questions about love and commitment relative to K1 process

[visaveteran 0]

The Soviet Union lost 13% of their population. The US lost .32%. Where are you getting your numbers from? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

The USA did a LOT of bad things which are still affecting the world today. We didn't do things to our own people as much, sure--we just spread it to Latin America and Asia.

You're right. My WWII data was wrong. Excuse me. I misread the chart.

As to bad things...the magnitude is not comparable. Yes, we were in Asia and South America...and Russia was in Eastern Europe, Cuba, Asia, South America an Africa.

As i said, all countries have bad history.

[eekee 182]

Being anti-USA is about as new as long hair and tattoos. Maybe it was chic and cool to bad mouth the country 40 years ago, but now it's just more bluster and hot air and the same old same old. Join the club.

Criticizing my (our) country is not anti-USA. If anything, it's pro-USA. It's wanting our country to be better than it is. We don't become better by telling the rest of the world how great we are and how many times we've saved their collective аsses, or by acting unilaterally or only in our own best interests. We become better by constantly challenging ourselves and our government to be better. We also become better by acknowledging that our way isn't always the best way, and that we can learn from other countries and other cultures.

If it were up to me, everybody in the US would have to live somewhere outside the US (and I'm not talking about Canada or a Mexican resort town) for 6 months. I know that's not realistic, but damn that sure would change the tone in this country. Might even be worth other countries to foot the bill for such a thing, as it could only benefit them in the long run.

I don't have a problem with critics...I have a problem with intolerance of people who openly show their love and affection for America and act proudly. I don't feel I have to hang my head because I'm American. We generously give to most other countries in some manner, allow millions of foreigners to immigrate here, and have shed much American blood to help other people like those in Bosnia and Kosovo.

I don't mind critics but some balance and speaking about what is good about the USA makes me trust that people are being critics for sincere reasons...and not agendas.

Sometimes we help, sometimes we hinder because our intentions are dishonest and are more about our own national interests, rather than the best interests of those we're supposedly trying to help.

Hating America to be cool went out of style when Bush went back to Texas.

I think there are very few people who are ashamed to be American, and when I come across said people I don't think they're any better than those who blindly proclaim America to be the best and refuse to listen to any opinions to the contrary, or any criticism of America. I have never, for instance, pretended to be Canadian. But blind acceptance and a USA #1 no matter what!!! attitude aren't good either. There is no democracy without dissent.

[visaveteran 0]

Being anti-USA is about as new as long hair and tattoos. Maybe it was chic and cool to bad mouth the country 40 years ago, but now it's just more bluster and hot air and the same old same old. Join the club.

Criticizing my (our) country is not anti-USA. If anything, it's pro-USA. It's wanting our country to be better than it is. We don't become better by telling the rest of the world how great we are and how many times we've saved their collective аsses, or by acting unilaterally or only in our own best interests. We become better by constantly challenging ourselves and our government to be better. We also become better by acknowledging that our way isn't always the best way, and that we can learn from other countries and other cultures.

If it were up to me, everybody in the US would have to live somewhere outside the US (and I'm not talking about Canada or a Mexican resort town) for 6 months. I know that's not realistic, but damn that sure would change the tone in this country. Might even be worth other countries to foot the bill for such a thing, as it could only benefit them in the long run.

I don't have a problem with critics...I have a problem with intolerance of people who openly show their love and affection for America and act proudly. I don't feel I have to hang my head because I'm American. We generously give to most other countries in some manner, allow millions of foreigners to immigrate here, and have shed much American blood to help other people like those in Bosnia and Kosovo.

I don't mind critics but some balance and speaking about what is good about the USA makes me trust that people are being critics for sincere reasons...and not agendas.

Sometimes we help, sometimes we hinder because our intentions are dishonest and are more about our own national interests, rather than the best interests of those we're supposedly trying to help.

Hating America to be cool went out of style when Bush went back to Texas.

I think there are very few people who are ashamed to be American, and when I come across said people I don't think they're any better than those who blindly proclaim America to be the best and refuse to listen to any opinions to the contrary, or any criticism of America. I have never, for instance, pretended to be Canadian. But blind acceptance and a USA #1 no matter what!!! attitude aren't good either. There is no democracy without dissent.

Yes, America allows open dissent so we have democracy. We have a free press and people are allowed to march and show public criticism. Russia and Iran and China do not. They kill dissenters. The suppress dissent harshly.

