Anna Khramtsova, a female service member of Russia’s National Guard, has been removed from the military unit after winning a beauty contest — a move she believes is down to envy among her colleagues.
Khramtsova beat more than a thousand contestants at a beauty pageant last year, gaining the title as the most beautiful service member in the National Guard.
The result prompted varying responses from her colleagues in uniform, according to Khramtsova.
Some female colleagues seemed jealous of the bikini-clad photos that have lit up Instagram and Facebook and have avoided her altogether.
As for the men, they often went out of their way to congratulate her on her success.
She shared: “I am very proud of this victory. Some congratulated, and some showed envy. Male colleagues congratulated me, wrote a lot, some tried to meet me personally. Such a wave of popularity was very pleasant. But many women in the service even stopped greeting me.”
Those, who wanted her out of the National Guard, have succeeded after she posted a video online showing a disinfection operation inside the building where she was working.
Officials within Russia’s national military stand by their decision to remove Khramtsova, stating that she acted in an “unacceptable” manner and broke the rules by sharing content that was not meant to make its way outside of the premises.
Both of Khramtsova’s parents have served in the police force and the military, with their daughter proud to be taking on the baton and continuing her family’s legacy.
Khramtsova says this is not the first time she has experienced sexist behavior within the National Guard and believes the reasons for her dismissal runs deeper than merely sharing a video.
She revealed: “I was fired because they needed it, I crossed … someone. The reason for my dismissal was trifling, filming an administrative building during disinfection in order to raise the spirits.”
Khramtsova went on to say: “After the contest, I got more envy; they learned about my hobby, my sports, so they got ready to kick me out from the service. Now they have done it.”
She has vowed to take the case further. She confessed: “In the near future, I will decide what to do next. But I just won’t leave it like this.”
The National Guard, which consists of more than 340,000 troops, was established in 2016 by President Vladimir Putin to maintain public order, secure borders, and combat organized crime in Russia. More than 20,000 of the service members are women.
In 2018, the National Guard came under fire for only allowing women to carry out certain non-combatant roles within Russia’s national military.
