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Like her heroine, Barbie, Tatiana Tuzova straddles two worlds - one is pink, cheery and hopeful and the other is the real world we all live in.
Tatiana (36) is probably the biggest Barbie fan in Russia - her collection of 12 000 dolls has earned her the nickname Russian Barbie.
She lives in a pink Dreamhouse and wears pink, Barbie-style outfits, and she was thrilled to finally watch the blockbuster movie based on the beloved doll, even if it was a pirated copy.
Russia continues to face sanctions from the West over its invasion of Ukraine, and as a result, the film has not been officially released there, but pirated copies are easily available, and some cinemas have had "free" screenings of the film, as a double bill with a Russian short film.
"To some extent, [Barbie's world] is my world as well. And I even recognised myself in the film character a little bit, because I also feel sad when I come back to grey reality," she told Reuters.Tatiana became obsessed with Barbie as a child, not long after her father passed away when she was a baby, leaving her family with virtually nothing.
“And I decided that I would have everything. And everything will be pink.”
Her house is filled with thousands of Barbies, including the first Barbie to wear her signature black-and-white zebra striped swimsuit and topknot ponytail.
Most of her dolls are in their original packaging to preserve their value.
“I think Barbie is a role model. Her slogan is 'You can be anything'. I looked at her and understood that I could be anything as well,” she said.
READ MORE| How Greta Gerwig went from playing with hand-me-down Barbies to Hollywood’s hottest director
Tatiana has lent 300 of her Barbie dolls to a Moscow theatre for an exhibit to accompany their unofficial Barbie premier on 9 September.
"Barbie is not my job, it's a lifestyle. When I am insulted on the internet, I tell people: 'I don't drink or smoke or swear. I instil a healthy lifestyle in children'."
“I work, record songs, do gigs, receive awards, produce clothes for children and grown-up girls, and rent out a photo studio - but it is all Barbie related."
READ MORE| Inside the Dreamhouse of the Barbie superfan who owns 18 000 dolls
Tatiana said she enjoyed seeing that Margot Robbie's Barbie remained true to herself even when she entered the real world.
"She remained herself: she didn't put on weight, didn't dye her hair brunette. She just adapted, let's say, to the real world - as, in general, I did."
"I want everything in the real world to be as bright, beautiful and glamorous (as in Barbie Land). But when you're out in the real world, there are so many things missing."
SOURCES: REUTERS.COM, DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, THENATIONALNEWS.COM, VIGOURTIMES.COM, MIRROR.CO.UK
