ABSTRACT
This essay is intended to give a different perspective on beauty contests from that of the other essays in this volume. I describe some of my experiences in the first modern pageant in Russia, "Moscow Beauty 1988." My goal is to further general discussion of the relationship between gender and national politics. \Vhile the second part of this discussion is very subjective, I place my own experience in a broader historical and social framework in the first part of the essay.
