Russian Wives This blog is an opinion about Russian women and Russian life both in the USA and Russia. My wife Lena (who is Russian) and I write about the same subjects independently. Given our different cultures, politics and upbringing, it is interesting to compare our ideas and opinions about everything. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 20 0 32 2008

Articles from Russian Wives

The Saga Continues 2007-09-27 22:35:45 I've ordered an invitation. Found a place that offered 24 hour service for $29. Worked out pretty good, but 24 hours was really more like 36 hours. But still a good deal for fairly quick service. Typical Russian Invitation. You need this to get a Visa. Next, I put together a cover letter with information about where I'm staying, what I'm doing, how many vodka's I will drink, etc. The Russian government wants to know what you have planned as well as when and where you're going to do it. Red Square. Lenin's mausoleum is in the background. After that, you can fill out a visa application and send everything off to the Russian Embassy or Consulate - including your passport and $100. In the meantime, we've bought our airline tickets ? about $1000 ea - and made reservations at an ok hotel called Gamma Delta. Stayed there my first trip to Russia, and it is ok. Hotel prices in Moscow are out of site. A cheap hotel is $100/night in most cases. I am quickly finding out that Moscow ...

Going To Moscow, Russia 2007-09-23 23:14:20 I woke up this morning and my wife asked me if I wanted to go to Moscow. What? Let me wake up first? Ok, Moscow in October should be ok shouldn't it? I was not sure if she was really serious, but then she called her parents and confirmed with them. So, we are off to Moscow in the end of October. Sixteen plus hours on a plane. This part I don't look forward to. If you've ever flown to Russia, Europe or even Asia, you know what I mean. All of that time flying over the ocean. Kinda makes you a little nervous if you think about it too long. We spent some time during the morning looking at flights and decided on the schedule we should keep to. One thing that I love about my wife is that she never does anything without a plan. Once I said I was interested in going, she had almost everything figured out in her mind and she started telling me what we will be doing on what day. So, we will be meeting her parents in Moscow while they are going for their interview for their visas and g ...

English to Russian Translation and Visa-Versa 2007-09-03 09:41:52 Something that came to mind that is very important when searching out your Russian bride is translation. I was fortunate enough to find a Russian woman who already could read and write English and as well, speak some English (albeit a little rough). You on the other hand are gambling to hopefully get as lucky as I was. Don't get me wrong, there are many Russian women out there who can read and write English. But not many speak the language. Russian Dating Translation So initially, you may get lucky enough to find a woman who does read/write English and you can at least email or instant message with her. On the other hand, you might need a translation service to be able to get to know your future Russian bride a little better. I wish I knew of a translator who was both honest and has reasonable pricing, but I am not associated with anyone right now who does this. Maybe we'll try to tackle this service ourselves in the future. We will be doing some official documentation translat ...

Here we are again. Again? What? 2007-09-03 00:14:35 I don't know. The title just came to me. Been busy designing a new web site for Red-October.net, hoping to roll it out by Halloween. Adding all kinds of new functionality and thinking about adding subscriptions for different things, like visas, marriage, who knows for sure. Nothing is finalized at this stage. In fact, if there is something you would like me write more about or suggestions for the web site, please email me. USA Visa Since my wife gained her US citizenship, we have been planning for her parents to move here close to us. They came to visit us in November, 2005 for a month and they enjoyed themselves immensely. They are at the stage of getting ready for their interview in Moscow which is scheduled at the end of October. We've pushed it back a couple months due to some unexpected health problems they are taking care of. Lots of paperwork involved in the entire process, but I am sure I will be writing about it once we complete the process and they move here to Colorado ...

Personal Trainer in Colorado Springs 2007-08-19 10:17:06 Was looking into getting a personal trainer here in Colorado Springs. Came across an interesting individual, Daniel Ross. He runs Body Symmetry here in town. From my research, he is the best qualified in Colorado Springs: * Masters Degree in Sports Medicine/Exercise Physiology * 22 years of personal training experience * Pre and Post Rehabilitation * Nutritional expertise for weight loss, muscle gain and body toning * ISSA (International Sports Science Association) personal training certification * Master Trainer * CPR certified As well, he trained Matt McGinnis. You may remember him from the 2004 Olympics. He is a swimmer. ...

Trip To The Mountains 2007-08-05 19:18:46 Took a weekend trip over to the western part of Colorado. Visited places like Grand Junction, Montrose, Ouray and Silverton. Took some pics and thought i'd share a few. House right on the edge. Did they know they built right on top of a geological fault? Picture from above the scenic town of Ouray. This Red Mountain. It is on the way to Silverton. Beautiful drive. The Continental Divide, the point where water flows East or West. ...

MAIL ORDER BRIDES 2007-08-01 22:00:38 Is there really such a thing? Russian women have been coined with this phrase for decades. The term Mail Order Bride goes back to the early settlers of America. Men would come to America and start a new life, but didn't have a wife. At some point, a company organized a trade and brought several shipments of women over from England in exchange for tobacco. Hence, the Mail Order Bride was born. Today, Mail Order Bride is nothing but a term used for foreign women seeking to marry and come to the western world. Mail Order Brides from Russia When I decided to entertain the thought of finding a Russian woman to wed, the internet was full of these mail order brides. Of course the curiosity more than overwhelmed me when looking. Russian women come in many varieties just as they do anywhere else in the world. 18 ? 25 years old, never married 18 ? 25 divorced, no children 18 ? 25 divorced with children And so on and so forth. So, my point is that you will certainly be able to find ...

