2.95 million Americans are claiming Russian ancestry

According to the 1990 US. Census, 2.95 million Americans are claiming Russian ancestry, but a more realistic view suggests that there are only 750,000 Americans of ethnic Russian descent, which means that they were either born in Russia or have at least one parent or grandparent of ethnic Russian heritage.

* 44 percent of this number reside in the Northeast, (40-50,000 Russians in Boston area)
* 16 percent in the Midwest
* 18 percent in the South
* 22 percent in the West Areas

Interesting fact: Only 242,000 people have command of Russian.

This indicates the degree to which assimilation has progressed, which usually takes its toll in the third generation Russian immigrant communities in the USA are generally clustered around major Eastern Orthodox or Russian churches, like in Alaska, or in and around major US cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, and Boston where newly arrived immigrants have a better chance of getting a job.

my beautiful russian wife

After trying many other dating sites, me and my now wife Valentina both came across luckylovers.net nearly about at the same time and signed up. She contacted me first just to say hello and asked something. Oh, those women, sometimes I am asking myself - did she know that we would meet up and instantly fall in love??? She liked my picture and did not pay any attention to those long sentences I put in my profile, she was so direct as somebody was whispering into her ear – contact him, do yourself a favor. LOL. Her complete ignoring those wise (I thought like that then) words turned me off from the very beginning, but she was so cute when explaining why she asked something it had been already stated in profile and her English was so poor and funny at that time that I decided to continue chatting. Later when I read her letters and read thoroughly through her profile I was really impressed with her. We exchange our phone numbers in a week of writing as Valya could not type near as fast as I can and the telephone was much more comfortable for both of us.

I think we hit it off right away on the phone and all the next months were just cautions we use to use all the time. After an hour of speaking with her I felt I could drive down and see her that evening. But she was so far away and that was so sad.

We talked for about four months or so before we ever met, we met each other mostly in emails and instant messages, as well as a little on the phone. Her English was improving rapidly; I was even ashamed I still can not learn just a bit of Russian.

The first time we met was in late November in Kiev (Valya is from Russia, but it was easier for us to meet in Ukraine) and it was raining heavily. I could come only for three days but we wanted to try it. The wind was awful and I was even afraid she would not come. I am from Germany but this time I was flying from the USA. So a plane landed and I saw her at the gate. She was standing there, my little beautiful Russian princess, wet and scared. She was trembling as she wanted to look wonderfully and dressed too out-of-weather. At that moment I knew I want to hug her and warm her and never, never let her go.

We both stayed in the hotels (she arrived a bit earlier) so we decided to go to the hotel to change her dress and to dine out. We were speaking from nine till 4 a.m. and excused went to our rooms. I wanted her really much but she was so tender and a bit confused that I did not want to rush. We spent a great day together and a very eventful night after and once the evening was over and things where starting to come to an end, I felt a deep sadness. The next day was our last day together, but I knew it was not the least. After we went sightseeing and shopping a bit we sat out on the benches in the park and were just holding each other silently. And all hours we spent together were in my mind and did not want to go anywhere and to hold this thirty-years-old woman looking like a little girl and that would be the happiness, complete happiness. We remembered our first kiss, actually there was so much magic and chemistry in that first kiss that just three months later we got married. I had a child from my previous marriage and he liked his Russian mom almost from the very beginning. It has passed almost three months after we married and moved in but I still can not believe my happiness. We are so strongly in love and could not be happier. Pet and Valya, Germany.

Russian beautiful girls

Russian Beauties is he first collection of photographs by Alex Truew, this book is a romantic tribute to the beauty and innocence of youth. Even today, Russia is still a boundless, untamed country composed of many different peoples, a country offering richly varied types of women with features ranging from European to Asian. This mixture often creates fascinating, exotic beauties that fire the enthusiasm of more than Russian photographers. The collection contains remarkably intimate, sensitive portraits of beautiful Russian girls against backgrounds that are typical of their homeland Chr(45) in countryside or village settings, or nude in the snow.

available at Amazon

your russian wife or making relationships work

Many couples russian wife and american husband go into a marriage thinking that love
will conquer all, love will take them through anything the future may hold. Sure this idea is appealing and is fueled by the passion of love, it falls short of ensuring a happy and productive marriage with your russian wife.

