SOVIET UNIONS Aussie men line up to find a Russian wife By Jessica Lawrence, The Sunday Mail May 9, 2004

Australian men are embarking on a love affair with Russian women.

Look at the multitude of Internet sites offering Russian brides and you’d be forgiven for thinking Russia was a country of supermodels yearning to tenderly care for an Aussie man.

But figures show Aussie blokes are lining up to walk Russian brides down the aisle, spurred by their beauty, brains and desire to breed.

And it’s not just old crusty blokes who can’t get a date – agencies claim early thirty something men are among those signing up to use their services.

More than 200 spousal visas were issued to Russian women in the 12 months to the end of June last year, placing them fifth behind Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and China.

In 2002, the Department of Foreign Affairs issued a warning about Russia-bride Internet scams after some men were fleeced of thousands of dollars.

Victims sent money to what they thought were love-struck Russian women to buy visas and plane tickets, only to find in some cases the women were men.

And last month a Brisbane man was jailed for 18 months for buzzing his Russian bride’s house in a plane after their short-loved union went horribly wrong.

But despite public perception of the women as little more than mail-order brides, and the horror stories, it seems Russian-Australian relations are at a high, with one Aussie husband claiming up to 80 per cent of the unions survive.

Elena Petrova, 36, owner of Gold Coast Russian dating agency Elena’s Models and Russian bride herself, said up to 10 per cent of her clients were Australian.

She said up to 300 Australian men accessed her agency each year. The spent up to $ 130 a month buying contact details for Russian women or placing personal ads.

Ms Petrova, who married a South African man five years ago, said Aussie blokes were looking further afield because the local women they want were out of their league.

‘Australian man can find a younger, more educated, more beautiful girl in Russia and they are unlikely to find this here.” Ms Petrova said.

Most Russian women were not looking for an easy way into Australia, she said.

She conceded dating and marrying women from overseas could be filled with peril, and that many men had been scammed. But she said it happened through “large Internet dating sites” where criminals requested money for air fares, when in fact the suitor must travel to Russia to meet a prospective bride. 

"Women outnumber men by 10 million in Russia and there a woman is not valued if she is not married with children.” Ms Petrova said. 

“It’s not Australia they want but an Australian man who will offer them security, personality and marriage.” 

Agencies do not keep statistics on the number of marriages that survive.

Despite claims her website customers “Will marry through Elena’s Models”, Ms Petrova insisted she could not promise men a wife.

“We don’t have control over what the woman will decide and the man must make an effort,” she said.

Barry Grantham, 60, married his Russian wife Helena, 44, in November 2001 in St Petersburg after they had met over the Internet. 

An active member of the Brisbane Russian Community, Mr Grantham said he was friends with at least five other such couples and the numbers were fising.

“A lot of Australian men are disenchanted with Australian women and like the old-fashioned values instilled in Russian women,” he said.

“I estimate between 70 to 80 per cent of marriages survive.”

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