At first glance, Moscow-born Kira Dikhtyar seems an unlikely candidate for a career in women’s activism. Tall, beautiful, with piercing blue-green eyes, the 32-year-old model, actress, and reality-TV star is a far cry from the traditional picture of feminism or politics. So is her history—a longtime friend of Jeffrey Epstein’s, she is one of the few women who says Epstein did not try to have sex with her.
Dikhtyar is one of the only women’s-rights campaigners who dares speak out against powerful oligarchs. After going public last year with a claim of having been raped as a teenager by a former Putin crony, she has encouraged other women in Russia to do the same. And she’s working to raise the age of consent in her home country and expose the powerful men who prey on under-age girls.
