Who is a Russian bride?
The second danger is related to the fiancés. Among the Americans wishing to marry a single Russian woman, a lot are divorced men 40 years old and more - that is, people who have not been successful as heads of their families. Recently both American and Russian newspapers were full of heart-breaking stories about Russian brides (as well as Ukrainian and women from other republics of the former USSR) who haven't had much luck with such a marriage. Some were beaten by their husbands, others were deprived of opportunities to see their children, and some were even killed.
The agencies do not usually inform their female clients wanting to marry a foreigner of the man's bad background - it is simply unprofitable. However, a law has been passed recently in the state of Washington, according to which the marriage agencies are obliged to inform potential brides in their native language that they have the right to demand from their fiancés an official document concerning any previous convictions and marriages with foreign women. This was done especially because the rates of criminal activity concerning Russian brides have increased.
The third danger actually lies in the women dreaming of marriage with a foreigner. In two years, up to 90% of the marriages contracted through agencies break up, and usually the initiators are the women. Even children do not stop them: single Russian women have got used to bringing up their children alone. In practice it brings about great problems. If the woman wants to return to Russia after a divorce with her husband, she is usually not allowed to take the child with her. The Western laws try to provide men with rights equal to those the women enjoy concerning their children. The only way for the child to stay with the mother is through the court. However, Russian women lose these lawsuits very quickly: they do not have a legal upbringing. Instead, they try to impose psychological pressure on the judge using hysterics and tears. It usually gives a result contrary to what was expected.
Moreover, Russian women are very unlikely to demand official biographies from potential partners, armed with protective American laws. It is not considered very polite in Russia to ask a future husband about his previous convictions. The desire to become a kept woman of an American (rich by Russian standards) is also a reality, whatever arguments are used to mask it. There is also an aspiration to take advantage of the spouse as a "means of transportation" to a more comfortable country.
As a matter of fact, there is nothing bad in wanting to improve your conditions of life. It is just the methods used to achieve the goal that sometimes turn out to be unsafe. It is certainly a beautiful dream, a little bit naive and quite Russian, to marry a foreign man whom you meet in the Web and to leave all the worries behind. Still, such phenomena are encountered in Russian national fairy tales much more frequently than in North America.
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