Teacher of the Year contestants left humiliated in Russia after being made to rub the phallic crystal trophy in bizarre ceremony
- Footage from Teacher of the Year ceremony on Sakhalin island has gone viral
- Shows contestants touching a phallic crystal trophy during the bizarre event
- Organisers of the contest later admitted it had a ‘strange’ and ‘ambiguous’ shape
Teacher of the Year contestants in Russia were made to rub a phallic crystal trophy during a bizarre ceremony in footage that has gone viral online.
The Teacher of the Year ceremony on the country’s energy-rich Sakhalin island raised eyebrows for its unusually-shaped crystal prize.
It is a tradition at the event, which is sponsored by leading international oil companies, for contenders to touch the annual trophy before the winner is announced.
But this year, the specially cut object had an ‘ambiguous’ shape.
Teacher of the Year contestants in Russia were made to rub a phallic crystal trophy during a bizarre ceremony in footage that has gone viral online
The Teacher of the Year ceremony on the country’s energy-rich Sakhalin island raised eyebrows for its unusually-shaped crystal prize
Some of the women seemed amused as they were required to touch the prize, while one male contestant avoided the phallic object and instead put his hands on the object’s wings.
RTV host Sergey Minaev, a former editor of the Russian edition of Esquire, posted the video on his YouTube show joking that the ceremony resembled a ‘Divorcee of the Year’ contest or ‘some regional PornHub awards for their best models’.
He went on: ‘In fact, no, this is just a Teacher of the Year competition on Sakhalin island.’
Some of the women seemed amused as they were required to touch the prize, while one male contestant avoided the phallic object and instead put his hands on the object’s wings
The prize-winner was history and social studies teacher Irina Saraikina, 44, who as well as the crystal pelican won an all-expenses paid trip to London to study English
Local news ouetlet ASTV called the footage ‘awkward’ and organisers of the contest later admitted it had a ‘strange’ and ‘ambiguous’ shape.
The prize-winner was history and social studies teacher Irina Saraikina, 44, who as well as the crystal pelican won an all-expenses paid trip to London to study English.
The contest was sponsored by Russian state oil company Rosneft, Japanese consortium Sodeco, Indian operator ONGC Videsh and Exxon Neftegas Limited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil corporation.