Russian Billionaire's Presidential Bid Makes His Sister a Star Dmitry Kostyukov for the International Herald Tribune Irina Prokhorova, a sister of Russian billionaire and President candidate Mikhail Prokhorov, in her office in 2011. MOSCOW - The presidential candidacy of the Russian billionaire Mikhail D. Prokhorov created an unexpected new political star in Russia: his older sister, Irina. Last month, she flummoxed Nikita Mikhalkov, the Oscar-winning film director, scion of czarist and Soviet aristocracy, and active supporter of Vladimir V. Putin, in a nationally televised debate. Since Mr. Putin had refused to participate in debates, sending proxies instead, Mr. Prokhorov responded in kind, dispatching his sister. Mr. Mikhalkov, who is never at a loss for words and has alienated many with his palpable sense of entitlement, sat in stunned silence for parts of the broadcast. At the end, he paid perhaps the ultimate compliment in a society that has little regard for women and features few women at the top of any structure. "If you were running for president together with your brother," he said, "I would vote for you." If her brother, who at 46 is Russia's third richest man and the 32nd wealthiest person in the world, epitomizes the stereotype of the post-Soviet playboy oligarch, Ms. Prokhorova, 56, is anything but his bimbo counterpart. Before the debate with Mr. Mikhalkov on Feb. 13, she was widely known only in the narrow circle that still prizes literature over the pervasive pop culture that now dominates Russian media and much of public discourse. She studied English and American literature at the prestigious Moscow State University in the Soviet era, and in 1992 founded New Literary Observer, or NLO, one of the first intellectual journals and publishing houses in independent Russia. She was awarded a State Prize of the Russian Federation in 2003 by Mr. Putin, honoring NLO as "Best Educational Project." In 2004, she founded the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation with her brother after he became director of Norilsk Nickel, the Arctic metals producer. She still runs the foundation, which initially supported culture and civil society in the Norilsk region but has since broadened its reach and spends 400 million rubles, or $13.6 million, a year. During the debate with Mr. Mikhalkov, she bemoaned the neglect of provincial culture and regional libraries in Russia during Mr. Putin's rule and politely but firmly cut down the film director's religiosity. She defended her brother as a patriot with a civic conscience and defended his right not to be married, saying that he is holding out for true love. "When you start to travel the country and see and see the state of the country, how talented people can't pull themselves out of poverty, then a certain spirit of civic duty appears," she told Mr. Mikhalkov, mocking what she said was a popular view that "a talented director can be a citizen, but a talented businessman can't be a citizen." Twitterers dubbed her "the Russian Angela Merkel" and suggested that she be minister of culture. Others praised her excellent spoken Russian, which is rarely heard in public these days. Ms. Prokhorova seemed shy about the attention at first, but when asked in an interview about the comparison to Mrs. Merkel, she responded instantly, saying with a broad smile, "Why not Margaret Thatcher?" In the office of New Literary Observer, surrounded by books it has published on the evolution of Russian cultural and historical thought, she said she was acutely aware of her image. "People usually imagine the sister of an oligarch as a Botoxed woman swathed in furs," said Ms. Prokhorova, who favors casual pant suits and a sensible haircut. She apologized profusely for being late - a common occurrence in traffic-clogged Moscow - explaining that nearby streets had been closed "so our "chieftain" could pass," a mocking reference to Mr. Putin. In an hourlong conversation, she easily handled any question with references to Russian and Soviet history and the development of civil society - a pet theme of articles, books and conferences produced by NLO - and a central tenet, along with culture, of Mr. Prokhorov's campaign.