Russian women about foreign husbands

I passed the following article to my wife Lena and she found herself in complete agreement with it. Her twin sister and several of her girlfriends (see above) are currently dealing with the normal trials and tribulations of being a single girl and dealing with the more negative aspects of the dating in Russia and the FSU.
So in case you haven’t noticed yet…
It ain’t easy being a single girl in this part of the world. And indeed many of the married women also have more then their share of troubles as well. So with this in mind there has always been a great deal of speculation on behalf of these ladies as to what Men are like on the outside.
Perhaps one of you Gentlemen would care to write an essay about what kind of Men you are to these ladies? If you do I’ll be sure to get it properly translated into Russian and then post it on the site.
Women Talk: Russian Men don’t exist any more
By Svetlana Kolchik
Oct 19, 2010
Whoops, I didn’t say that because I feel bad already. Still, rumor has it. I’ve been hearing lately about the declining quality of our men from a growing number of women. A number so significant that it seems to me at least a trend, if not an epidemic. The nasty talk ranges from the girls’ lazy complaints about the local men to mere panic. And I don’t mean perspective mail-order brides striving to be rescued from the harsh reality of Russia – to some women, the grass does seem greener on the other side of the ocean. I am talking about the females who feel quite okay and accomplished at home, just somehow not as okay with “homegrown” guys. So the dating and marriage spectrum of these bright and pretty twenty-thirty somethings is gradually shifting towards foreigners – especially those in their league, fairly successful and open-minded.
I have to confess I can relate to this trend. The three years I had spent in the States in my early

twenties did something to me – perhaps the CIA had secretly implanted a microchip into my brain when I was sleeping in my tiny room in the shared Columbia University housing in New York. But when I came back to Moscow, I immediately felt I had lost the beat with most guys there. On dates with what I call “typical” (not so well-traveled, don’t speak languages, sporting a macho veneer) Russian men, I often felt like an alien. Or rather, like an amateur actress, a Legally Blonde-type character, who had to pretend (for free!) she didn’t boast much more than an attractive face and a cool body. Many of my dates tried to entertain me bragging about the drinking contests in which they engaged while spending money across the globe (I must admit, some of my suitors happened to be avid travelers, just hopelessly narrow-minded).
I wasn’t entertained even though I did my best. Our perspectives differed, conversations stuck, it seemed I had more cultural differences with my countrymen than with my Manhattan pals. This was the case until I met my type of Russian – a Vladivostok-born self-made Cambridge grad who worked for an English bank and had previously spent about seven years outside Russia.
So when I started noticing that more and more of my female peers are choosing expats or Russians with a “Western implant” – a solid experience abroad, I kind of felt relieved. At least I was not the only one.