A Russian Bride Guide

In our last issue we gave some ideas for communicating with Russian Women. Today is the 7th of March and the day before what is possibly the most important holiday for Russian Women all year. The 8th of March (Восьмое марта – pronounced Vosmoye Marta) for the entire world this day is known as International Womens Day but Russian Women see this as a special celebration. March 8th is a day when men all over Russia will shower the women in their lives with gifts, flowers and special wishes on this special day for them. Be sure to wish your Russian Woman a happy Vosmoye Marta on Monday and if possible be sure to send a gift of beautiful flowers to let her know how much you care. The equivalent of this holiday in the west would be St. Valentines Day so if you think of it in those terms I think you can get the idea. Happy Vosmoye Marta!!!

The Holidays have kept us all busy and now it is time for catching up! In this second issue of our series titled “Free Russian Women Advice” I will be covering more on Russian Culture, both popular and traditional.

HOLIDAYS

Although the holidays were over here in the West on January 2nd they had only just begun in Eastern Orthodox Russia. It is a little known fact that Christmas is celebrated in Russia on January 7th and the “Old New Year” is celebrated on January 14th. This being the case, Russia has just wrapped up it’s holiday season. For Russians, New Year (January 1st) is more of a festive holiday like Christmas in America. It is traditional to decorate a “New Year” tree called “YÖLKA”  (Russian: Ёлка) and gift giving on New Year’s Day is a big event for children. The whole event is complimented with a visit from grandfather frost “Ded Moroz ” (Russian: Дед Мороз) and his granddaughter the Snow Maiden “Snegurochka” (Russian: Снегурочка). New Year tree, Ded Moroz and Snegurochka pictured below. Read more about Russian Holidays.

Ded Moroz with Snegurochka

New Year Tree

POPULAR MUSIC

Whether you are just starting out in your search for a Russian Bride or you are already in contact with a Russian Woman you should be taking an interest in Russian Culture. There is no better way to gain an understanding of Russian Culture than through an appreciation of music. Yes, Russia is certainly well known for it’s classical music, composers and ballet -all of which you should learn about also. Poplar music is one of the most interesting areas of recent growth in Russia and here we are only going to introduce you to some forms of popular music. Russian pop music has exploded in the past several years spreading out into genres of a Russian form of Rap, R&B, Dance/Techno and of course the traditional Russian Popular music. I am going to share a few of my favorites here for you to check out:

Russian Women in Music

Biyanka styles herself as a “Queen of Russian R&B” and we are sure you will agree that her style is uniquely Russian yet her sound would be enough to challenge Rhianna and Beyonce on the charts.

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This is our first issue of Free Russian Women Advice, a bi-monthly post offering a short bit of free advice when it comes to Russian Brides, Russian culture and how-to’ s having to do with dating Russian Women.

Russian Customs and Traditions:

Giving Flowers:

Gift giving is a very major custom in Russia. People will judge you not based on the value of your gift (although some may) but rather on whether you have the courtesy to give a gift at all. When it comes to flowers you should seriously consider giving flowers to your Russian Woman as well as to other adult ladies of her household such as mother, grandmother etc. When giving or sending flowers it is important to know that you always give an odd number of flowers as opposed to the common half-dozen or dozen roses given in the West. The reason for this is because even numbers of flowers are given at funerals. Definitely not the first impression that you want to make!

Kissing on the Cheek…

Since our last tradition finished with the topic of funerals, we will start from there. Never kiss someone on the forehead as this form of kiss is reserved for kissing the dead on the forehead at their funeral. Try to avoid this! It is Russian tradition to kiss three times alternating cheeks when greeting friends and relatives. This is not necessarily expected of strangers of course or those whom we just met but once you get to know someone in a familiar relationship it is acceptable.
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Russian Bride Forum

We are going to begin the process of writing a comprehensive Russian Women Guide. Please join our Russian Bride Forum and give some input on what questions you would like to see answered and what information would be most helpful to you in your Russian Bride Search. Many men seeking a Russian Wife may be aprehensive to seek the advice of other men. This is very understandable but no matter how much of a romeo you may think you are -Russian Women and more importantly, Russian Culture are both very different than what you are acustomed to. Try not to think of it as “love advice” but more like a cultural and language indoctrination. Before business men visit another country for their company it is perfectly normal for them to go through a week or two training course to get some basics on local customs, language basics, popular culture and etiquette. Joining our Russian Bride Forum will be no different. The best thing is that it is totally free! Where else can you get a free cultural, language and etiquette lesson.
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Why Russian Women?

The first question that so many people new to the subject will ask is:

“Why Russian women?”

As the former beer slogan says: “Why ask why?”

The answer is both simple and complicated.
1. Huge shortage of men in Russia= strong competition among women= remember that guy Darwin?
2. Russian women put the W back in Woman in a big way.
3. American culture has created a huge departure from gender roles since the 60′s.

So, what makes Russian Women so desirable and attractive?
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Dating Russian Women: The Crazy Thing OR A Wonderful Opportunity?
By Elena Petrova, Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
My site is on the top of many search engines for the search query “Russian brides”, and as the result I receive lots of requests for interviews from journalists all over the world, and the question they invariably ask is: “Why western men look for Russian women?”

So let me once and forever explain you the reason why thousands western men flock to Russia in search for their love partner.

The answer is benevolently straightforward: they can meet in Russia a partner of better quality than is available for them at home! 

They are NOT looking for a Russian woman – they are looking for a better quality woman!

But why it is possible?

I know what you think: you think it is because Russian women are desperate to escape from Russia. 

Well, such thinking is pure ignorance.

Check the websites of American expatriates living in Russia (yes, there is a huge community of Americans permanently living in Russia, with their own newspapers and websites!) and you will confirm what I am saying: women who seek partners abroad do it because they want to meet a suitable partner that they have failed to meet at home. They are not looking to immigrate. They are looking to find their love!

Hard to believe?
Read on, I will explain.

The fundamental reason for that lies in Russian demographics. 

You know that men to women ratios differ dramatically between the countries.

For example, the latest figures from The Economist show that in United Arab Emirates there are 186 males for 100 females. It’s clear the competition for eligible females should be stiff there. If you are a single male, The Emirates will be the last place in the world to look for an available woman (unless you live there, of course .

Now, what is the best place for a single male to score?
Let’s look at the world statistics again.

The lowest men to women ratios are in Eastern Europe!

Countries like Russia and Ukraine are on the top of the list, with only 88 males to 100 females.
The latest Russian census provided astounding figures of 10 million more women than men. 
There the situation is exactly the opposite way around: eligible bachelors are more precious than gold.

So if you were a single male, exploring your dating options in Russia would make the perfect sense!

One wise man said: “Craziness is to do the same thing expecting a different result.”

If you ever grow tired of your local dating market, or would like to expand your opportunities, check Russia: you will be stunned what kind of women can be available for you there!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The author of this
article, Elena Petrova, is the creator of Russian
Brides Cyber Guide, the first website about Russian women seeking
foreign men for marriage, designed by a Russian woman.