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Setting up the office and staff for "Russia Magazine" (and seeking your ideas)
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Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Everyone,

Lena and I are setting up the Mogilev Office which will be working on publishing "Russia Magazine," including hiring the staff that will be working on Russian Magazine, as well as chossing the stories and essays that we would like them to be working on...

We would love to receive some ideas as to what kinds of stories, essays and articles that you would find interesting and believe would be useful for others....

We would like to publish this magazine once per month, and include articles on:

1) Russia
2) Russian Culture
3) Russian-Western relationships
4) Russian Women
5) Russian History
6) Russian Arts and Music

...and other topics

We would also like to include Russian poetry, short stories, and photographs of Russia, and even Russian artwork...

We are also wanting to create a Russian Language version of the magazine as well, but we are not sure whether it will have the same or different content as the English edition.

We have registered the domain names "Russiamagazine.org" and Russiamagazine.net" (unfortunately, Russiamagazine.com is already taken)... We are not sure yet whether we should keep Russia Magazine in the RussianInternetGuide.com website, or have RussiaMagazine on it's own website (perhaps RussiaMagazine.org)...

We would love your ideas about what kinds of content, articles and essays that you would be interested in seeing in the magazine, as well as what you think would be interesting for others...

We welcome your feedback...

Khashyar

Posted by: Vyesna

Hee hee-- I guess Russian men will not be a topic?

Who is your intended audience?

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Vyesna...

EVERYTHING Russian will be our topic

even Russian men...

But... this will not be a magazine about Russian women for Western men... although it will include essays and articles about Russian-Western relationships...

I want to serve the interests and needs of all people interested in Russia and Russian culture...

I see this as a non-profit magazine that presents interesting perspective and material about Russian, Russian culture, and Russian current events...

Khashyar

(maybe you cab write an article or two about Russian men

)

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Tasha

I want to make this magazine the premiere online magazine about Russia, so......

I want to include everything interesting about Russia, issues about Russia, and Russian culture... This would include Russian-Western relationships, but that would only be a small part of the subject matter....

Our managing editor would be a Russian (actually Belarusian) living in Belarus, but I would want to include articles from many freelance writers of all backgrounds (both men and women, living in the West and East).

We would also want to include the magazine in both Russian and English... I think that many of the articles will be written first in Russian, and then translated into English, but we will also ahve articles originally written in English as well......

Since I have a background in journalism (and creating websites), then it makes sense for me to be the Excutive Editor...

I welcome article submission from you and everyone from our community as well

I want to explore different topics such as the changing face of Russia, Russian history, and the other topics that I mentioned...

But, this will NOT be a magazine mainly about Russian women and Russian-Western relationships, although we will include some articles about that because it would be of interest to our readers....

Our main objective and focus would be to serve the interest and needs of our readers and community...

I welcome everyone participation and involvement....

Khashyar

Posted by: Vyesna

So basically it's sort of a pop magazine for a broad audience. When I say pop, I mean not scholarly. I was wondering if you were really sort of doing a magazine for Western men looking for RW with some extras. I would encourage avoiding coming off that way, as it will narrow your audience. There are a lot of people interested in Russia generally who are not interested in that particularly.

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Vyesna...

I'm a pretty inclusive person, and I actually want to expand what I do to include as many people as possible...

So, there probably will be some articles about the Russian-Western dating phenomenon, including about Western women dating Russian men (because there are people who are interested in it and can benefit), but I'm looking to focus on a variety of topics that will enrich viewers understanding and experience of Russia and Russian culture...

Even in the Russian Meeting Place, I try to promote a balanced view of Russian-Western relationships in what I write and in what I encourage...

Khashyar

Posted by: Michael Blue

If you need further assistance; I am experienced in literature as well as graphic design and pc-based design.

Email me and let me know if and how I can help!

Posted by: Khashyar

Thank you very much for offer, Michael...

That is kind of you...

Khashyar

Posted by: Vyesna

I know you have tried Khashayar and I appreciate that but, let's face it, the way your website is set up, it looks like it is catering mostly to Western men looking for RW and so probably a lot of people who originally just wanted to discuss other topics about Russia go elsewhere. That's just my impression, based on the actual topics that are posted. In fact, to be perfectly honest, if I hadn't started out with your Yahoo group, I may have come to the site to read (as I do with one Yahoo list catering to American men, where I"ve never posted) occasionally just out of curiosity but I may not have posted ever thinking that no one on the site would welcome the views of any AW.