Long lasting relationships don't just happen! They require work and care to endure and, with time, to evolve in ways that keep both partners fulfilled. Such labors are well worth the effort, though, since a lasting marital relationship is the most rewarding bond in life.

Women and men need to be equals in their relationship. A good marriage is not built upon the foundation of one partner feeling like a child and the other feeling like a parent. Only when partners relate as peers is it possible to experience mutual respect, sharing, support for each other, and the ability to disagree without the threat of losing the relationship. With that type of underpinning, the marriage will thrive. You will have to work hard to make your russian wife become and feel as your true and real partner, it will be a hard work due to language barriers, cultural difference and even simple food preferences, you might be a big fan of mexican food, while your russian wife will want to cook borsh every day and feed you to death.

These suggestions may help russian -western couples to think about the challenges they face within their own relationships and inspire new approaches to old problems:

* See the reality of your partner (and of yourself), not a fantasy of perfection.

* Stay in the present. Deal with what is happening now not a few months back.

* The giving and receiving of unconditional love is not to be taken for granted. Acknowledge care and love you receive, thank for all the small things your partner does for you.

* Not every attack is personal. Remeber about culutal shock and breeze deep, avoid fighting back.

* See the situation from the other person's perspective. don't blame and don;t judge.

* Talk! Say as much as you can to each other. The more that remains unspoken, the greater the risk for problems.

* Nurture a sense of humor. It is difficult for us to be defensive when we can laugh at ourselves!

Ukraine women

The most notable fact is that the imbalance between males and females in Ukraine is higher than the other FSU countries with only around 88 men per 100 women .

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 13.9% (men 3,277,905/ women 3,106,012)
• 15-64 years: 70% (men 15,443,818/ women 16,767,931)
• 65 years and over: 16.1% (men 2,489,235/ women 4,909,386) (2008 est.)

these are the data from 2008, so it could change in 2009, but very unlikely, what is more ore importantly is the staggering imbalance between "available" and "marriage ready" men and women, let-alone "marriage worthy" men (in the eyes of the women, who are generally very keen for marriage/family, so will often compromise much of their dreams if they have to).

This is the major reason that you will see a high number of ladies from Ukraine on dating sites

online divorces

The highest number of divorces - 10 per cent - occurred during the second year of marriage, according to figures from Divorce-Online.co.uk

Cheap and fast "online divorces" have contributed to the "throwaway marriage" culture, according to the internet advice site, which reports that online divorces have doubled in the past six months.

The risk of an affair stays high for the first five years of a marriage - according to the survey which polled more than 11,000 cases.

Men are the most likely to cheat and 80 per cent of infidelity divorces were instigated by spurned wives.

And almost a quarter of marriages end due to unreasonable behavior with wives making the first move in six out of 10 cases.

Overall, a two-year separation is the most common reason for a quick divorce, at 44 per cent.

Online divorces are up 52 per cent in the past six months, according to the survey. They let couples split for as little as £65, rather than paying £2,000 for a solicitor.

With increasing concerns about the credit crunch, Mark Keenan, founder of Divorce-Online, believes the cheap prices are the main reason for the rise, as well as speed and convenience.

The figures supports official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which highlighted that there were 27 divorces per 1,000 couples aged 25 to 29 in 2007.

Christine Northam of Relate, the counseling service, said: "Younger marriages tend to be less stable. Possibly it was not strong enough to start: one of them wanted a wedding, or there was pregnancy, peer pressure.

"It all feels too much too soon and one starts looking outside the marriage."

UK Marriage

Here are some interesting marriage statistics from the UK.

Reasons for marriage breakdowns include:
# 27% - Adulterous behavior
# 18% - Family strains
# 17% - Emotional/physical abuse
# 13% - Mid-life crisis
# 6% - Workaholism
# 6% - Addictions (alcoholism, gambling, etc.)
# 4% - Business problems
# 4% - Other (communication problems, growing apart)
# 2% - Decision linked to a personal choice
# Less than 1% - Problems of a sexual nature, loss in income

Toni Pincott, a UK matrimonial expert in financial settlements with Grant Thornton, said: "According to our survey's results, 53 per cent of all divorces tend to occur in marriages lasting between 10 and 15 years with a further 40 per cent ending earlier, between five and 10 years.