[visaveteran 0]

[Curious as to where the 40% figure comes from.

It was the inverse of the 60% number I mentioned at the start of my post. Again it has been a long time since I read whatever I read and that number could be off a bit. What I was suggesting is that if 60 % of the K-1's get married then 40 % must either go back or get lost illigally. If people took more time to be sure of what they wanted that number could be reduced which would help to speed the system for everyone else.

Guns, we have already talked about that so much. Anyone have a good recepie for Russian Black Bread? How about WW2. Anyone notice Russians don't even know we were involved?

It's understandable to me why Russians don't really care about America's World War II participation, considering the immense casualties and suffering the Soviets endured during the Great Patriotic War.

Total of American deaths: 418,500. Total of Soviet Union deaths: 23,100,000

Ironically, it is because of WWII and perhaps the long Afghanistan war, that so reduced the number of Russian men available for marriage, that created the huge number of Russian women in need of men. We USA men are the lucky recipients of this sad situation.

The Soviet Union had a pact with Hitler before fighting them...so let's remember that. And they did not come in the war willingly...they were attacked and forced to fight. I think they remember us...we saved their #### by the "lend lease" program that gave them many trucks and weapons to fight back. We (the USA) never got a penny for all the material we gave them.

I don't know, but I never saw myself as competing with Afghan and WWII war vets for their women.

No, you're competing with the severely depleted Russian male population.

[clueless_in_usa 8]

Yes, America allows open dissent so we have democracy. We have a free press and people are allowed to march and show public criticism. Russia and Iran and China do not. They kill dissenters. The suppress dissent harshly.

Hugo Chavez and his friends do the same in Venezuela, and nobody around the world cries foul. Mugabe is the same in Zimbabwe. Many Americans do not understand how privileged they are.

[Neonred 3,937]

[Curious as to where the 40% figure comes from.

It was the inverse of the 60% number I mentioned at the start of my post. Again it has been a long time since I read whatever I read and that number could be off a bit. What I was suggesting is that if 60 % of the K-1's get married then 40 % must either go back or get lost illigally. If people took more time to be sure of what they wanted that number could be reduced which would help to speed the system for everyone else.

Guns, we have already talked about that so much. Anyone have a good recepie for Russian Black Bread? How about WW2. Anyone notice Russians don't even know we were involved?

It's understandable to me why Russians don't really care about America's World War II participation, considering the immense casualties and suffering the Soviets endured during the Great Patriotic War.

Total of American deaths: 418,500. Total of Soviet Union deaths: 23,100,000

Ironically, it is because of WWII and perhaps the long Afghanistan war, that so reduced the number of Russian men available for marriage, that created the huge number of Russian women in need of men. We USA men are the lucky recipients of this sad situation.

The Soviet Union had a pact with Hitler before fighting them...so let's remember that. And they did not come in the war willingly...they were attacked and forced to fight. I think they remember us...we saved their #### by the "lend lease" program that gave them many trucks and weapons to fight back. We (the USA) never got a penny for all the material we gave them.

I don't know, but I never saw myself as competing with Afghan and WWII war vets for their women.

No, you're competing with the severely depleted Russian male population.

But I figure most of those "depleted" males from WWII would have been dead now anyway if they hadn't died in the war.

[visaveteran 0]

[Curious as to where the 40% figure comes from.

It was the inverse of the 60% number I mentioned at the start of my post. Again it has been a long time since I read whatever I read and that number could be off a bit. What I was suggesting is that if 60 % of the K-1's get married then 40 % must either go back or get lost illigally. If people took more time to be sure of what they wanted that number could be reduced which would help to speed the system for everyone else.

Guns, we have already talked about that so much. Anyone have a good recepie for Russian Black Bread? How about WW2. Anyone notice Russians don't even know we were involved?

It's understandable to me why Russians don't really care about America's World War II participation, considering the immense casualties and suffering the Soviets endured during the Great Patriotic War.

Total of American deaths: 418,500. Total of Soviet Union deaths: 23,100,000

Ironically, it is because of WWII and perhaps the long Afghanistan war, that so reduced the number of Russian men available for marriage, that created the huge number of Russian women in need of men. We USA men are the lucky recipients of this sad situation.

