Ruslana Korshunova, Supermodel, Dies In Fall (PHOTOS)

***SCROLL FOR DOZENS OF RUSLANA PHOTOS***
Sunday afternoon Ruslana Korshunova's death was ruled a suicide. Keep reading for excerpts of her poetry and online blogs. Additional Ruslana Korshunova depressed writing was found on her computer. More on Ruslana Korshunova's writing.

Geraldo had the poor, poor taste to show footage of Ruslana Korshunova's dead body.

Monday's NY Post talks to Ruslana Korshunova's current and former boyfriend, and reports she'd lost weight recently.

"I think she just gave up," said [ex-boyfriend] Artem Perchenok, 24, who was with Korshunova on the last night of her short life.

The 5-foot-8 head-turner, who liked camping and fishing, kept her problems "bottled up," he said. "When a job would go bad, she'd take it out on herself."

But her latest beau, Mark Kaminsky, 32, of Staten Island - who said he talked with Ruslana hours before her suicide plunge - insisted the beauty was "liking what she did."

"She was a love for me," he said, noting the first time he saw her he gushed: "I'm in shock over your beauty."..

Perchenok speculated, "She was doing great [in her career]. Maybe she was overworked.

"It [her career] was taking off. She was busy, busy. When you're 20 years old and you travel the world, how can you complain? But . . . your family's back home and people are telling you what to do and how much to eat and how to walk."

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The size-4 stunner appeared to have dropped some serious weight from her already thin frame and was complaining about a stomachache in the four or five days before her death.

The NYDN also talked to Ruslana Korshunova's boyfriend Kaminsky:

The pair moved into Kaminsky's Staten Island house just two days after they met, although Korshunova kept the downtown apartment she treasured.

"We decided right away, we were a good couple. I was in love," said Kaminsky, a luxury car exporter.

He last saw his girlfriend about noon on Saturday, about two hours before she leaped to her death. They had plans to go to her best friend's birthday party that night.

Vicky Ward wrote a blog about Ruslana Korshunov'a lonely life.

Previously:
From the AP:
A European Vogue cover model fell to her death from her Manhattan apartment building Saturday in an apparent suicide, published reports said.

Ruslana Korshunova, 20, died around 2:30 p.m. in a fall from a building on Water Street, in Manhattan's Financial District, The New York Post, the Daily News and Newsday reported. The newspapers cited unnamed officials and police...

Originally from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, the almond-eyed, flowing-haired Korshunova appeared in advertisements and on runways for such designers as Marc Jacobs, Nina Ricci and DKNY. British Vogue hailed her as "a face to be excited about" in 2005.

Her break came when modeling booker Debbie Jones noticed her while perusing an in-flight magazine article about Korushnova's hometown of Almaty, according to the Vogue report.

"She looked like something out of a fairytale!" Jones told the magazine. "We had to find her and we searched high and low until we did!".

From the NY Post on Ruslana Korshunova:

"She's one of the sweetest, nicest people you'll ever meet," said a friend, who did not want to be identified by name.

"I'm still in shock. The world lost a great person."

The lithe looker has been a mainstay at Fashion Week in the Big Apple and London, working with all-star designers Jill Stuart, Betsey Johnson, Rosa Cha, Lela Rose and Libertine.

The pal said that Korshunova had just returned from a modeling gig in Paris and seemed to be "on top of the world."

"There were no signs," he said. "That's what's driving me crazy. I don't see one reason why she would do that."

Korshunova, who had been sending money back to her parents in Kazakhstan, was in love with the city.

From the NYDN report of Ruslana Korshunova's apparent suicide:

A doorman at her 12-story building - where Korshunova lived for months in a studio converted into a one-bedroom - said the model seemed happy when she came home about 4 a.m. Saturday.

"She came in this morning, she smiled, no sense of depression," said Mahmoud Nakeeb, 45. "She was a very sweet girl, always smiling, never depressed-looking."

More on Ruslana Korshunova's death:

Her distraught ex-boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, 24, said that he dropped the model at her apartment at 5 a.m. after they watched the movie "Ghost."

"She was a good person," he told The Post, still reeling from the shock.

Friends broke the tragic news to Korshunova's mom, Valentina and brother Ruslan, who still live in Kazakhstan.

"[The mom] didn't believe it was real," one close friend told the Post via phone from Moscow, Russia. "She started to cry. She wanted to fly to the states."

Korshunova's best friend, Kira Titeneva broke down when she arrived at her pal's apartment late last night. "We were talking on the phone last night," she said. "She loved life so much. She was an angel."

Titeneva, who grew up in her pal's hometown, said Korshunova "wasn't wild. She was never on drugs or anything."

The NYDN undcovered web rants and poems written by Ruslana Korshunova:

"Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably," the sandy-haired knockout wrote in a poem that concluded: "And never regret anything that made you smile."

The Kazakh beauty wrote that love "blinds," "sets souls afire," and "is always the answer" in emotion-soaked passages posted on a social networking site.

