Men of the West, Women from ... Page 1 of 3 THE CONTENTS OF THIS E-BOOK Click on a topic title to read its corresponding page (see at page bottom for book navigation help) INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 - WHY ? Why are men and women from such different parts of the world seeking, meeting and even marrying each other ? Western Men Eastern Women Conclusions CHAPTER 2 - WHOM ? How Do WM Select EW ? Western Men Eastern Women Are You Really up to the Challenge ? Conclusions CHAPTER 3 - HOW ? How Can WM Contact EW ? International Marriage Broker Agencies and Websites Western Men Selecting EW's Profiles EW's Photos EW's Age EW's Children EW's Occupation EW's Religion One or Many ? Interpreting EW's Profiles Posting Your Profile Eastern Women Scammers and Other Perils Double Dealers Others From Theory to Practice - A Condensed Case History Conclusions CHAPTER 4 - WHAT ? Communicating with Your Selected EW General Guidelines Your First Letter Her First Letter Moving on to More Direct Communications Phone Calls Copyright (C) 2009, Internation... 05/14/2012 Men of the West, Women from ... Page 2 of 3 Chats Traditional Mail For How Long ? Conclusions CHAPTER 5 - WHERE ? Meeting Your Selected EW Your EW Visiting You in Your Country Meeting Your EW in a Third Country Your Visiting Your EW in a Her Country Her Home Town or Elsewhere ? Actually Meeting, at Last ! Her Body Language Is a Knowledge of Russian Necessary ? What if Things Go Wrong ? If Things Go Well Conclusions CHAPTER 6 - THEN ? Marrying and Settling Down with Your EW Marrying in Your Country Pre-nuptial Agreements Marrying in Her Country Documents Settling Down Your Very First Few Days Together Independence Communications Starting an Activity Moving Around Making Local Friends Keeping Her Ties Managing Family Finances Conclusions CHAPTER 7 - FINAL CONSIDERATIONS Is This Worth All The Trouble? APPENDIX Navigating through this E-Book Russian Women Discussion (RWD) Tips on How to Punch Out the Crisis RWD's Ten Commandments Russglish Glossary IMBRA Scammer Scorecard Locating an FSU Street Address Visiting the FSU Celebrating Christmas and the New Year in Ukraine/Russia Copyright (C) 2009, Internation... 05/14/2012 Men of the West, Women from ... Page 3 of 3 RWD's Cross-Cultural Marriage Survey US Visa Legislation Getting Married in Russia and Ukraine An FSU Photo Gallery Opinions and Experiences of RWD Members: Be Honest: Why Are You Looking for a Woman in the FSU ? Street-Smart Here and There In Defense of Russian Men Why EW May Want to Leave the FSU Why Would EW Look for WM Mates? Why Do EW Prefer WM? While You Wait EW's Complaints about WM Courting Them Introductory Letters from EW Wake up, Delusional WM! John and Olga's Story Tom's Train Wreck Have a Good Row ! A Different Language Environment A Day at RAGS, Simferopol A Traditional FSU Marriage Ritual "Handle with Care!" FSU Toilets - A Survival Guide WM Driving in the FSU NOTE TO READERS : Since not all of you may be familiar with flipping through the pages of an Electronic Book like this one, you may want to have a look first at Navigating through this E -Book for a few explanations. "MEN OF THE WEST, WOMEN FROM THE EAST" ESBN 42355-071101-171230-46 Copyright © 2009 by International Relations, 8200 South Quebec Street, A3-182, Englewood, Colorado, USA 80112 No duplications permitted unless by explicit consent and permission of the Publisher. Activ E-Book Viewing Software is Copyright © 2000-2002, Answers 2000 Limited, and used under license. Copyright (C) 2009, Internation... 05/14/2012 Men of the West, Women from ... Page 1 of 2 INTRODUCTION Since time immemorial, men and women have sought out each other in order to establish mutual relationships of various kinds, from brief sexual encounters to life-long commitments. The Internet has introduced a totally new mode for these eternal human endeavors, i.e. 'virtual' meeting and dating, initially involving Western men seeking women from their same cities/countries, but subsequently expanding across international borders, and a significant part now involves women from the various states of the former Soviet Union ( FSU ), the East referred to in the title of this Electronic Book. This book summarizes the experiences and opinions accumulated over the years by the members of Russian Women Discussion ( RWD ), an Internet Forum devoted specifically to this particular subject: Our book differs from others available on the same subject in that: It is based on the true stories, both the good and the bad, reported by dozens of RWD members of their real-life, on-the-ground experiences - dating from several years ago up to April 2009 It paints neither a rosy nor a black picture - we use colors as close to reality as permitted by our experiences, perceptions and common sense RWD has no hidden agenda - we wish neither to promote, nor