Svetlana Strunin

Svetlana Viktorovna Strunin (née Vereshchagina; x|Russian: Светлана Викторовна Струнина; born 31 December 1975) is a Russian-American television personality, best known for starring in the x|VH1 reality series Russian Girls.

Early life
Strunin was born in x|Moscow, Russia to Viktor Vereshchagin and Anna Drugova. Her father worked in advertising, while her mother worked in retail management. She is a cousin of Russian Girls cast mate Katya Williamsen. Strunin grew up in a middle class family as an only child. She graduated from high school in 1994, and then worked as a waitress and bartender in various restaurants, pubs, and bars to support herself. After moving to the United States in 1996, she stopped working to become a housewife.

Career
Strunin began a career as a television personality after she was cast on the x|VH1 reality series Russian Girls.

Personal life
In 1996, Strunin moved to the x|Brighton Beach neighborhood of x|Brooklyn, New York in the United States in order to begin a relationship with Russian-American accountant, Anton Strunin, the son of a friend of her mother's. They married the following year. The couple has four children together: Viktor Antonovich Strunin (born September 20, 1998), Daria Antonovna Strunin (born March 31, 2000), Galina Antonovna Strunin (born July 1, 2002), and Artur Antonovich Strunin (born July 17, 2004). The family all primarily speak x|Russian, and are practicing x|Russian Orthodox Christians.

Strunin became an American citizen in 2002. She only learned how to speak x|English after moving to the United States.