Korshunova volleyed between Russian and English in her heartfelt prose, but love was a central theme no matter the language. "Do not confuse love and desire," she wrote in Russian in her most recent posting May 30. "Love is the sun, desire - only flash. Desire dazzles, and the sun gives life..."

Korshunova's most telling message came three months ago: "I'm so lost. Will I ever find myself?"

She appeared angry in some postings, brokenhearted in others.

"I'm a bitch. I'm a witch. I don't care what you say!!!" she wrote March 11. "I know what it is. I know why my other relationships didn't work out, 'cause I'm unpredictable. Why are you afraid of it?"

The Supermodels.nl page for Ruslana Korshunova with more Ruslana Korshunova pictures.
IMG Models (her agency) Ruslana Korshunova page
Style.com has Ruslana Korshunova runway photos.
The Ruslana Korshunova fashion model directory page.
More Ruslana Korshunova photos at the fashionspot.com.
Ruslana Korshunova wiki page.

Ruslana Korshunova On Elle:

Ruslana Korshunova's apartment building and the tragic scene:

More Ruslana Korshunova, Ruslana Korshunova, Ruslana Korshunova photos, Ruslana Korshunova pictures and more on Ruslana Korshunova's death. The NYDN has Ruslana Korshunova pictures.

Ruslana Korshunova as covered by TMZ and Ruslana Korshunova's death picked up by gawker. Ruslana Korshunova coverage extended to the NY Times. Also covering Ruslana Korshunova later Sunday was Us. The Ruslana Korshunova coverage even hit UK papers.

Comments

[dora rice]

So the X-boyfriend was with her. Well either he did it, or the boyfriend who discovered she was with the X-boyfriend but one of these two did it, my opinion, and I am sure the cops are still looking into this behind the scenes.

[janmarbol]

the cutting of the net... hmmm, has anyone thought she may have been fed up with that covering the light in her apt and she just tried to cut it open and fell accidentally? I mean why was this ruled a suicide? why is no one talking about a note/letter? this is SO weird! and we assume it was a murder, but why not an accident. Obviously she was in an OK mood according to all who know her, she was NOT into drugs, she did NOT have an eating disorder,so why a suicide?

[farseer]

Based on the statements of her friends who knew her, those who saw her just before her death, and her mother, I don't believe this was a suicide. No way. Either she was murdered - or perhaps drugs did her in. But it can't be a case of intentional suicide.

[XCITIZEN]

A young woman commits suicide - and the only reason anybody cares is because she was a supermodel.

Another one bites the dust.

[210ScOrPiO210]

My cousin Claire is a top model in New York and frequents the likes of Milan, Paris and London. She knew Ruslana personally, and although they were not close friends, my cousin is in the same circle as some of lana's friends. annnyhoo...the recent gossip buzz circulating through that group is that Ruslana may have been PREGNANT! ...well now there's just another spanner to throw into the works...what a mystery...

[mouselion]

So sad.

[janmarbol]

ungodly thin? WHAT? She was NOT. I was skinnier than that as a teen and young adult and I had NO EATING disorder; in fact, I ate much more than my fatter counterparts. Some people just have skinny genes. I hated being that skinny, but what can you do if it's in your genes.

You shouldn't criticize and make all these assumptions of meds, eating disorders, depression, etc. You didn't know her personally. And now she is dead and can't defend herself. Shame on you.

We don't even know why it was ruled a suicide. Was there a note? Was it her handwriting? What if she DIDN'T kill herself and there was pressure to rule it a suicide. We don't know. We shouldn't make assumptions. As for the sayings on her blog or page, a LOT of girls have those same sayings. Big deal.

A simple RIP would be more appropriate.

[rucognizant]

Imagine, You're a young, idealistic, beautiful girl in a BRUTAL, COMMUNIST, country.
AND then this "fairy tale" happens and you come to the "SHINING CITY ON THE HILL" ( USA) are lionized, make lots of money.....­..........­.......
And have your ideals of DEMOCRACY totally shattered!
I have wondered, why immigrants still want to come here. And wondered what they think when they arrive.
We who have been here, are like frogs in water being brought to a boil slowly....­..........­........
Time to take our Country back!

[GrainOSand]

The dream is on the decline. Taps may become the most requested song across the nation.

The young woman is free now of the entanglements of a world too self-interested to care about itself such that it would value versus diminish life. There is no reason this young lady (if she did self terminate) should not still be here amongst us being beautiful on the outside and more importantly exploring the things that made her uniquely beautiful on the inside. She should be contemplating the smell of flowers and the warmth of the sun. She should be here thinking about how celebrity might be used to assist in a national agenda of change for a country that gave her so much professionally, but seemed to be empty of that which would sustain a desire to live -- whatever that might have been. She should be here inspiring young people and specifically young women concerning true beauty, grace, and charm versus the Madison Avenue type of airbrushed, glossy beauty that paid her bills.

