MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. Elena Maximova from the Russian republic of Udmurtia, was crowned Mrs Universe 2022, the organizers of the Mrs Universe 2022 pageant told TASS on Sunday. This year the contest was held in the Bulgarian capital of Sophia from January 30 to February 5.

"Thirty-four-year-old resident of Udmurtia Elena Maksimova won the Mrs. Universe - 2022 beauty pageant, the final of which was held on February 4 in Sofia," the press service said.

In total 120 women from China, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, India, Belarus, Ukraine, Germany, Spain, the USA and other countries made it to the final.

This is the first time in the history of the contest, which has been held since 2007, when a representative of Russia wins.

Elena Maksimova was born in the village of Giya in the Udmurt Republic. She runs a network of language centers in Izhevsk. She has two children, loves to travel and has already been to 34 countries. Last year, Maksimova became Second Vice Mrs. Russia - Universe, which gave her the opportunity to represent the country at the international stage of the pageant.

"The competition at the contest was very tough. There was a record number of participants, and all of them deserve to win. It is a great honor for me to represent my country at such a serious competition, and I am very happy that I am going home with a victory. It is especially nice to be the first participant who brought Russia the victory," Maximova said as quoted by the press service.