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Timoshenko voted most influential lady in Ukraine

The list includes 38 blondes, 26 brunettes and 29 brown-haired women. No chances were left to red-haired women

KIEV, October 28 (Itar-Tass) — Yulia Timoshenko, ex-prime minister of Ukraine, now kept in the Lukyanov prison of Kiev, has been voted the most influential lady of Ukraine for the fifth year in succession. The influential Kiev-based weekly Focus published on Friday the latest rating of 100 most popular ladies in 2011.

The second place went to Irina Akimova, first deputy head of the presidential administration. She is followed by Yelena Franchuk, head of the Anti-AIDS Foundation, who is the daughter of ex-President Leonid Kuchma. Most of the ten ladies, who top the list, are close to the structures of the ruling Party of Regions. Yelena Lukash, adviser to the president and his representative in the Constitutional Court, is the fourth. Tatiana Bakhteyeva, deputy to the Supreme Rada from the Party of Regions, is the fifth. Raisa Bogatyreva, secretary of the National Security Council, is the sixth. Yulia Levochkina, deputy to the Supreme Rada and wife of the head of the presidential administration, is the seventh. Anna Hermann, adviser to the president, is the eighth. She is followed by Alyona Pritula, editor-in-chief of the opposition Internet portal Ukrainskaya Pravda (Ukrainian Truth). Viktoria Tigipko, wife of the deputy prime minister, president of the Odessa Film Festival, is the tenth on the list.

The Focus points to the fact that “the ladies representing the authorities and the ruling party make up some 25 per cent of the list.” This is the result of a tough vertical of power, which is being created by the Ukrainian leader. The degree of influence of the “political ladies” depends a great deal on how close they are to President Viktor Yanukovich. The growth of women’s influence in business is a special feature of the rating. In 2010 only 18 ladies – owners and managers of companies and business structures were put on the list, while the figure for 2011 is 28.

The Focus answered for the first time in its rating the question on how the colour of the hair influences the success of ladies. The statistics proved rather impressive. The list includes 38 blondes, 26 brunettes and 29 brown-haired women. No chances were left to red-haired women. The weekly did not guarantee, however, that the colour of their hair was natural.

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