All the good attributes have become corny and cliché, but cling to them, not out of a sense of bitterness, but due to the joy that they bring. Life is a struggle to stay innocent. Cling to love, innocence, and hope for they allow one never to become numb to the pain of innocence lost, in this case, yet again by someone who seemingly had it all but on closer examination, all may need to be redefined.

[ozmarky]

I have to disagree with your idea that immigrants still see America as a "SHINING CITY ON THE HILL" .
This girl wasn't old enough to have really experienced communist rule and we don't know that she was idealistic. I doubt the majority of immigrants today are rags to riches stories but more likely to be people who know that America is one of the last places, if you have enough money, you can do as you please and get tax cuts for it.
As for being BRUTAL! The world sees a constant warring America both overseas and at home. How many people has America killed in this most recent war? How many wars has America started? How much tax goes to weapons? How many gun deaths occur on the streets of America? How many people are homeless or living in trailers in America? What generalised health care system is there? What other country shows it's leader flanked by military? What country still has the death penalty?
America is the only "free" country I have been to where the news is completely self-orientated and introspective. It's as if the world goes away while you are there.
So no I don't see your fantasty version of America through immigrants eyes to be how it is at all. I think most people see America as a military force who make TV and films usually about killing. A fantastic producer of entertainment, but not somewhere you'd want to live.

[AryanMjolnir]

--------{---{@

[Sterling30]

And it turns out medication was being used.., that's the culprit..

"One investigator told the Post they found several bottles of medication; the labels were in Russian. '

[Sterling30]

It would be important to know if she was on medication, that could have caused her suicide in fact that was the case. So many clinical trials have hid data for years now proving that many medications used to treat people do often factor in suicide.

And looking at how ungodly thin that girl was.., I suspect some type of stimulant was being used on a regular basis.

The truth then might lie in her medical records, that was not a healthy girl. What a terrible senseless tragedy.

[MyGuyO]

This young woman was astonishingly beautiful. What a tradgedy to end such a young life.

[Jody2167]

I don't think it was a suicide. Her personality has not shown this. This was a murder.

[dac253]

If her personality doesn't show that it was a suicide, then how does it show someone would want her killed?

The thing about suicidals is that when they decide they're going to take their own life, they're very often in a good mood because they know their suffering will soon end.

Nobody saw it coming when my little brother offed his self.

All I know is that this is a god damned shame.
We all want to look better than we do, most of us want more money than we've got, and a lot of us wish we led more glamourous lifestyles than we do.
This girl seemed to have the world on a string,... but the demons,... man. It boggles the mind.

[londubh]

If she wasn't Russian, I wouldn't be as suspicious about her death. It may have indeed been suicide, but she may have run afoul with the Russian mafia.

[Laserbeam]

Hi dac253,

I'm so sorry about your brother. It never gets any easier, does it. I lost an ex-boyfriend to suicide some years ago. I was still in love with him and still to this day feel a profound sense of guilt that I couldn't help and wasn't even aware of what all was troubling him. Having said that, though, he didn't volunteer that something was terribly wrong. Still, I feel I should have known and should have been able to help.

I suffer from chronic depression (since the age of three) and began my attempts at the age of nine. Fortunately, I never succeeded, and it is probably because I was actually desperate to live - just wanted the pain to end. I still struggle and I am 45 now. Thankfully I have a child (teen ager, now) so I will never be able to commit the act. It has been torture soemtime not to go through with it but my last refuge is imagining my child in the future having to deal with it. Works every time though with great effort.

Anyway, I just wanted to offer my condolences for your loss of your little brother. Even this anonymous person cares about you.

[LadyJ]

I am trying to figure out what the difference is between you writing a piece complaining that Fox news showed the body and the photos of the body bag above. I am most decidedly NOT a fan of FOX news but if you link or talk about what they are doing, aren't you just perpetuating the offense?

I used to check out this site every day and lately, I don't know....I am finding more to dislike than to like. I wish this site could raise the bar a bit, because it's losing me. Just thought I would supply some feedback to you from a formerly dedicated reader. (too much advertising too, the pages barely load!)

[watchingthings]

If this site is so bad and so hard for you to navigate..­......gues­s there's only one solution......start your own site!

[MrsPeel]

Agreed. Tabloid-esque.

[Beaux510]

How about a little honesty in that headline?

There is no such thing as a suicide "fall". A fall is an accident, this was not. To label it a fall, denigrates her intention to die as she wished. It was a leap, not a fall. There's a difference.

[Agathena]

Right, she jumped. She was a jumper. Overtaken by deep despair, she just wanted an end to it all. It's unfortunate that a vulnerable person like her was alone while feeling like that.

[kahn10]

The jump was the first foot up, the fall was the ninety feet down, I'm pretty sure it was the fall that did her in.

[watchingthings]

actually...the fall didn't hurt her......the sudden stop did. [my contribution to nonsense talk]