The Soviet Union had a pact with Hitler before fighting them...so let's remember that. And they did not come in the war willingly...they were attacked and forced to fight. I think they remember us...we saved their #### by the "lend lease" program that gave them many trucks and weapons to fight back. We (the USA) never got a penny for all the material we gave them.

I don't know, but I never saw myself as competing with Afghan and WWII war vets for their women.

No, you're competing with the severely depleted Russian male population.

But I figure most of those "depleted" males from WWII would have been dead now anyway if they hadn't died in the war.

It's pretty simple math. No grandfathers...no fathers. No fathers...no sons. No sons...no husbands.

Russia has been killing off its finest men since the revolution, when the poor, illiterate Bolshevik peasants killed off most of the intelligentsia and artists. Then Lenin had his turn killing people. Then Stalin really took killing to new heights. Then Hitler took his shot at eliminating more Russians...mostly men. In recent history, the Mujahideen had their turn and killed many Russian men in the 1980s.

So, there are now around 10 women to every man in Russia. It's about math.

[Neonred 3,937]

[Curious as to where the 40% figure comes from.

It was the inverse of the 60% number I mentioned at the start of my post. Again it has been a long time since I read whatever I read and that number could be off a bit. What I was suggesting is that if 60 % of the K-1's get married then 40 % must either go back or get lost illigally. If people took more time to be sure of what they wanted that number could be reduced which would help to speed the system for everyone else.

Guns, we have already talked about that so much. Anyone have a good recepie for Russian Black Bread? How about WW2. Anyone notice Russians don't even know we were involved?

It's understandable to me why Russians don't really care about America's World War II participation, considering the immense casualties and suffering the Soviets endured during the Great Patriotic War.

Total of American deaths: 418,500. Total of Soviet Union deaths: 23,100,000

Ironically, it is because of WWII and perhaps the long Afghanistan war, that so reduced the number of Russian men available for marriage, that created the huge number of Russian women in need of men. We USA men are the lucky recipients of this sad situation.

The Soviet Union had a pact with Hitler before fighting them...so let's remember that. And they did not come in the war willingly...they were attacked and forced to fight. I think they remember us...we saved their #### by the "lend lease" program that gave them many trucks and weapons to fight back. We (the USA) never got a penny for all the material we gave them.

I don't know, but I never saw myself as competing with Afghan and WWII war vets for their women.

No, you're competing with the severely depleted Russian male population.

But I figure most of those "depleted" males from WWII would have been dead now anyway if they hadn't died in the war.

It's pretty simple math. No grandfathers...no fathers. No fathers...no sons. No sons...no husbands.

Russia has been killing off its finest men since the revolution, when the poor, illiterate Bolshevik peasants killed off most of the intelligentsia and artists. Then Lenin had his turn killing people. Then Stalin really took killing to new heights. Then Hitler took his shot at eliminating more Russians...mostly men. In recent history, the Mujahideen had their turn and killed many Russian men in the 1980s.

So, there are now around 10 women to every man in Russia. It's about math.

#######? Where do you get this stuff? You must be REALLY bad at math! Current demographics for Russia are not that much different than for the US, especially the 15-64 age group. BOTH countries have slightly more women than men, but nothing like what you are thinking. You need to do a little research.

Oh, and remember, no fathers...no daughters!

[visaveteran 0]

[Curious as to where the 40% figure comes from.

It was the inverse of the 60% number I mentioned at the start of my post. Again it has been a long time since I read whatever I read and that number could be off a bit. What I was suggesting is that if 60 % of the K-1's get married then 40 % must either go back or get lost illigally. If people took more time to be sure of what they wanted that number could be reduced which would help to speed the system for everyone else.

Guns, we have already talked about that so much. Anyone have a good recepie for Russian Black Bread? How about WW2. Anyone notice Russians don't even know we were involved?

It's understandable to me why Russians don't really care about America's World War II participation, considering the immense casualties and suffering the Soviets endured during the Great Patriotic War.

Total of American deaths: 418,500. Total of Soviet Union deaths: 23,100,000

Ironically, it is because of WWII and perhaps the long Afghanistan war, that so reduced the number of Russian men available for marriage, that created the huge number of Russian women in need of men. We USA men are the lucky recipients of this sad situation.

The Soviet Union had a pact with Hitler before fighting them...so let's remember that. And they did not come in the war willingly...they were attacked and forced to fight. I think they remember us...we saved their #### by the "lend lease" program that gave them many trucks and weapons to fight back. We (the USA) never got a penny for all the material we gave them.

