MEDIA : Russian Women Who Want It All Get . . . Cosmo

By SONNI EFRON

April 29, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

MOSCOW —

A curvaceous Cindy Crawford graces the glossy cover, and the Cyrillic headline reads, “Sex or chocolate? A time for everything.”

Sixty thousand copies of the first Russian edition of Cosmopolitan magazine hit the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg on Thursday. They seem destined to be snapped up as fast as Big Macs and Snickers bars in this nation whose fashion-conscious young women have long had to rely on such magazines as Woman Worker and Woman Peasant for advice on love, sex, children and career.

“This is the thrill of a lifetime,” gushed Cosmo creator Helen Gurley Brown, 71, at a launch party for Moscow glitterati.

Western advertisers are eager to imprint their images on the emerging Russian market before consumers, who are willing to try almost anything new, develop strong brand preferences. And publishers aim to snap up consumer dollars by creating a market for glossy publications crammed with ads for imported products.

Several early publishing ventures fell victim to the lack of a distribution system. Last year, the Hearst Corp. and the New York Times folded serious newspapers aimed at the Russian market. But Russians’ appetite for lighter fare shows no signs of abating, and a host of new consumer magazines have appeared.

These include several general-interest publications aimed at the nouveaux riches, a magazine devoted to four-wheel-drive vehicles and even Russian versions of Penthouse and Soldier of Fortune.

Cosmo, the first to target young women, could be a gold mine for its co-owners, Hearst Magazines International and Independent Media, publisher of the Moscow Times and several new Russian magazines.

In 1993, the Top 10 Western advertising agencies here billed clients more than $44 million, according to Advertising Age, though the oldest set foot in Russia just five years ago. Cosmo staffers said they sold out the 46 advertising pages of the 132-page first edition.

Cosmo is intended to cost the ruble equivalent of $2.40. But the street price will be set by retailers, who must buy the magazine outright and cannot return unsold copies. If vendors gouge, the publishers will force the price down by printing more copies.

If the magazine has a political subtext, it is that young Russian women can now join their sisters in 26 other capitalist countries in the quest for the perfect body, the perfect man, the perfect wardrobe and the perfectly fulfilling career that are the hallmarks of the “Cosmo girl.”

The first edition includes popular standbys--horoscopes, beauty tips and a compatibility quiz for lovers--written in a breezy style.

A health article, “Why Am I Always Tired?” was translated from the U.S. edition. But most pieces are home-grown, including an interview with Irina Khakamada, a member of the new Parliament, a story on bicycling in the Crimea and a fashion spread on clothes that can be purchased in Moscow.

“This will definitely be a huge success, because there are very few magazines for women here,” said Tatyana Kovtunova, 25, who owns a 2-year-old modeling agency. “Only rich girls” can buy imported copies of Vogue, which can cost up to $17--and then they must decipher the English, she said.

Russia still does not have a press of sufficient quality for Cosmo to be printed here, a Hearst executive said. The magazine is printed in Holland and imported by truck.

On Newsstands Now

A sampler of some of the more popular magazines available in Russia:

Magazine: Rabotnitsa (Woman Worker)

Circulation: 920,500

Price: 25 cents

Audience/Outlook: For women and families; becoming more hip but still suffers from outdated look.

Magazine: Krestyanka (Woman Peasant)

Circulation: 1.4 million

Price: 19 cents

Audience/Outlook: Communist-era stalwart won’t compete with Cosmo.

Magazine: Domovoi (Elf that protects Russian homes)

Circulation: 50,000