The last photo of Soviet supermodel Regina Zbarskaya at the age of 49, taken three years before her suicide in 1987, published in the Soviet Zhurnal Mod in 1984.
Known as the "the Kremlin's most beautiful weapon", Regina Nikolaevna became a global icon of Soviet fashion before her tragic downfall.
Due to her foreign travel, the KGB constantly monitored her. They forced her to act as an informant, using her to spy on foreigners and gather intelligence.
Her husband, artist Lev Zbarsky, forced her to have an abortion for her career, then abandoned her for another woman and fled the USSR. A Yugoslav journalist lover published a scandalous book in the West titled "One Hundred Nights with Regina Zbarskaya." It exposed her personal secrets and crushed her remaining reputation.
The betrayal, public shame, and brutal KGB interrogations caused a massive psychological breakdown. She spent years dependent on heavy anti-depressants. Regina made multiple attempts on her life and spent her final years heavily institutionalized in psychiatric hospitals.
In November 1987, stripped of her fame and working as a cleaning lady at her former fashion house, she died by a sleeping pill overdose at age 52. She passed away alone, in extreme poverty.
u/StupidSybin — 27 days ago