CENA model from Russia has been jailed for 18 months after admitting to using drugs during a magazine interview.
28-year-old Anna Glazova was arrested in January 2019 after boasting about having regularly used heroin for a decade while working as a model, stating she had continued to function normally despite her heavy drug use.
In an article published December 2018 under the pseudonym ‘Teo’, Glazova claimed her relatives had been understanding about her drug use, and went on to refer to heroin as being ‘a model’s constant companion’.
CENHowever, authorities were not quite so understanding in this matter, and proceeded to track down and arrest Glazova after she attempted to do a runner following the article being published.
Pictures shared of Glazova resulted in her being dubbed ‘Russia’s most beautiful drug addict’. However, officials have alleged she was glamorising heroin, and ordered the article be removed.
An outspoken advocate for legalising various types of drugs, Glazova has regularly written about her views on social media.
Glazova had apparently not expected to serve jail time, and was reportedly left furious after being informed she would have to spend 18 months behind bars following a trial.
CENAfter her sentencing was announced, Glazova took to social media to accuse her former legal representative Taranishenko Nikita of doing a bad job.
The model accused Nikita of being ‘legally illiterate’ and alleged he had come up with proposals ‘that would obviously not benefit me as a client’.
Glazova also claimed Nikita had been rude and abusive during meetings, and that he had falsely claimed she had received funding from exiled Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It remains unclear at the time of writing whether or not Nikita has responded to his former client’s criticism.
CENDrug addiction has been a pressing social issue in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, with authorities having regularly been criticised for implementing draconian drug laws without improving access to effective treatment.
A 2018 article in the medical journal Public Health Reviews described the Russian government’s policy towards drug use as being rooted in ‘social intolerance’, leading to the ‘widespread and systematic human rights violations of people who use drugs’.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, official statistics state Russia has 448,100 regular drug users and addicts.
However, health authorities have admitted realistic figures would be around ten times this number.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or email via http://www.talktofrank.com/contact 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or livechat at http://www.talktofrank.com/livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.