There's nothing wrong with a site being oriented this way, but if you truly want to broaden your audience with the magazine, think hard about how you are presenting it and maybe do it a little different from the site.

Now, please, don't get offended. If I didn't like your site and didn't think you were trying really hard to be inclusive I would have left a long time ago. I'm talking about first impressions here, which are pretty important for getting people to read anything. If you want to attract people interested in reading about Russia generally, that is, students of Russian in universities, perhaps even scholars, as well as people pursuing Russian-Western relationships, I think you have to present it a bit differently then the site, that's all I'm saying. I guess you probably already know that, though.

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Vyesna...

I think that the majority of Americans who are performing searches online for "Russia" and Russia-related things are men who are interested in Russian women... It's a popular trend right now...

Yes... I try to be inclusive...

Regarding the Russian Meeting Place site... I have tried to provide what I thought would help people, and try to be open to responding to what others say that they would be useful and helpful to them...

I do want to make Russian Magazine (and the Russian Internet Guide) broader in that they do not focus on any aspect of Russia or Russian culture....

Yes, it is true that the RMP website include many things that would be helpful to a person in a Russian-Western relationship (like translation, this discussion forum which speaks about Russia and Russian-Western realtionship issues, and other material)....

I would be happy if there were 50% Western women in Russian Western relationships, and 50% Western men, but there are just many many more Western men in R-W relationships than there are Western women in them. So, it is not that I designed this site for Western men, it is that there are many more Western men in these kinds of relationships and who thus visit the site...

Actually... If you feel that it would be helpful, I would be happy to open a section in this forum about Western women in relationships with Russian men... I'd be happy to do that if you think that there would be women who would find it useful...

But, Russian Magazine (and the Russian Internet Guide) are sites generally about Russia...

(I may move our last two posts to the RMP.com forum section since we are really speaking about the RMP website...)

I think that you realize that I welcome and encourage and sincerely want women and men from the West and Russia to visit this forum and to find it useful...

Thanks for sharing your perspective...

Khashyar

Posted by: Khashyar

P.S. (Vyesna

)... It might be the same if you go to a forum that discusses Mustang cars or... fly fishing... Because men are most interested in those types of subject matter, I am sure that you will find many more men there than women...

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Vyesna...

I just created a forum specifically about relationships between Western women and Russian men...

I hope it will be useful and helpful for Western women and Russian men who are in relationships...

Khashyar

Posted by: Vyesna

That actually wasn't my point, trying to be inclusive of Western women in relationships with Russian men. I really don't think there are very many of us at all and I don't know that it's really worth it to put out much effort on that point. I was just joking about the writing about Russian men part because you said in your first post you're starting a magazine about "Russia", presumably in a very inclusive sense, and yet your list includes "Russian Women" rather than "Russian people". A fine point, but it speaks to my true point, is that are you really trying to move beyond catering to Russian men looking for RW wives or not?

If you are really trying to do a magazine about Russia generally and not about Western-Russian relationships, you have to present it differently from the site. People who are interested generally in Russia are just not necessarily going to be interested in Western-Russian romantic relationships (be they women or men) and if you present your magazine as being mostly about that, they're not going to read it, most likely. I'm not saying don't have articles about that, but I wouldn't make most or even a third of the articles about that.

To put it another way, are you really really interested in attracting students of Russian, expats living in Russia (or that used to), Russian immigrants living in the West (keeping in mind most are married to other Russians, not to Westerners, Russians interested in the West, Westerners interested in Russia (for reasons independent of any personal relationship they may or may not have witha Russian) or is attracting those people just a nice extra if you happen to do so? If the former, then they are not going to read the magazine if your first issue contains mostly articles about immigration procedures for bringing over Russian fiancees, the traditional Russian woman, why Russian women are looking for mates abroad, the ups and downs of Western-Russian relationships, etc. If the latter, then you can concentrate on those types of articles, but then you have to realize that probably you are mostly going to attract Western men looking for RW wives and that is a limited audience. I think that is mostly what has happened to your site, even if that wasn't your intention.

