To Russia for love

U.S. bachelors pay top dollar to meet Russian women

October 22, 1996
Web posted at: 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT)

From Correspondent Jackie Shymanski

MOSCOW (CNN) -- At Moscow's airport, a long-legged lovely woman greets a planeload of U.S. bachelors on a mission. They've each paid up to $3,000 to European Connections to get to Russia, in pursuit of happiness.

Their main goal is to find a special lady.

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In the United States, these men would likely be dubbed desperate and dateless. In Russia -- with their American passports and established careers -- they're considered a good catch.

The Russian husband-hunters aren't shy about what they want either. There's a lineup of would-be wives, outnumbering potential partners two to one. At arranged social gatherings -- where boy is supposed to meet girl -- fights between women are narrowly averted.

A CNN camera mixed and mingled with the lonely hearts, finding not the most romantic setting, and even fewer words of love. There are, however, plenty of sad stories that explain how all ended up here.

"The children live with their mother. I get them every other weekend," explains one man, while at another table, there's more interest in the assets, than the man. "I've got a deck out the back," the man in question says, showing pictures of his house.

And there is another type of sales pitch -- an unintended seedy side that isn't on the itinerary. The regular Russian women go home for the night, and they are replaced on the streets and in the bars by "working girls," a lot more interested in American dollars than American men.

Tour organizers frown upon such activity outside their social program -- although the attraction is clear. European Connections women take longer. The working girls on the street are available immediately, for a price.

But the tour organizers do claim the best of intentions. Their purpose: to create a match made in Moscow.

Related sites:

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• Russian Introduction Services
• Russian Personals
• Things to be Careful About in Looking for a Foreign Wife

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