I don't know, but I never saw myself as competing with Afghan and WWII war vets for their women.

No, you're competing with the severely depleted Russian male population.

But I figure most of those "depleted" males from WWII would have been dead now anyway if they hadn't died in the war.

It's pretty simple math. No grandfathers...no fathers. No fathers...no sons. No sons...no husbands.

Russia has been killing off its finest men since the revolution, when the poor, illiterate Bolshevik peasants killed off most of the intelligentsia and artists. Then Lenin had his turn killing people. Then Stalin really took killing to new heights. Then Hitler took his shot at eliminating more Russians...mostly men. In recent history, the Mujahideen had their turn and killed many Russian men in the 1980s.

So, there are now around 10 women to every man in Russia. It's about math.

#######? Where do you get this stuff? You must be REALLY bad at math! Current demographics for Russia are not that much different than for the US, especially the 15-64 age group. BOTH countries have slightly more women than men, but nothing like what you are thinking. You need to do a little research.

Oh, and remember, no fathers...no daughters!

I quote:

"Russia has one of the lowest men to women ratio in the world: according to the latest Russian census, there are 10 million more women than men. At the same time Russian culture requires from a woman to be married, in order to acquire a respectable social status. Because of the demographics and the cultural notion, Russian women are driven to seek partners elsewhere, if they have failed to find them in a 'normal' way."

[visaveteran 0]

[Curious as to where the 40% figure comes from.

It was the inverse of the 60% number I mentioned at the start of my post. Again it has been a long time since I read whatever I read and that number could be off a bit. What I was suggesting is that if 60 % of the K-1's get married then 40 % must either go back or get lost illigally. If people took more time to be sure of what they wanted that number could be reduced which would help to speed the system for everyone else.

Guns, we have already talked about that so much. Anyone have a good recepie for Russian Black Bread? How about WW2. Anyone notice Russians don't even know we were involved?

It's understandable to me why Russians don't really care about America's World War II participation, considering the immense casualties and suffering the Soviets endured during the Great Patriotic War.

Total of American deaths: 418,500. Total of Soviet Union deaths: 23,100,000

Ironically, it is because of WWII and perhaps the long Afghanistan war, that so reduced the number of Russian men available for marriage, that created the huge number of Russian women in need of men. We USA men are the lucky recipients of this sad situation.

The Soviet Union had a pact with Hitler before fighting them...so let's remember that. And they did not come in the war willingly...they were attacked and forced to fight. I think they remember us...we saved their #### by the "lend lease" program that gave them many trucks and weapons to fight back. We (the USA) never got a penny for all the material we gave them.

I don't know, but I never saw myself as competing with Afghan and WWII war vets for their women.

No, you're competing with the severely depleted Russian male population.

But I figure most of those "depleted" males from WWII would have been dead now anyway if they hadn't died in the war.

It's pretty simple math. No grandfathers...no fathers. No fathers...no sons. No sons...no husbands.

Russia has been killing off its finest men since the revolution, when the poor, illiterate Bolshevik peasants killed off most of the intelligentsia and artists. Then Lenin had his turn killing people. Then Stalin really took killing to new heights. Then Hitler took his shot at eliminating more Russians...mostly men. In recent history, the Mujahideen had their turn and killed many Russian men in the 1980s.

So, there are now around 10 women to every man in Russia. It's about math.

#######? Where do you get this stuff? You must be REALLY bad at math! Current demographics for Russia are not that much different than for the US, especially the 15-64 age group. BOTH countries have slightly more women than men, but nothing like what you are thinking. You need to do a little research.

Oh, and remember, no fathers...no daughters!

I quote:

"Russia has one of the lowest men to women ratio in the world: according to the latest Russian census, there are 10 million more women than men. At the same time Russian culture requires from a woman to be married, in order to acquire a respectable social status. Because of the demographics and the cultural notion, Russian women are driven to seek partners elsewhere, if they have failed to find them in a 'normal' way."

Yes, no fathers, no daughters...right. That's why so many single Russian women partner up with married Russian men to have children. It's typical for Russian men to have lovers and shire children with them. One Russian man can father children from 3 or 4 women during his life time.

[visaveteran 0]

[Curious as to where the 40% figure comes from.

