Viktoria Davydova

The January 2011 issue of Russian Vogue is out, the first under new EIC Viktoria Davydova, and fans of the mag are already in an uproar about the direction she's taking it. To start, Davydova's chosen an unconventional, not to mention controversial, covergirl in Alina Kabaeva. She's not a model and she's not exactly a celebrity. She is a decorated rhythmic gymnast (she took home the gold at the 2004 Olympics), but she is better known as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rumored mistress. Two years ago, when Putin was still President and still married to wife Ludmilla (as he still is today), stories circulated in the press that Putin was to marry Kabaeva. To stoke the fire a bit, the headline between Kabaeva's legs translates to "Her Main Victory," a Russian reader tells us. Davydova came from Tatler, where celeb covers are de rigeur (Jennifer Lopez is currently on the cover of Russian Tatler), so that she put a non-model on the cover is not much of a surprise. But after years under the talented direction Aliona Doletskaya, who is rumored to be headed to POP after resigning from Vogue Russia, to say that fans are disappointed with Davydova and her first cover for the mag would be a gross understatement. It doesn't help that Kabaeva is wearing the same gold Balmain dress that has already seen countless covers. Five pages of comments have already amassed over at the online forum The Fashion Spot bemoaning the new Russian Vogue. Some highlights?