"The first five years of any marriage is pretty much divorce-free and if the union lasts beyond 20 it looks set for life" Mrs Pincott added."

to marry an american man?

In the beginning of time, according to one of our Azerbaijani legends, God created a single human being. He then split that being in half-creating a male and a female, and placed them apart in search for each other. And that's how life has become a quest-a longing of halves to be reunited. That's the ancient account and it's curious that even our language reinforces this possibility as our word "lover" in Azerbaijani is "yarim" which means "half of myself".

Now that I've been living in the United States these past three years, I'm wondering whether this story (which I used to think was so much fiction) isn't true after all, as my destiny seems to be an even more tortuous search for my other half than I ever imagined possible. What concerns me even more is the growing possibility that I may never ever find him-my other half.

I came to America three years ago. My life and future are bright here. I have everything a young woman my age could hope for. I'm a professional, I'm successful in my work, well-respected, well-educated, healthy, stable, and my family back home loves me. My friends tell me I'm attractive. My mother used to say, "God created my daughter when He had nothing else to do" (In Azeri, that's another way of saying someone is beautiful). Well, that's her opinion. You know how mothers always favor their children.

But still with all these attributes and opportunities that seem to come so easily to me, I cannot really say that I'm content and satisfied. I hear the clock ticking inside me, urging me to settle down and find my life's companion and build a life together. But no matter how hard I search, I can't find this other half. There aren't many Azerbaijanis living here; so my choice is very narrow if I insist on someone from my own background.

To Marry A Westerner?

When I think of marrying an American, my mind clouds with doubts. You see, I grew up in a different life style, with different patterns, social rules, expectations and traditions. Although I feel like I've adapted remarkably well here, I'm discovering how deep-seated my own culture is. I have roots of my own that seem to keep me from being able to lay a new foundation-no matter how hard I try.

It's not that I don't like American men. I find many of them charming and very attractive. But just when I think I've adjusted and feel so well integrated, some little incident occurs that jars me back to a different reality.

It appears, somehow, that we're always speaking different languages or talking on "different wave lengths". I'm not referring to words alone; though, of course, language is fundamental to any successful relationship. And I'd have to admit that there are times when my tongue aches from speaking English, and like an addict in search of a fix, I scurry back to the security and comfort of my own language. I'd also have to concede that somehow, "man sani seviram," still sounds much sweeter to my ears than the English words, "I love you."

But I'm really referring to a level of communication that penetrates much deeper than linguistics; that issues deep from inside, challenging my own sense of interests, values, propriety, and rightness.

Since living here, I've come to realize that each culture has a flavor of its own and others outside that community aren't necessarily able to detect its nuances-the sweetness of a culture along with its sourness, saltiness or even bitterness. Of course, each of us always has a tendency to think our own way is right and to criticize others, but the truth is, there are so many ways to perceive the same thing.

Love of Guests

Take for example, different attitudes that cultures hold towards guests. Myself, I love to extend hospitality to others and I'm ready to serve visitors every night. Their presence doesn't disturb me, rather I'm even happier when others are around. I've grown up in a family which used to entertain guests every other night. "A guest is a light in the house," my parents used to say.

But I detect that my friends here think that having guests too frequently interferes with their own lives and privacy. But I don't want to become an island in this huge ocean of a country. It's against my nature to keep people "at arm's length"; I want other people in my life and I feel that I have enough warmth and affection for them all.

The same with my parents. They live far from me and I'm not in any way dependent upon them but when it comes to making any serious decision, I pick up the phone and consult them. I feel an obligation that my decisions somehow effect them, too, even though they're 8,000 miles away. You see, children in Azerbaijan never leave their parents. They continue to live with them until they marry, but even afterwards they always feel responsible for them-as do parents for their children-for their entire lives.

I seek advice from them to maintain that bridge between us. It doesn't mean that I'm still a child or that I'm not independent. On the contrary, I let them feel that I'm available and here for them. And I'm happy that they are part of me and I, them.

But I detect that attitudes towards the family are different here in the West. Pragmatism rules. It seems couples marry, create a family, live together, and if the relationship doesn't work, they abandon it and go their separate ways.

