Hello Olga, I think this is a great question and am looking forward to the discussion the topic generates. These are of course my own personal opinions and not trying to answer for men in general, but only for myself.
1. I want to marry an Eastern European woman (we'll use that term since it is shorter and more generic, but could include other nationalities that are not technically Russian) for many reason. I think that the family-oriented culture is much more appealing to me. In the US, people are more independent, even within the immediate family. I think Eastern European women are more feminine in their actions and appearance than Western and especially American women. I have taken to describing American women as often half-the-man. I have found Eastern European women to be more intelligent and well-studied. I like the ability to talk about different subject and have the girl have some knowledge about this. (As an example, I was discussing castles in Russian territory with one girl recently and the reason why there were castles near Kalingrad, but not further east. Many American girls cannot even identify Nebraska on a map.) I like the idea of melding the best of American culture with the best of Eastern European culture and making a family unit that is stronger than either separately. I think Eastern European women have more fashion sense and tend to take care of themselves better. They, in general, eat better, exercise more, know how to care for the home, the children and their men (frankly I think the men there are very stupid for not seeing this great gift). I want to treat my girl as a princess and put her first in my life, but you cannot do that if she does not also put you first and in general Western women are either too independent or too selfish to do that. [I will add that I was married to a girl from Minsk for 10 years and have met one girl on this site that nearly reached marriage proposal.)
2. For me the way to develop a relationship is first to identify some commonalities with the girl. There must be common interests because I think first the man and woman should be friends. After the passion has started to subside a little and the years have passed, life struggles will rear their heads. There must be a union that is strong. A foundation that will allow the marriage to succeed. And I want to be with this woman, so we must enjoy each other's company day to day and not just one vacation or in the bedroom. To me, I am looking for someone with common values first and a belief in God. Of course, the deal breakers must not exist. These are different for everyone, for me no smoking, not fond of tattoos. I think that there are some exchanges of letters of information about the life, family, dreams, goals, desires, interests, past experiences. If these are in common, then talk on Skype. It is much better to see the other person, if if the language barrier is total. I know enough Russian to help a conversation along, but you can still talk then type your words and translate them if needed. After I first met my ex-wife, we talked on the telephone with English-Russian dictionaries. Much easier now. For me then, if the friendship has developed and there is also mutual interest and desire, then the discussion can turn to meeting. I think along the way there needs to be a point where the conversation turns serious. Not just talk about the weather and jobs and movies. This is fine in the beginning, but eventually one person or the other will tire of superficiality. I think if the conversation does not start to turn serious, even a little, then it possibly is not going anywhere. For me, my relationship turned serious after 2 months with my ex-wife. With the other girl from the site, it was about 5 months, but she was not online as often, not having her own computer at first.
3. The first meeting is entirely dependent on the people, but if it does not happen at the airport / train station, then it was a mistake. Flowers of course! By this point, there should be some connection and serious feelings, so for me both meetings were very natural and comfortable.
4. The basis for choosing a girl on the site varies for everyone I think. I will try to be general in my terms. Obviously first of all the avatar image is the first item we see. I am shocked by the number of girls who have a picture of them either not smiling or unable to see their face. A picture without a smile is not open and welcoming and less likely to have someone even look at the profile. Just smiling makes a woman more attractive. For me a search would be based on the following criteria (not in order of importance): belief in God, not smoking, age range (too young can be immature and I am still wanting children), height (generally prefer the shorter girls). Only religious beliefs and not smoking are set in stone requirements. Then there should be a well-thought out and answered profile. The girl I met here and became serious with did not have the best profile picture (although she is a very beautiful girl). But her profile questions MADE me want to know her. In it I learned that she was serious marriage-minded and that we had common interests and ideas. She had an advantage in catching me before we even met because of this. If a woman is looking for a husband, but cannot even take the time to present herself and describe herself in words, then it can be considered as not really being very serious and just looking to chat. Lastly are the pictures. I personally am looking for a variety. I would like to see how she looks in natural environment, doing what she enjoys, with family, on vacation. Close up pictures and far away. With pets and children, if she has them. Just a bunch of model shots and pin-up pictures does not give the full idea and I think just draws the attention of the not serious men. For people who say not to include a picture in bathing suit, I disagree. I want my potential wife to be fit and beautiful, but I want to see her in all settings, so show the casual picture in T-Shirt and jeans at home too. For me the picture that drew my attention the most from my ex-wife was one where she was sitting on the floor in casual clothes and bare feet. With the other girl I became serious with, it was a picture of her in swimming pool with her hair pulled back and no make-up.