It was the inverse of the 60% number I mentioned at the start of my post. Again it has been a long time since I read whatever I read and that number could be off a bit. What I was suggesting is that if 60 % of the K-1's get married then 40 % must either go back or get lost illigally. If people took more time to be sure of what they wanted that number could be reduced which would help to speed the system for everyone else.

Guns, we have already talked about that so much. Anyone have a good recepie for Russian Black Bread? How about WW2. Anyone notice Russians don't even know we were involved?

It's understandable to me why Russians don't really care about America's World War II participation, considering the immense casualties and suffering the Soviets endured during the Great Patriotic War.

Total of American deaths: 418,500. Total of Soviet Union deaths: 23,100,000

Ironically, it is because of WWII and perhaps the long Afghanistan war, that so reduced the number of Russian men available for marriage, that created the huge number of Russian women in need of men. We USA men are the lucky recipients of this sad situation.

The Soviet Union had a pact with Hitler before fighting them...so let's remember that. And they did not come in the war willingly...they were attacked and forced to fight. I think they remember us...we saved their #### by the "lend lease" program that gave them many trucks and weapons to fight back. We (the USA) never got a penny for all the material we gave them.

I don't know, but I never saw myself as competing with Afghan and WWII war vets for their women.

No, you're competing with the severely depleted Russian male population.

But I figure most of those "depleted" males from WWII would have been dead now anyway if they hadn't died in the war.

It's pretty simple math. No grandfathers...no fathers. No fathers...no sons. No sons...no husbands.

Russia has been killing off its finest men since the revolution, when the poor, illiterate Bolshevik peasants killed off most of the intelligentsia and artists. Then Lenin had his turn killing people. Then Stalin really took killing to new heights. Then Hitler took his shot at eliminating more Russians...mostly men. In recent history, the Mujahideen had their turn and killed many Russian men in the 1980s.

So, there are now around 10 women to every man in Russia. It's about math.

More data re men to women ratios and the marriage milieu in Russia:

"Why do Russian women marry outside Russia? First and most important - lack of men in Russia (according to the last census data, the number of women exceeds that of men by 10 million, and for the age of 40 and over the ratio goes up to terrifying 1:10!). Secondly, those few who are still available are simply not competitive, suffering from alcoholism, unable to provide for the family, etc. And the last basic reason is unstable economic situation in Russia, while it is only natural that people always look for better place to live."

[Neonred 3,937]

There are 5 million more women than men in the US. Look at the statistics for the 15-64 age group as those over 65 don't hold much significance in this argument. And that statement of yours "So, there are now around 10 women to every man in Russia. It's about math" is just crazy.

Edited June 29, 2009 by Neonred

[Neonred 3,937]

"Russia has one of the lowest men to women ratio in the world: according to the latest Russian census, there are 10 million more women than men. At the same time Russian culture requires from a woman to be married, in order to acquire a respectable social status. Because of the demographics and the cultural notion, Russian women are driven to seek partners elsewhere, if they have failed to find them in a 'normal' way."

Russia is suffering from a lower birth rate, but 10 million more women than men does not necessarily translate to 10:1.

According to this article (Wikipedia), the ratio of men to women is 0.86 men to every woman. That works out to about 1.1 women for every man. The article is a pretty good read if you're really interested in Russian population demographics.

And in the 15-64 year range it's .93. Of course with a male life expectancy of 61.5 that ratio changes drastically in the 65 and over group.

[visaveteran 0]

"Russia has one of the lowest men to women ratio in the world: according to the latest Russian census, there are 10 million more women than men. At the same time Russian culture requires from a woman to be married, in order to acquire a respectable social status. Because of the demographics and the cultural notion, Russian women are driven to seek partners elsewhere, if they have failed to find them in a 'normal' way."

Russia is suffering from a lower birth rate, but 10 million more women than men does not necessarily translate to 10:1.

According to this article (Wikipedia), the ratio of men to women is 0.86 men to every woman. That works out to about 1.1 women for every man. The article is a pretty good read if you're really interested in Russian population demographics.

And in the 15-64 year range it's .93. Of course with a male life expectancy of 61.5 that ratio changes drastically in the 65 and over group.

I am remebering the classic line..."lies, damn lies and statistics."

I think the key here is two things. The women to man ratio in the actively seeking marriage group is bleaker than your numbers indicate for older women. My understanding of the census is that the w-m ration for the 39 years and older group is, indeed, 10:1.

