Monthly Archives: April 2016

How to impress a Russian woman

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If you are not Russian and want to date a Russian girl, you may need a bit of an instruction manual. There are several things that Russian women dislike about Russian men – which gives you the opportunity to play up your differences (source: ABOUT.COM)

Be a gentleman

The complaint that “chivalry is dead” is so common now that it’s become a cliché. But it doesn’t have to be dead. Chivalry can be resurrected. A gentleman opens doors for a lady, walks closest to the curb, gives her his jacket, gives compliments sincerely and often, helps her to be seated, gives up his seat, helps a lady with her coat, gets her safely to her door and a lot more!

Navigate gender roles carefully

Don’t get stuck to the traditional conception of gender roles like most of the Russian men do. Try to accept the way she decides to live her life – whether she wants to be a career woman, a homemaker, or a mix of both; never be dismissive of any of these lifestyle choices. On a smaller scale you can also demonstrate this by being willing to cook and clean.

Be assertive

Being aggressively assertive like most of the Russian man is not the best tactic, plus you definitely don’t want to come off as indecisive or letting her make all the decisions. Keep it at a good balance, but especially at the beginning of a relationship, you want to make sure that you take control when necessary. Decide where you’re going for dinner and then invite her there.. Don’t call her up and say ‘what do you want to do?’. It’s not that Russian women don’t like to make decisions – in fact, in a lot of Russian relationships, women have the upper hand; it’s just that showing assertiveness shows that you’ll be able to match her decisiveness rather than leaving her to do all the work.

Be nice

This is an area where you can really shine against Russian men. Not to generalize too much, but many Russian men can be quite rough, and you can stand out by being considerate, compassionate, and generally making sure she’s comfortable, happy, and listened-to.

Dress nicely

Russian men tend to dress very simply, and once they’re in a relationship they can often forgo dressing well entirely and settle down into comfortable-meets-shabby gear. To impress her, do the opposite and dress sharply – not over-the-top, but look put together.

 

How to start a conversation with a girl online

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When it comes to online dating, the high number of women who are looking for the right partner attracts an even higher number of men who dream about being that perfect partner. The competition doesn’t sleep and the more men are hoping to get a date with a woman, the more important it gets to set yourself apart from the other guys. Saying the same things as everyone else and hoping that she replies doesn’t work. Therefore, the completion is simply too high.

These simple 5 steps will help you start a successful conversation online! (source: Wingman Magazine)

Step 1: the perfect subject line

The first thing a woman sees when you send her a message on an online dating site is the subject line. Ignoring this tiny detail would be a huge mistake. Be funny, be playful and make her want to open your message.

Even though the following subject lines sound completely ridiculous they actually worked with a great success rate when people use them:

10 Reasons Why You Should Open this Message

You are beautiful but why are you so shy?

I am not a prince but I am charming

Step 2: forget about the standard message

What do most guys write in their first message they send to a girl online? A lot of them use the same message for every girl they write to. The message they tend to use looks like this:

Hey, How are you? You are really beautiful and I just wanted to say hi.

Do yourself a favor and forget about the standard message. If you don’t personalize your message at least a little bit she will instantly know that you just play the numbers game and that you write the same thing to every girl.

Step 3: give her an individual compliment

Giving a girl an honest compliment is great but in the online world you have to be more creative than in real life. A girl who you approach with a direct compliment on the street will be flattered and excited when you tell her that she looks beautiful, but in the online world things are a little bit different. Men are a lot less afraid of writing to women than they are of talking to them in real life. As a result of that the average girl on an online dating site gets a lot of compliments.

The two most common compliments are definitely “you are cute” and “you are beautiful”. Women who are actively searching for a partner online have heard those lines a million times. If you want that she replies it is time for something new.

Look at her profile picture and give her a compliment that you can only give her and not to any other girl. In case she has blue eyes, blond hair, a red top and a friendly smile you can use all those elements to design your perfect compliment. A compliment that you can’t simply give every woman will make her feel special and when a man makes her feel special he deserves to get a reply.

Step 4: use the information she gives you

Take your time and look through her profile. If you have never done that you will be amazed at how much women reveal about themselves in an online dating profile. Make use of the information she gives you.

If she says that she traveled to six countries within the last year, you would be stupid if you wouldn’t tell her that you like the fact that she is well-travelled and that it is amazing that she is brave enough to travel all around the world.

Step 5: give her a reason to reply

Now she knows why you write her. You made clear that you are not only attracted to her beautiful smile, but also to the fact that she is an interesting person. It is definitely nice to know that you like the fact that she is well-travelled but does she have any proof that you not just say that without meaning it?

If you only tell her that you like the fact that she is well-travelled without linking this characteristic to yourself, she can easily get the impression that you just say it to impress her. Tell her exactly why you love this fact about her and share your own interests and experiences with her. Provide her with an answer to the question “why should I reply?”

