Relatives pay last respects to supermodel in Moscow
Published 07 July, 2008, 11:52
Family members and close friends of supermodel Ruslana Korshunova have attended her funeral service in Moscow to pay their last respects. She died after falling from the ninth floor of a Manhattan in what was apparently a suicide.
Family and friends gathered at the funeral service for Ruslana Korshunova in Moscow on Monday, trying to come to terms with their loss and understand what happened.
For them her death remains a complete mystery, with some doubting whether it was indeed suicide.
Ruslana was plucked from Kazakhstan when she was 15. Two years later she was modelling for the likes of Nina Ricci, Marc Jacobs and DKNY.
The Kazakh-born beauty graced catwalks worldwide but her short life was brought to an abrupt end last week when she plunged nine floors from her New York apartment.
Her death has sent shock waves through New York, where those who knew her say she seemed happy. Ruslana left no suicide note, but police investigating her death suspect no foul play.
While friends say there saw no signs she would take her own life, there were, perhaps, some indications elsewhere.
Ruslana wrote a series of internet messages on her blog and other websites about love in the weeks before she died. They reflect an inner torment, with her admitting she was lost and hurt.
One man who might know why is Vladimir Vorobyov, manager of a personal development training centre in Moscow. He spoke to Ruslana in the hours before she died and while he admits they were close friends, he denies claims they were romantically involved. Instead he insists she would come to him for advice,
“Ruslana was very disappointed with men in her life. They often left her alone and hurt her. She said I was the kind of person that she could open up to and trust. Last time I talked to her, she was anxious and worried, Then she just hung up. A couple of hours later I received a phone call with the news that Ruslana was no more. Tears came as the first reaction. And then – disbelief. I still can’t believe that she’s dead,” Vorobyov said.
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