I wanted to post some of my thoughts and suggestions for writing your first introductory letter to a Russian woman (or women).

I think that I will develop these suggestions, and incorporate Lena's words as well, and post them on the website so that it might be helpful to some of the men interested in meeting and developing a relationship with a Russian woman.

Here are some general guidelines about writing Russian women:

1) In your first letter, be aware of trying to make a good first impression. Of course you want to be present yourself truthfully, honestly and sincerely, but at the same time, present yourself in your most appealing light so that others can see your positive sides.

2) Write a very good first letter that describes who you are, how old you are, and that gives a person a good sense of who you are as a person. Be sincere and honest, and try to allow the person you are writing to get a good sense of who you are, what you believe, what you expect from a relationship, why you are seeking a relationship overseas, and what your beliefs about family are.

3) Try not to make your letter too long or too short. Try to communicate who you are as clearly as you can within one page. If you feel compelled to write more than one page, and you feel that it will give the person more valuable information, then write more than a page, but be conscious of only including in your letter what is necessary and how it will be received to a non-native speaker of English.

4) If possible, translate part or all of your letter into Russian so that non-native speakers can better understand your letter. Many Russian women do not speak English at all (or very little English), and so translating your introductory letter into Russian helps you communicate yourself more clearly to a Russian-speaking woman, as well as gives a Russian woman a positive impression that you are thoughtful enough to take the time to translate your letter. There are some different places to translate your letters, Lena offers one free translated letter if you subscribe for a 3 month membership to the Russian Meeting Place Personals, and also offers inexpensive quality Russian translations ($8 per 200 character page) whereby Lena personally translates your letter. There are also other sources of Russian-English translation as well.

5) Again, In general, you want to be aware of making a good first impression. Create a good quality photo that you can send Russian women in your correspondences. By good quality, I mean in good lighting (not in bright contrasty light that will produce a lot of shadows on your face, and not dark photos where you cannot see your eyes or face. Also, it is better to send a good photo of you and that shows your face so that they can feel like they get a sense of who you are. I personally would avoid sending photos of cars, boats, houses, etc., because they might get the impression that you are boasting or trying to win them over with your money and possessions, or you might attract women who are actually interest in you for your money and material possessions. It is better to describe your living environment and living conditions after you have already gotten to know someone through writing letters and corresponding. Dress reasonably well in your photos. Don't wear shorts, shave, don't wear baseball hats, etc. People from the former Soviet Union tend to dress more formally than Americans do, but I advise men looking to communicate with women from the former Soviet Union to think about what would make a good first impression on a woman on the other side of the world who will know nothing about you other than what you send her in your first correspondence.

6) Include your email address clearly in your email. Many Russian women are not familiar with the internet or email, and you really have to make your contact email address clear to them.

7) Since Russian women most often don't have a computer at home, be patient for the amount of time that it takes for her to respond. Usually, the internet in Russia costs from $1-$2 per hour, while the average salary of a Russian person is about $100 per month (and less in Ukraine and some other countries). She may only check her emails once a week, and then, she may choose to be prudent with her internet time and respond to the men's messages who have taken the time and care to write something substantial and not just "Hello, my name is xxxxx. I think you're attractive. Here is my email address: xxxxx@abcdefg.com. I'm including a photo of myself with my [expensive] car and [big] house."

I hope these ideas are of some help...

Khashyar

*(You can find much more in-depth information about Russia, and helpful advice from Lena, Khashyar and others in the Russian Meeting Place's active Russian-Western Discussion Forums)

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