I don't know the data on what is generically called "mail order" marriages in Russia (and we should probably include data for the Ukraine as well) but my guess is that largest group would be 35 and older...especially if we look at data from 1990 to the present. So, the younger Russian women probably have a better situation than the older women in finding men.

The second issue is we need to look at more than "warm male bodies" in Russia...but healthy, fully functioning, able bodied men who are really available within the marriage pool. Factoring in the Russian men who prefer only "common law" marriages; the high number of non functioning, non productive, alcoholic and drug abuse men; the disabled men and so forth, I think the picture gets a lot worse.

I know that the match-makers always push numbers that show a large gap in women wanting marriage and available Russian men.

Here is some stuff i pulled off the internet:

From the BBC: There are growing fears that Russia is facing a population crisis that could see the country lose up to 50 million people in the next 50 years. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, birthrates and male life expectancy have suffered sharp declines. The effects are particularly visible in rural areas, where populations have been dying off or moving to towns and cities.

From "World Affairs web site: "Drunken Nation: Russia’s Depopulation Bomb" by Nicholas Eberstadt

Drink of choice

A specter is haunting Russia today. It is not the specter of Communism—that ghost has been chained in the attic of the past—but rather of depopulation—a relentless, unremitting, and perhaps unstoppable depopulation. The mass deaths associated with the Communist era may be history, but another sort of mass death may have only just begun, as Russians practice what amounts to an ethnic self-cleansing.

Since 1992, Russia’s human numbers have been progressively dwindling. This slow motion process now taking place in the country carries with it grim and potentially disastrous implications that threaten to recast the contours of life and society in Russia, to diminish the prospects for Russian economic development, and to affect Russia’s potential influence on the world stage in the years ahead.

Russia has faced this problem at other times during the last century. The first bout of depopulation lasted from 1917 to 1923, and was caused by the upheavals that transformed the Russian Empire into the Soviet Union. The next drop took place between 1933 and 1934, when the country’s population fell by nearly 2 million—or almost 2 percent—as a result of Stalin’s war against the “kulaks” in his forced collectivization of Soviet agriculture. And then, between 1941 and 1946, Russia’s population plummeted by more than 13 million through the cataclysms and catastrophes of World War II.

The current Russian depopulation—which began in 1992 and shows no signs of abating—was, like the previous episodes, also precipitated by events of momentous political significance: the final dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of Communist Party rule. But it differs in three important respects. First, it is by far the longest period of population decline in modern Russian history, having persisted for over twice as long as the decline that followed the Bolshevik Revolution, and well over three times as long as the terrifying depopulation Russia experienced during and immediately after World War II.

Second, unlike all the previous depopulations in Russia, this one has been taking place under what are, within the Russian context, basically orderly social and political circumstances. Terror and war are not the engines for the depopulation Russia is experiencing today, as they have been in the past.

And finally, whereas Russia’s previous depopulations resulted from wild and terrible social paroxysms, they were also clearly temporary in nature. The current crisis, on the other hand, is proceeding gradually and routinely, and thus it is impossible to predict when, or whether, it will finally come to an end.

There's lot more data out there but I'll just sum it up and say, I think your rosy picture of the woman to man ratio has a few holes in it.

[SMR 368]

I lived in Russia for a couple of years from 2006-2008 and as has been pointed out, the statistics show that the male to female ratio is not all that skewed (it's nowhere near 10:1). But, as someone else pointed out, no grandfathers means no fathers, no fathers--no sons. The point isn't that there aren't sons in a purely biological sense, they just don't have anyone to show them how to grow up and be the kind of husbands that Russian women want. When you start counting men that have jobs, are usually sober, have a normal view on family life and want to get married, the ratio starts to look more like 3 and 4 to 1. For whatever reason, single mothers are better at raising daughters than sons. Here, I am talking about young people, 18-35 or so. I don't have hard statistics, this is just what I saw. And note that I didn't say there aren't great young men. They just each have their choice of several great young women.

When you talk about people ages 35-64 or so, there are just fewer single men. There are some, but they are usually pretty weird.

So, on the subject of marriage visas, it isn't that Russian women prefer foreign men. Most of them would be very happy with a sober, stable Russian man. There just aren't enough to go around.

As we talk about trends, it's all connected. The decline in Russian population and economic productivity and success is directly related to the shortage of stable two-parent families, which can be explained by the shortage of marriage-material men.