Ayanian said.

The rules governing Miss Universe Armenia have evolved over the years. Previously, the competition only allowed women living in Armenia, with Armenian citizenship, to participate. Gohar Harutyunyan, a former director of Miss Universe Armenia, explained that the contest’s strict guidelines have since been relaxed, allowing people of any nationality, age, or marital status to compete.

Harutyunyan voiced her concerns about the direction the competition has taken, particularly regarding the involvement of Yulia Pavlikova, a Russian national who now holds the rights to Miss Universe Armenia. Pavlikova also oversees the Miss Universe Estonia competition and gained the rights to Armenia’s pageant after a lack of sponsorship led to its suspension in 2022.

Pavlikova defended her role, stating that her experience in the modeling industry and her successful debut in the Miss Universe contest made her a strong candidate to lead the Armenian and Estonian competitions. However, her involvement has deepened the controversy, with critics arguing that her leadership undermines the cultural and national significance of the competition.

Several former Miss Armenia contestants, including Dayana Davtyan, Miss Universe Armenia 2019, and Mirna Bzdigian, who represented Armenia in Miss World 2022, have also voiced their concerns. Bzdigian argued that allowing a non-Armenian to represent the country at such a prestigious event risks diluting Armenia’s national identity. “We are at risk of losing our history and identity if we let others represent us without understanding our culture,” Bzdigian said.

The Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport has so far declined to comment on the controversy. When contacted by reporters, they neither confirmed nor denied receiving complaints about the situation, asking instead for inquiries to be submitted through official channels.

With Zakharova’s withdrawal from the 2024 competition, the question remains whether Armenia will send another representative or choose to forgo participation this year. For many Armenians, the broader issue lies in how their country’s identity is being represented on the world stage. As the Miss Universe pageant approaches, scheduled for November 16 in Mexico City, the debate over national representation continues to stir strong emotions within the Armenian community.