How ‘Miss Russia’ became an officer in the Italian civilian fleet

The Chaliapin family left Russia in 1922, when Marina was 10 years old. She ended up in Paris, where she attended Mathilde Kschessinska’s ballet studio. However, an injury forced her to give up any hope of a ballet career for good.

In 1931, she won the ‘Miss Russia’ beauty pageant held among émigrés. At the time, such competitions valued good manners and poise more than physical beauty. Famous Russian writer Ivan Bunin had the following to say about Chaliapin’s daughter: "There are many beautiful women, but very few who possess such a delightful grace as Marina!"

Her family and friends had pressured her to participate, though she herself had no desire to do so: "Back then, being publicly declared a beauty was actually a disgrace! ... I deliberately didn't wear makeup or dress up; I arrived pale as death with a sleek 'ballet' hairstyle and I even wrapped an Orenburg shawl around my head, because I’d managed to catch a cold from sheer distress. The other girls stood there looking pretty and elegant. Yet, they chose me – such a fright…!"

After studying in the U.S. and Austria, Marina found herself in Italy – the country with which her entire subsequent life would be connected. She became involved with Luigi Freddi, a pioneer of Italian cinema, and even began acting in movies, but an acting career did not appeal to her. The beauty, instead, became an officer in the Italian Navy’s civilian fleet, responsible for the arrangements and leisure activities of first-class passengers on cruise liners. After the war, she also worked in advertising for a time before devoting herself entirely to her family.

“At heart, I’m 28; what shows on the outside doesn’t matter,” Marina Chaliapina liked to say. She passed away in Rome in 2009, just three years shy of her 100th birthday.