Between 2005 and 2009, the number of single Russian women who wanted to marry a foreigner fell from 46% to just 9%. Nine percent is still a very high number, compared to the number of American or Australian women who want to marry foreign men, but the opportunities are closing for men who want to marry a nice Russian woman.
“Mail order” bride arrangements are prone to failure because the couples do not have sufficient opportunity to get to know each other. Only after they are married do they discover that they have differing goals, expectations, interests, and communication styles. Without question, the absolute best way to meet and marry Russian women is to move to Russia.
Russian women, just like women of any other country, want to spend considerable time with a man — making certain he is a responsible person who will take care of his family. This is not something that you can do over email and through telephone calls. In addition, living in her culture will give you a far better understanding of how she thinks and what she wants out of life. And of course, actually living in Russia will enable you too meet many more potential brides.
Russian men have one of the highest alcoholism rates in the world and this is one of the main causes why Russian women choose to marry foreigners. If you intend to marry a Russian woman, you must put in the time and effort to prove that you are not an alcoholic and that you are not going to become one after marriage. Russia is in many ways a very traditional country and the man is expected to be responsible, reliable, trustworthy, and hard-working.
These are often traits possessed by more mature men and Russian women are often more willing than American women to overlook or even appreciate age differences. This gives successful American a significant advantage in meeting younger Russian women. Of course, a successful relationship with a younger woman requires significant investments of time and patience. My own wife is seven years younger than I am and at times this is a much larger divider than the differences between our two cultures.
One good source for more information on making a successful relationship with a Russian woman is Irina Sbitneva’s blog, Dating Russian Women.