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Why Russian Women Become
Mail Order Brides

“Why Russian women marry a foreigner? They all want a green card, that’s it.”

Sounds familiar? It does. But is it true?

O.K., let's start with the bad news. There are Russian girls who are NOT interested in learning English, and still find older, rich Americans who send them expensive presents all the time, instead of interesting letters.
They move, marry, and once the green card is in the pocket, they wave their husbands goodbye.

Yes, these kind of Russian women exist.

The good news is: the bad Russian women are a small minority and if you are not naive, you can avoid them. There are many other Russian ladies who have nothing, we repeat NOTHING but sincere intentions.

But why do they search a foreign man if it's not for a green card?

Simple:

Russian women want to love and to be loved.

In that respect Russian women are not different from Western women or Western men. If a Russian man can make them happy, they'll be glad to stay in Russia. Their relatives live there, their friends, and if you are young and educated it’s even not so difficult to find a decent job in modern Russia.

Many never consider leaving Russia, while others drop the idea the same day as it comes. And yes, most Russian ladies still find a husband in Russia.

But some don’t.

The Russian men are to blame, according to many of the women. They feel that Russian men are spoilt by their mother. In Russian culture a mother keeps on treating her son like a boy - even when he has become a grown up, violent drunkard.

Men are raised as mommie's boys, writes Marina Smiley in her acclaimed book Sex, Love and Long Distance Relationship with Russian women, and that's not what Russian girls seek when they long for a prince.

Russian mail order brides are disappointed in their countrymen, not their country.

Western men who visit Russia sometimes can’t believe their eyes, seeing all these tightly dressed young girls with perfect figures, long hair and lovely faces. For Russian men they are daily reality, and they don't seem to realize this. Getting a great looking spouse is no challenge for a Russian man. And when married, these spouses do everything to keep their man happy – they tend to act like they are their mother.

Attitudes and behavior of Russian men towards women have become careless, because of all this. Married men often have secret girl friends. Many couples get divorced after only a few years of marriage, leaving the woman with a child - or two.

Of course, good men do exist in Russia as well, but they are occupied quickly.

Uncertainty about Russian daily life, alcohol abuse and low life expectancy of men can also be reasons for Russian ladies wanting to leave their home country.
In ten years time life expectancy for Russian men dropped down from 65 tot 57 years.

Women in Russia out-number men.

Recent figures say there are 67 million Russian men and 77 million Russian women.

Single Russian women often feel ashamed. “If you are over 25 and haven’t found a man, people think there has to be something wrong with you”, a Russian lady once said.

But are Russian women not at all interested in money?

Of course they are. Every woman seeking a man is interested in his financial situation. It would be strange if she wasn’t. Who on earth wants to marry a beggar?

But you do NOT have to be rich.

Russian women look different at income figures than Westerners, and most of them are not materialistic.

One way to learn more about the motivations of Russian women, is to read Marina Smiley's other book Your Russian Bride: The Shocking Truth. It is deservedly one of the best selling books on this subject. Smiley is a Russian woman who found her love in the West herself; she knows what she talks about.