Evgeniya Sotnikova
The Lady Evgeniya Sotnikova, the Countess of Schwinn, Viscountess of Hope, Lady in Shirekeep (Mishalanese: Евгения Сотникова, Графиня Швиннская; Yevgeniya Sotnikova, Grafinya Shvinnskaya), born 1646 in Mishalan, is a Shirerithian–Mishalanese singer, noblewoman and politician (Imperial Order). Imperial Minister of State since 1684.
Coming from humble working-class denizen backgrounds, Sotnikova rose to prominence in 1666 as the Shirerithian contestant in the Microvision Song Contest of that year. She finished equal to the winner but due to the calculation rules of that time, she was given silver. Huge anger at this treatment in Shireroth. Shireroth bombed Stonetree in the Republic of Inner Benacia as a result (as it was the RIB vote that made it so). Sotnikova was given the noble title Lady in Shirekeep by Kaiser Ayreon IV.
Used her fame and newly ennobled status to enter politics, first in Mishalan where she became a health spokesperson for the Mishalan branch of the Imperial Order (a conservative political party), and then in 1668 named Minister of Health in Mishalan. However, she was elected to the Adelsraad in the 1669 Adelsraad election, and named Commissioner of Health in the second executive of Soraya Octavius-Parini, The Count Palatine of Kezan, a position which she held until 1680. In 1674, she was raised to the peerage as Viscountess of Hope (an allusion to the song which made her famous in the Microvision contest), and admitted to the Landsraad. In 1680, she transferred from the health commission of the Imperial Government to Public Works, becoming its commissioner in the Holly-Wythe executive. In 1684 promoted to Imperial Minister of State (the merged MoMA/MinInt ministry). In 1688, raised to Countess of Schwinn.
She is married to Eduard Davidovich Maksimilianov (b. 1642), a former car mechanic, and has two children with him, Ivan Eduardovich Maksimilianov-Shvinnskiy (b. 1667), better known as Hopsy, and Lyudmila Eduardovna Maksimilianova-Shvinnskaya (b. 1669). The family resides in Shirekeep.
She continues to sing, and releases albums targetting the Mishalanese community regularly. Since 1681, she has been aligned with the Grand Dust Takin label.