discourage, relationships with FSU women, and derive no revenues from this book other than its cover price We hope that our direct experiences and opinions may benefit those of you Readers who intend to follow the same path, full of surprises, potential joys, and possible grief for the unwary. For reasons of convenience and brevity, this book contains, at the end of each Chapter, a list of references ( links ) to those RWD Forum threads that are particularly relevant to the topic(s) being discussed and which were, in most cases, the sources for our conclusions - you can read them in total freedom simply by clicking them when connected to the Internet (see Russian Women Discussion - RWD in the Appendix for more details). Also in the Appendix is another source of relevant data, the Cross -Cultural Marriage Survey conducted by RWD in late 2008. Copyright (C) 2009, Internation... 05/14/2012 Men of the West, Women from ... Page 2 of 2 Our conclusions and advice obviously imply some unavoidable generalizations, and you should always be aware of their inherent limitations - this is NOT 'A Shopping Guide to the FSU Mail-Order-Bride Supermarket' . Along with descriptions and explanations of the various aspects of this venture, we also try to offer you some sensible suggestions on each topic. We are equally well aware that for any single piece of advice - however based on experience and/or common sense - there are a multitude of possible exceptions to the rule that may work equally well, though usually under exceptional circumstances . No rule fits all. Our aim is to make you aware of what favorable - or unfavorable - odds you may be facing while following a particular course of action or line of thought in this endeavor, and to this end we interspersed the book text with some colored signal flags as stop-pause-go suggestion markers: (Danger - Warning - OK) We are also including a few historical, geographical, psychological and socio- economical considerations concerning the FSU and its population - doing our best NOT to be too tedious, and also injecting some occasional humor . The ultimate decision on the best course to follow should be based on your own independent and, we hope, well-pondered and carefully considered judgment . Start with Chapter 1, have a good read, and good luck in your pursuit of a suitable EW! Your RWD Editor, and the RWD Editorial Panel Table of Contents Forward to Chapter 1 Copyright (C) 2009, Internation... 05/14/2012 Men of the West, Women from ... Page 1 of 3 CHAPTER 1 - WHY? Why are men and women from such different parts of the world seeking, meeting and even marrying each other? Basically, this is the result of the different social, cultural and economical developments that came to pass in Western countries and in the former Soviet Union ( FSU ) nations in the past century. Western Men Starting in the early 1960s, Western societies underwent profound changes as a result of at least two movements: the Sexual Revolution and Feminism. The Feminist movement justly clamored for more equality between the sexes, and gradually obtained a fairer treatment. As often happens in history, when a movement is eventually successful and most of its demands have been accepted, it may start pushing for yet more successes and become increasingly radical - and at times even ludicrous - in its demands. Many Western men ( WM ), particularly those in the USA, have been negatively impacted by the radical side of the feminist movement, and blame Western women for becoming less and less women, and increasingly masculine like the men they want to avoid. Subconscious comparisons with women of previous generations make them feel that Western women have taken on a different - and increasingly disagreeable - role in their inter-sexual relationships. WM often complain about these perceived traits in Western women: Appearance: Lack of taste in dress/make-up Overweight bodies Attitude: Excessive sense of entitlement Lack of social graces Aggressive sexuality Life goals/priorities: Career before family It can be summed up as an attitude of selfishness causing disaffection in WM. Of course, not all Western women correspond to such a bleak description, and some WM may even use the above stereotypes as excuses to justify their lack of dating successes, at times the result of a chauvinistic male attitude no longer much tolerated nowadays. Copyright (C) 2009, Internation... 05/14/2012 Men of the West, Women from ... Page 2 of 3 However, rightly or wrongly, these stereotypes have taken widespread hold in WM's minds, and therefore it is not surprising that an increasing number of WM, hopefully not suffering from the same problems , have been steadily turning their attention elsewhere when seeking a lifetime mate and companion. See also Be Honest: Why Are You Looking for a Woman in the FSU? in the Appendix.