We, Azerbaijanis, are different. Once we make a commitment, the expectation within ourselves, our families and our communities is that we won't break the relationship no matter how hard it is to live together. We continue to hold the family intact. It's inconceivable to imagine marrying someone, bringing children into the world and then allowing the family to disintegrate and the children to grow up without their father.

There are other differences, too. They appear as minor details but have such major implications. Take something seemingly as mundane as food. So often when I have prepared dishes that are favorites in my country-foods which have so many deep and happy associations for me-I've sensed that my American male friends haven't really liked them. They never say it directly, but it makes me wonder how much more Azeris would appreciate and enjoy my efforts. You see, it's not just food, it's all the accompanying emotions that it triggers, too.

Returning to My Own Country

Of course, you might suggest that I go back to Azerbaijan and marry someone there. If only it were so simple. But I, too, am emerging and evolving into a new person as I begin to question and cast off some of my earlier beliefs and assumptions and adopt new ones. And so I'm left wondering if even an Azerbaijani man would be able to understand the "new" me. Can I still meet his expectations of what a good wife must be? Can I fulfill the expectations and traditions of our families and the community at large? Would I be willing to give up some of the things that I cherish here just to better fit the mold of my own people?

You know, I like cooking, cleaning, housekeeping, but that doesn't mean I feel it is the purpose of my life or that I believe I've been created only to do work related to the family or home, or that men shouldn't be equally involved.

Ultimately, I believe that I will return to live in my own country but it may be years from now. And then the question really presses in on me whether an American man would be willing to accompany me.

It wouldn't be easy for him to leave America; there are so many advantages here. The average American doesn't have to be occupied with many of the everyday necessities that we do. In Azerbaijan, there aren't as many choices for us; we're not always able to buy the food or clothes we want. We may not even have access to water in our homes and apartments for several days, even weeks; much less hot water available 24 hours a day. We often have to trudge up many flights of stairs as not all buildings have elevators. Cars are very expensive; many people still don't have them.
Women rarely drive. The telephones don't work well yet. Hospitals don't have basic supplies and equipment. In general, it takes so much more time to get things done. Would anyone be willing to exchange the conveniences of everyday life here for the unknown frustrations and hardships there? Sure, these things are likely to change but it might take another decade. Could an American wait so long?

Even if I found an exceptional person who would go with me, would he be able to make the psychological and social adjustments ? Could he develop the relationships to become a complete personality? Could he find satisfying work? Could he become fluent in our language?

The Eternal Question

There's a deep loneliness gnawing inside me as I search for my other half here. America is not to blame. I rather suspect I'd have these same feelings any place outside my own homeland. Sometimes I wonder if every person-each of the millions of people down through the ages, who has been out of his or her own country during these decision-making, family-building years hasn't felt these same aches and doubts and yearnings.

I love my country. I love the new country where I now live. But it's one thing for me to experience this new world alone, it's another thing to try to build a family on this foundation. My happiness seems neither here in this country, nor there in my own. Oh, to find an ideal place that synthesizes the best of both these worlds.

In the meantime, the question of the old legend comes back to haunt me: where is my other half? Will I ever find that special someone who will dare to explore this unknown journey with me between these two worlds?

Arzu Samadova lives in California.

From Azerbaijan International

Indian man in love with a russian woman

Chirag is an indian guy who 6 months ago came to Russia for 1 year on a job contract. One hot summer night, he met this really nice russian woman, Natasha. At first he tried not to get deeply involved with her because he didn't see the point in going out with a russian woman since they had no future together.

But the more they talked, the more he began to like her and they started dating, they have been inseparable since, he started to really look after her and look out for her best interest. He treated her better than any other guy ever.

Chirag come from an traditional indian family where indian man always marries an indian woman no other race. His parents were already looking for suitable girls for him to marry.

nobody knows if Chirag and Natasha will end up together or he will go back home to marry a nice indian girl his parents have chosen for him, at least nobody knows yet... we all know love concurs all, but we also know how hard it is to choose between your parents and someone you have come to love, especially for a person born and brought up in country like India with long old traditions of arranged marriage. It might be wrong but that's the way the indian culture is structured