They are separated by their countries, continents and thousands of miles. But according to some of the more offbeat Russian media analysis, U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, have some notable similarities.
The comparisons came in the Moscow tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, which ran an article headlined ‘Orange Fox & Black Panther: female tricks and male mind’.Rice, commonly referred to as ‘Condi’ in the US, and Timoshenko, known as ‘Yul’ka’ in Ukraine, were both in the spotlight during the Georgian-Ossetian crisis earlier this month. Rice was very vocal in her condemnation of Russia’s actions, while Timoshenko, on the contrary, kept a low profile. Their most recent actions, along with their behaviour, were the focus of the latest Komsomolskaya Pravda editorial, where ‘sexy’ Timoshenko is compared to the ‘man-in-skirt’ Rice.Komsomolskaya Pravda quotes a psychological expert who said: "Rice lacks the flexibility, she acts too bluntly, hardly concealing her military industry lobbyist background of a hawk, which moves ahead like a tank. “Timoshenko has a feminine image. She's sexy and seductive. She wears open, tight dresses and never wears long pants. She has a sexy, slow voice. But Rice is just a man in a skirt.” The editorial goes on to compare the most typical gestures of the two. Komsomolskaya Pravda’s expert psychologist sees Timoshenko’s habit of wagging a finger as a despotic mother’s gesture, while Rice’s scratching her head is a maximalist’s gesture, an evidence of constant thinking over of possible developments.