Scammed by a Russian Bride 2007-07-31 23:13:39 If you read my blog, you know that I don't write anything negative about Russian women. But I think this is one of many western men's concerns that needs to be addressed. The following is a true story that happened to an acquaintance. He had met a Russian woman. We'll call him Greg and the woman we'll call Marina. Greg met Marina over the internet. She was attractive as a lot of Russian women are. They corresponded for a couple months until he decided to plan a trip to Russia to meet her. He went to Russia. He flew all the way to Ekaterinburg where she was from. He brought many gifts for her and her little girl. He stayed at her apartment and things seemed to go well for them. He decided to propose to her before he left. He was prepared for this as he brought a very nice engagement ring with him, a quarter carat diamond ring. Of course she accepted. He left Russia and went home to start all of the paperwork for her to come to America. Russian Bride Scammer Anastasiya (Nasty ...

Soviet Era Pictures 2007-07-25 22:33:27 Some interesting pics about Soviet era soda and vending machines. Enjoy! Buy Pepsi in 1985 Soviet Union Buy Pepsi in 1985 Leningrad Old Soviet Vending Machines Soviet Pepsi Machine The glass sits there and it is a community glass. It is put upside down and gets washed before each use. Soviet Era Water Machine Soviet Water Machines. ...

Learning Russian 2007-07-25 21:45:05 I have been practicing some Russian lately. I blogged an article a couple weeks ago about common Russian words and phrases. I have been trying to learn some simple phrases in the evenings with my wife and with a couple web sites I think I mentioned. Russia's Finest. Smirnoff Vodka. I think it helps to drink a shot of Russia's finest vodka in between phrases as well as a pickle or two. I don't know if my wife would agree with me, but I feel like I speak perfect Russian after a few phrases (and vodkas). Of course I would not recommend this process to everyone, but maybe give it a try once or twice to see if it works for you. The Moscow Metro. Russia Has An Amazingly Beautiful Metro System. ...

Cheap, Good Quality Calls To Russia 2007-07-15 15:54:46 My Wife has been calling Russia for only $.05 a call (this is a connection fee only), no time limit. The web site is called Internet Calls. The way it works is you download the software to your broadband connected computer, pay a minimum of $10 into an account and start making calls via the internet and your personal phone. You put your phone number in the system, then it calls your phone and then the software dials the number you wanted to call. Excellent quality too, and highly recommended to anyone needing to call overseas for a dirt cheap and a good quality phone call. Internet Calls, Internetcalls.com My wife wrote about Sending Money To Russia. Also, check out these web sites: ...

Just a couple links 2007-07-07 20:54:07 Our dog was sick a week or so back and I was able to help him out with suggestions from this web site. As well I came across a very cool Learn Russian web site. It is totally free and gives you audio to listen to and play back as many times as you want. ...

Learn Some Russian 2007-06-30 00:27:03 Words and phrases of everyday use English Russian (transliteration) Hello! -- Zd`rastvuyte (formal) Hi! -- Priviet! (informal) Goodbye! -- Da svi`daniya (formal) Bye! -- Pa 'ka! (informal) Good morning -- Dobroye utro Good afternoon -- Dobryi vecher Good evening -- Dobryi vecher Good night -- Spokoinoi nochi Yes -- Da No -- Nyet Thank you -- Spa`siba Thank you very much -- Bol'shoye spa`siba You're welcome -- Pa`zhalsta Please -- Pa`zhalsta Excuse me -- Izvi`neete Can You Speak Russian? I am sorry -- Izvi`neete Okay! -- Hara`sho How are you? -- Kak de`la? Good -- Hara`sho Bad -- Ploho So-so -- Tak syebe Just a moment -- Mi`noutku I do not understand -- Ya ne pani`mayu Do you understand? -- Pani`mayesh? (informal) Pani`mayete? (formal) Nice to meet you -- Priyatno s vami poznakomitsa What is your name? -- Kak vas za-vout? My name is _____ --`nya za`vout Where are you from? -- Otkuda Vy? I ...

A Little Ekaterinburg History 2007-06-28 23:11:54 The city was founded in 1723 by Vasily Tatischev and named after Saint Catherine, the namesake of tsar Peter the Great's wife Catherine (Yekaterina). It was renamed Sverdlovsk after the Bolshevik party leader and Soviet official Yakov Sverdlov from 1924 to 1991. Soon after the Russian Revolution, on July 17, 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, Alexandra, and their children Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Tsarevich Alexei were executed by Bolsheviks in this city. In the 1920s Yekaterinburg became a large industrial center of Russia. The heavy machinery factory Uralmash, the biggest in Europe, was built. Between 1932 and 1937, Chiang Ching-kuo, president of the Republic of China from 1978 until 1998, worked in Ekaterinburg on the Ural Heavy machinery Plant (Uralmash). In Ekaterinburg he met his wife Faina Ipatyevna Vakhreva. During World War II, many government technical institutions and whole factories were evacuated to Yekaterinburg from the war-affected areas ( ... History

Another Vodka Article? 2007-06-24 17:22:17 Sometimes I think vodka is man's best friend. Yes dogs do own this saying, but vodka sure is giving dogs a run for their bones. Not only can you drink it numerous ways ? cocktails or neat as I prefer it. But recently, we had a real medicinal need for it. And no, it's not a medicinal need whenever I want a shot, although that might be a good argument... My wife had an ear infection of sorts. Now typically, you would put a cotton swap in some rubbing alcohol and clean the ear out with it. We were out of rubbing alcohol, but had a bottle of Smirnoff Blue Label Vodka, the 100 proof stuff (50% alcohol). She used it as a substitute and about 24 hours later after using it a few times, everything cleared up. Guess the alcohol killed any bacteria that was in there. Now that's Russian ingenuity! Smirnoff Blue Label Vodka - Smooth Stuff Some other things I learned about vodka: What is less well known is that vodka as a neutral spirit can be used in cooking. Only a small amount is needed ...