RA Fan Spotlight~ Sharona of the Russian Richard Armitage Site

*FanstRAvaganza Day 2*

One of my favorite RA hot spots is

The Russian Richard Armitage site

Thanks to google translator,
there's no need to speak Russian to
maneuver your way around it.
(Try it out!)

I became acquainted with the site's
administrator, Sharona, a few months ago
when asking permission to post some of their photos.

Being a curious person, I wanted to know all about her,
but restrained myself from peppering  her with questions...
until now.  (As Frenz mentioned before, having a blog
gives us an excuse to be nosey interview people!)

While getting to know Sharona, I was surprised to find out that the person who runs the Russian RA site is not actually Russian!

I live in Ukraine, but I run a Russian-speaking site because the Ukrainian-speaking one would have a much smaller audience.  I know the Ukrainian and Russian languages. I can read and understand what people are saying in English but when it's time for me to say or to write something in English, I'm not at all confident. So I can't really say I know English.  I adore British TV and actors. Richard is obviously my favourite but there are so many brilliant actors out there and I love them all. I am a passionate fan of period drama as well.  (You can guess how I first discovered RA.) Also, I love doing stuff in Photoshop - graphics, icons, wallpapers and site layouts. 

If Richard came to Ukraine, I'd recommend  he visit the beautiful city of Lviv. It's very old and really beautiful and it feels amazing just to walk down the streets.  I know foreigners are always excited about Ukrainian cuisine but I'm not a fan of it as well. It is too rich for my taste. (And I think Richard might consider it unhealthy, too.)

I'd recommend he go to the Karpaty for skiing... I think he'd really like that!

Sharona is one of the few RA fans who doesn't adore "North & South."

It is too gritty for my taste, although I loved Richard's performance. My favourite Richard characters are Thornton and Harry Kennedy. (Actually I'd love to say Thorin because I know I'll love him in "The Hobbit" even thought the movie isn't out yet.)

In fact, she wasn't too crazy about Richard when she started the Russian site.
I must confess, when I started my site January 1st, 2010 I liked Richard, but I wasn't actually what you would call a passionate fan. I didn't see much of his work and I didn't know what kind of person he was (well, I still don't know this because I don't know him personally but I think I understand better now what kind of person he might be.)

What I did know - he was handsome, he was British and that he had loads and loads of Russian-speaking fans and there was no Russian site for him. So I thought I could create one. It was meant to be a small site with a few photos and some interviews but from the first day, my visitors started demanding the forum so I just had to start the forum. I didn't have time to moderate it though, so GizTheGunslinger, a fellow fan, became my co-admin. She now runs the forum and does it wonderfully. She's also adding some news and articles. And yes, she's Russian.

[Nat note: GizTheGunslinger is one of my favorite RA vidders and artists!  Check out her YouTube page HERE and keep an eye out for her fan spotlight on RA Frenzy's blog this week.]

So what was it that finally turned Sharona into a true blue Armitage admirer?

Richard's interviews. I read and watched many of his interviews for the site and then I just realized... well, that I can call myself a "passionate fan."  The sexiest thing about any man to me is his sense of humour. And Richard is always really serious in his roles. But the way he talks, laughs, jokes in his interviews makes me melt. I wish he'd do more comedy.


My favorite thing about the Russian RA site is the wonderful photo gallery.  How does Sharona get her hands on such great pics?
That's a big secret!  But really, I just keep surfing the net. You wouldn't believe how many beautiful and rare pictures you can find if you google properly. And another tip - try to use other search engines, not just Google, especially the ones for different countries.  I was quite lucky to get some rare promo photos, production stills and photo shoots of Richard. I am especially proud of our gallery since it's extensive and has some amazing photos. My favourite photo shoot is the one by Chris Floyd, for Red Magazine. Richard's not just handsome in these photos, he's exquisite.

I've always wondered what Richard's Russian fans thought about about their country being cast as "the bad guy" in Spooks and how well Lucas North spoke Russian.  I could almost hear Sharona laugh out loud in her response.  Well, all the Russian bit wasn't very believable. It was hard to understand what people were saying when they spoke Russian - that's how bad the accents and grammar were. So... It was a bit funny and you couldn't seriously be offended by it.  I love Richard to bits but if it weren't for English subtitles, you would never guess what he was saying. I got to say, it was some kind of a very angry accent. Sometimes there were swear words but I'm not sure he knew he was swearing. Sometimes there was the impression he didn't know what he was saying at all.

A big thanks to Sharona for giving us a little inside info about

herself and the Russian RA site.  Keep up the good work, ladies!