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Article: These supermodels are wanted by the secret police! Their crime? Being beautiful. In the former Soviet republic of Belarus, models are no longer allowed to leave the country, and those who do will be interrogated by the secret police--still the KGB. Marie Claire visits Minsk to investigate.(GLOBAL REPORT)
- Article from:
- Marie Claire
- Article date:
- March 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Hearst Communications, reprinted with permission of Hearst. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ON THE DRIVE from Belarus's international airport to the capital city of Minsk is a huge billboard showing a beaten woman's face with the words: "Let's stop the female trade." Today, the billboard survives as one of the only publicly displayed advertisements remaining in Belarus.
The crackdown on commercial signs started last fall, when Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko (above), known as Bat'ka or "Daddy" among the people, was driving through Minsk and noticed the smiling face of Cindy Crawford on a billboard advertising Swiss watches. As the popular story goes, Crawford's photograph irritated Lukashenko. Stopping in front of ...