I expect this kind of nonsense answer from some of the women, they have some solidarity in their ranks but your comment is an example of the problem that exists among men of today. Dwindling are the men who valued real traits, like honesty and integrity and in vogue became this need to coddle everybody and be the nice guy instead of being a man who is willing to be unliked sometimes to stand up for what matters. You pay lip service to the idea of being a gentleman and speak of honesty but when you see somebody treated to dishonesty you don't wish for that man to act like a man, you wish that man to meekly accept it and blame him for it and turn on your brethren. This isn't the behavior of a gentleman or a real man. 

This notion that a man cannot ask a woman about her past is silly and ridiculous. When you are at the point of making the choice to spend your life with somebody there is no discussion that should be off the table. If you cannot speak of everything honestly then that is a relationship that is not strong enough to survive lifes struggles as there will be bigger discussions than this one in a marriage to be sure. The truth is not all pasts are equal, and a man deserves the right to know what he is getting into, is he with a woman who has dated, loved, lost and looks to find it again, or is he with a former party girl who abused drugs for a decade and is now clean but battles her addiction,  is he with a girl who has never been in love before and is not really sure what it takes to be in a long term relationship, is he with a girl who looks at life with a cavalier attitude and has had countless sexual partners and liasons, all these are relevant pieces of information in getting to know your partner. Now there are some men who are weak and pathetic and any life before them is a problem, those guys deserve to be alone before they inflict their mental issues on somebody else but there is nothing wrong with a man to wish to go into a life long commitment with his eyes wide open about his partner. Better to know before a commitment is made that there is an issue than to find out after. I would expect a woman to do the same, any time a woman gets serious with me I am asked about my financial background and there is no problems for me so it is an easy discussion but if somebody else had a bankruptcy for example that affects a potential womans life going forward and she deserves to ask and get the truth, she needs to know that info before she uproots her life. There are questions you have to be able to ask a partner. You say you don't know Russian and Eastern European women, well I am not an authority either but I have gotten to know some very well as we are friends here in Canada and they are incredibly strong women and direct women, it takes a hell of a lot more than a hard question to break them and they are not afraid to tell you how it is, so if they are not being up front, you have a reason to question. The only reason to hide something is shame, fear or disingenous motives...none of the 3 are good ways to enter a commitment. A real man asks the tough questions and is willing to face some tough answers. He doesn't hide from them!

I think a woman would be happiest to have a man she can be completely honest with and not have to hide herself from.