Who is a Russian bride?
There is no doubt that many single Russian women wanted to get married to a foreigner even in the times of the "Iron Curtain". When it finally fell, the numbers increased dramatically. The fact that the Curtain was removed did not itself improve the standards of living in Russia. So in the beginning of the 1990s "marriage emigration" had basically economic reasons behind it.
The direction was mainly American: the immigration laws of the USA with all their harshness are more loyal than the European ones to those who want to become USA residents. According to the Department of Justice of the USA, 75 thousand Russian women entered the country during the last 12 years through fiancée visas. Experts say that as many women have emigrated through visas of other types, however with the same purpose.
The demand for Russian brides from the side of western men is in a sense a result of beauty contests. They encouraged the fashion for "Russian" appearance among Americans, which replaced the trend for colored girls, as the women from the Philippines and other Asian countries previously enjoyed especial popularity in the USA. Apart from the looks, Russian bride has the advantage of being more family-oriented. Beauty competitions also influenced those Russian women who wanted to marry foreigners: they encouraged the idea about one's beauty being something that could be sold with a profit.
Nowadays, when living in Russia is somewhat easier than 12 years ago, the motivation of women looking for a partner abroad has changed. Olga Makhovskaya, the executive director of the program of social and psychological support of the Russian migrants' families, says that the basic reason for Russian girls marrying overseas is the crisis of the Russian family model. Yet, whatever the reasons, the problems that Russian women encounter abroad are the same. The difference between now and 12 years ago is only in how much we know about these problems.
The first danger for those who want to marry abroad concerns marriage agencies. Olga Makhovskaya reveals: about 600 American Web-based marriage agencies and about 200 Russian ones now specialize in Russian brides. The average age of a Russian bride is 19,5 years, i.e., it is the girls without an education and a profession who go looking for a partner to faraway countries. It is logical that the problem of marriage migration is closely related to the problem of woman trade: you can imagine how young and uneducated girls could protect their rights when finding themselves in a sticky situation outside of their home country.
Of course the ones who end up in brothels are usually the ones who went abroad in hopes of finding the job of a dancer or a waitress. However, Olga notes that "the marriage agent is different from a souteneur only in that he offers women to be men's toys instead of prostitutes, and for many women it is cloud nine". Those who think this way are obviously easier to tempt.
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