By Chris Rockwell

Maxim has called her a hometown hottie. We call her our latest King Duce Girl, imported from Belarus, Russia…

”I’m Belarusian”, she explained to me over the phone in her Russian accent mixed with a little west coast style. Natallia Crawley was born in Belarus, an independent country formerly part of Russia. Technically speaking, it’s now known as the Union State of Russia and Belarus. She moved from Belarus to Nor Cal with her family as a child and settled in Roseville. I didn’t ask why. But I do know that Belarus has seen its share of war and struggle for independence throughout much of the 20th century.

Talking with Natallia brought back childhood memories of listening to stories and watching slide shows of my parent’s visit to communist Russia back in the sixties, during the height of the cold war. I remember them telling me stories of crossing soviet military check points and trading their Levi’s jeans for Russian literature with the locals, despite the danger of being arrested. Because of those early influences I have always had a strong fascination and appreciation of Russia’s long and proud history.

Natallia has caught the attention of Maxim Magazine and is a semi-finalist for the “Hometown Hotties” search. And recently Natallia did a photo shoot with King Duce photographer Beiron Andersson up at Bald Rock Mountain. Natallia commented, “Shooting with Beiron and being the newest King Duce Girl is an honor!”