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.