I hope this has some help or at least was interesting to the girls. Insight to at least part of one man's ideas on the subject.
1. I want to marry an Eastern European woman (we'll use that term since it is shorter and more generic, but could include other nationalities that are not technically Russian) for many reason. I think that the family-oriented culture is much more appealing to me. In the US, people are more independent, even within the immediate family. I think Eastern European women are more feminine in their actions and appearance than Western and especially American women. I have taken to describing American women as often half-the-man. I have found Eastern European women to be more intelligent and well-studied. I like the ability to talk about different subject and have the girl have some knowledge about this. (As an example, I was discussing castles in Russian territory with one girl recently and the reason why there were castles near Kalingrad, but not further east. Many American girls cannot even identify Nebraska on a map.) I like the idea of melding the best of American culture with the best of Eastern European culture and making a family unit that is stronger than either separately. I think Eastern European women have more fashion sense and tend to take care of themselves better. They, in general, eat better, exercise more, know how to care for the home, the children and their men (frankly I think the men there are very stupid for not seeing this great gift). I want to treat my girl as a princess and put her first in my life, but you cannot do that if she does not also put you first and in general Western women are either too independent or too selfish to do that. [I will add that I was married to a girl from Minsk for 10 years and have met one girl on this site that nearly reached marriage proposal.)
2. For me the way to develop a relationship is first to identify some commonalities with the girl. There must be common interests because I think first the man and woman should be friends. After the passion has started to subside a little and the years have passed, life struggles will rear their heads. There must be a union that is strong. A foundation that will allow the marriage to succeed. And I want to be with this woman, so we must enjoy each other's company day to day and not just one vacation or in the bedroom. To me, I am looking for someone with common values first and a belief in God. Of course, the deal breakers must not exist. These are different for everyone, for me no smoking, not fond of tattoos. I think that there are some exchanges of letters of information about the life, family, dreams, goals, desires, interests, past experiences. If these are in common, then talk on Skype. It is much better to see the other person, if if the language barrier is total. I know enough Russian to help a conversation along, but you can still talk then type your words and translate them if needed. After I first met my ex-wife, we talked on the telephone with English-Russian dictionaries. Much easier now. For me then, if the friendship has developed and there is also mutual interest and desire, then the discussion can turn to meeting. I think along the way there needs to be a point where the conversation turns serious. Not just talk about the weather and jobs and movies. This is fine in the beginning, but eventually one person or the other will tire of superficiality. I think if the conversation does not start to turn serious, even a little, then it possibly is not going anywhere. For me, my relationship turned serious after 2 months with my ex-wife. With the other girl from the site, it was about 5 months, but she was not online as often, not having her own computer at first.
3. The first meeting is entirely dependent on the people, but if it does not happen at the airport / train station, then it was a mistake. Flowers of course! By this point, there should be some connection and serious feelings, so for me both meetings were very natural and comfortable.
4. The basis for choosing a girl on the site varies for everyone I think. I will try to be general in my terms. Obviously first of all the avatar image is the first item we see. I am shocked by the number of girls who have a picture of them either not smiling or unable to see their face. A picture without a smile is not open and welcoming and less likely to have someone even look at the profile. Just smiling makes a woman more attractive. For me a search would be based on the following criteria (not in order of importance): belief in God, not smoking, age range (too young can be immature and I am still wanting children), height (generally prefer the shorter girls). Only religious beliefs and not smoking are set in stone requirements. Then there should be a well-thought out and answered profile. The girl I met here and became serious with did not have the best profile picture (although she is a very beautiful girl). But her profile questions MADE me want to know her. In it I learned that she was serious marriage-minded and that we had common interests and ideas. She had an advantage in catching me before we even met because of this. If a woman is looking for a husband, but cannot even take the time to present herself and describe herself in words, then it can be considered as not really being very serious and just looking to chat. Lastly are the pictures. I personally am looking for a variety. I would like to see how she looks in natural environment, doing what she enjoys, with family, on vacation. Close up pictures and far away. With pets and children, if she has them. Just a bunch of model shots and pin-up pictures does not give the full idea and I think just draws the attention of the not serious men. For people who say not to include a picture in bathing suit, I disagree. I want my potential wife to be fit and beautiful, but I want to see her in all settings, so show the casual picture in T-Shirt and jeans at home too. For me the picture that drew my attention the most from my ex-wife was one where she was sitting on the floor in casual clothes and bare feet. With the other girl I became serious with, it was a picture of her in swimming pool with her hair pulled back and no make-up.
I hope this has some help or at least was interesting to the girls. Insight to at least part of one man's ideas on the subject.