I received a shocking email.

[Mister D]

That may be true of Asian wives but Russian and Eastern European women are not shrinking violets. I'm not sure that 'traditional' necessarily describes them. Chances are they are working for a living. Many of them have advanced degrees and professional careers and they are quite opinionated. There is a shortage of good husband material in Russia, in particular - now maybe also in Ukraine. In fact, there are simply more women than men and women are expected to be married well before they are 30. Russian men tend to abuse alcohol and their wives and are unfaithful - the women tolerate it because of the shortage of males, but infidelity is also common among those who have cheating husbands. Some will marry a foreigner in order to have children. Having children is a cultural priority, however very few would choose to leave Russia, even to have children. They may well be happy in a traditional role as a stay-at-home wife if they are from the more rural conservative parts of Russia, but if they are from the bigger cities, not necessarily. Today's young Russian women are quite different from those even 20-years-ago. The problem is that many on those matrimony sites are simply looking for a legal sugar daddy, so as they say, "you pays yer money, you takes yer chances".

Eastern Europe is a lot more conservative than the US and the women feel less entitled. That's attractive to Western men. Russia's standard of living is relatively low so finding a foreign husband is attractive. It is what it is.

[Dr. Who]

Eastern Europe is a lot more conservative than the US and the women feel less entitled. That's attractive to Western men. Russia's standard of living is relatively low so finding a foreign husband is attractive. It is what it is.

Even if that were entirely true, how long does it take for newcomers to absorb the culture, particularly if they are younger?

[carolina73]

Even if that were entirely true, how long does it take for newcomers to absorb the culture, particularly if they are younger?

If you grew up poor then you would know it is something that you never forget and never want to go back to. The mean Russian makes the equivalent of the poverty wage in the USA. 600 sqft apartments and waiting years for a car makes them fairly happy for what they have provided by western men.