Top 10 myths about Russia

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If you are serious about dating a Russian girl, you might want to read this. These myths about Russia are just that – myths! (source: ABOUT.COM)

It’s always cold in Russia                    

Yes, Russia is one of the coldest countries in the world in the winter, with frosts of up to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) common in the Moscow area and getting even colder further North. However, a lot of regions in Russia also have incredibly warm summers, and very mild fall and spring seasons.

Russia is dangerous

Russia is not any more dangerous than any other big country! Of course, every city has its bad neighborhoods, and if you’re looking for trouble, you will always find it. However, if you abide by normal safety rules and don’t do anything illegal, you will not be in any more danger than you would be in New York or Paris. There are also a lot of police in Russia, which can be a different problem, but also means that it’s very safe on Russian streets.                    

Russians are alcoholics

Russians love alcohol in general, and vodka especially, but most of them are not alcoholics. Russians drink a lot, but because of this they have a very high alcohol tolerance! Yes, alcohol is present at almost every occasion in Russia, but this is a matter of custom and tradition – not alcoholism.

Russians hate Americans

Russians actually love American trends, media, music and culture. They tend to get access to these things later than the rest of the Western world – the first Starbucks in Russia did not appear until 2007 – but they appreciate them even more. Starbucks, for example, is outrageously popular in Russia.

“Na Zdorov’ye!”

When raising a glass with a group of Russian people, do not say “Na zdorov’ye!”. This is not a toast; it’s something Russian people say when somebody thanks them for a nice meal. Although Russian people make toasts with practically every sip of a drink, they usually say a unique toast every time, e.g. “To our friendship!”. If you want to make a toast in Russia, stick with “Za vas!”, which means “To you!” and is very acceptable.

It’s impossible, difficult, and/or expensive to travel to Russia

Unfortunately, you do need an invitation and a visa to travel to Russia, but these are a lot easier to get than you may think! Hotels in Russia and travel agencies will send you an invitation for a small fee, and the visa process itself consists of a couple of simple visits to your nearest Russian embassy.

Russians are racist

Russian people are actually very open-minded. They may not be aware of the polite way to talk about people from other cultures, but that does not mean that they have any malicious intent. In fact, they are usually curious about and happy to talk with visitors from other countries.

Russians are gloomy

If you take a look at Russian people on the streets, in the metro, or in the stores, you may well think that they never smile. The truth is, however, that Russians are warm, friendly, and extremely funny – just not in public. It is a norm in Russia to have one’s “serious face” on while in public places, and being too loud or showing too much emotion is considered strange and perhaps even impolite.

Russians are spies

This one doesn’t really need elaboration, because obviously, all Russians are not spies. There are probably as many Russian secret service workers as there are American, French, or Canadian “spies”. This myth comes from the Cold War and from Hollywood movies, and bringing it up to Russian people is NOT funny – it only irritates them, because it is so pervasive.

All Russians are Communists

This is another Cold War-era myth that is best not mentioned to Russian people. There are some Russian people that still think Communism was a good idea, but they are few and far between. For most Russian people, Communism meant scarcity of food and other resources and being afraid of both one’s government and one’s neighbors. 

The truth about Russian brides

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You’ve probably heard the expression “Russian (mail-order) bride” many times.  

The theory is that many Russian women are desperate to marry anyone who provides them with a cushy lifestyle and a visa. The mail-order part comes from the dating websites that match up these willing brides with their future husbands. Is it true or a ridiculous myth? (source: ABOUT.COM)

Is it really possible to buy a Russian bride?

The short answer is no.

While there are websites that offer up women that are ready and willing to be shipped out to the highest bidder, these are scams. Also, this is called human trafficking and is illegal.

The only websites that provide real Russian women for interested English-speaking men are essentially dating sites. Most of them are free for the women to use, but charge the men a fee to be able to send messages. Dating sites do not guarantee that a man will actually get married to a woman on the site – all they provide is the online communication. Once the dating goes offline they are no longer involved in the process.

How do women register on a dating website?

The process is very easy. While registering on the dating website, Russian (as well as Ukrainian) women fill in special web forms with their personal data and provide a couple of nice photographs. Each profile gets checked at verified. Some dating websites decline profiles of women who are deemed not pretty, young, thin, or educated enough. If a woman’s English is not good enough to communicate with men on her own, dating websites usually help them with translation.

Why would a Russian woman want to be a “Russian bride”?

The economic situation outside of big Russian and Ukrainian cities is not that good. Many people live below the poverty line, jobs are scarce, it’s expensive to move to the big cities, and yes, one of the easiest ways to “get out” is to get married to a citizen of a Western country.

There is also a gender imbalance in Russia and the Ukraine, with more women than men, which makes it both difficult to find a husband and more likely that the husband one does find will be entitled, lazy and generally unpleasant. Western men are still seen as likely to be wealthy and easy to please.