To be even more clear, I'm not complaining about the lack of inclusiveness of AW-RM relationships. I really don't think that has anything to do with the issue. The issue is, what kind of audience do you want? That is how you should figure out your content. If you want a broad audience, then you have to not concentrate on Russian-Western relationships too much, that is just my humble opinion.

Posted by: Vyesna

Quote:

Originally posted by Khashyar
P.S. (Vyesna )... It might be the same if you go to a forum that discusses Mustang cars or... fly fishing... Because men are most interested in those types of subject matter, I am sure that you will find many more men there than women...

There are more men than women looking for a mate in Russia yes, but not necessarily more men than women interested in Russia. These are two different things entirely! This is my point. It almost seems by this post you are conflating the two, as if you have to be involved in Western-Russian relationship to be interested in Russia. There are tons of people interested in Russia who are just not interested in the pheonomenon of Russian-Western relationships. Are you very interested in attracting them to your magazine, or is that not a primary concern? That is all I'm asking.

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Vyesna...

Actually... I do feel that creating a Western women - Russian men forum is important, because it creates a space for people in WW-RM relationships to feel that they are welcome to talk about issues important to them... So, I do feel that this is important...

I included "Russian women" as one topic for Russia Magazine because that is something that many people are interested in reading about...

My intention is not to include a majority of content about Russian women and Russian-Western relationships in Russia Magazine. However, since many readers are interested in this, I believe it would serve the needs of readers to include information about this.....

Regarding what kind of audience that I want.....

I want this magazine to serve the needs of as many people as possible... And to do this, I think it is best to include articles on a broad variety of subjects...

I make a special attempt to be as incusive as possible, and don't feel that our website is another Russian mail-order bride sites... Yes, it attracts many men seeking Western women because there are a lot of Western men out there who are seeking this kind of information. But, I have made a special attempt to be welcoming to everyone, and to serve the needs of everyone...

MANY other Russian-"Western" forums, for example, including a couple of very prominent ones that I know of... openly broadcast that they are for Western men seeking Russian women, and have a bazillion ads for Russian women on their site.....

I have made a conscientious effort to try to include everyone: Western men, Western women, and Russian men and women...

I appreciate everyone's contributions to this website and forum, because I believe that all of our needs can be better served this way...

Khashyar

Posted by: Khashyar

Quote:

Originally posted by Vyesna
There are more men than women looking for a mate in Russia yes, but not necessarily more men than women interested in Russia. These are two different things entirely! This is my point. It almost seems by this post you are conflating the two, as if you have to be involved in Western-Russian relationship to be interested in Russia. There are tons of people interested in Russia who are just not interested in the pheonomenon of Russian-Western relationships. Are you very interested in attracting them to your magazine, or is that not a primary concern? That is all I'm asking.

I do feel that, because of the Russian Marriage phenomenon, there are more men browsing the internet and searching for issues about Russia, than English-speaking people who are just generally interested in Russia. That's the impression that I have received.

Perhaps I will in the future open up a forum that has only one section about Russia-Western relationships

and every other category about Russia and Russian culture... (perhaps on the Russia Magazine site, or the Russian Internet Guide site)... But, I would like to try to consolidate my efforts by keeping the forum in one place, the magazine in anther, and the Russian Internet Guide in another...

Khashyar

Posted by: Vyesna

Okay, now we've established what you really want. Got it. I also know you wanted the forum to be as inclusive as possible, I understand that was your intention. Now this is my point-- on first impression, your site is geared toward Western men looking for Russian wives. I'm not talking about the page you pull up with the forums, I'm talking about the first page. I personally think that because of that we are not getting many people on this forum who are not Western men looking for Russian wives-- there are some exceptions, but not a lot. If you want to get a readership that goes beyond what your site has been able to attract, you are going to need to present it differently from the site. That is my opinion.

So, once again, I appreciate your attempts to be inclusive, I know you are trying BUT keep in mind, I'm interested in Western-Russian relationships as well as Russian history, politics, etc. If I wasn't in a relationship with a Russian personally but was a graduate student of Russian and looking for a forum to talk about "all things Russian" I probably would take one look at your first page and go elsewhere. Do you see what I mean or no? I think the fact that we have no Russian immigrants other than some Russian women in relationships with Western men, no students majoring or pursuing graduate degrees in Russian (that I know of), no one with a general interest in Russian history and culture, etc. participating on the site, that is what has happened. The question is, do you want the same to happen to your magazine? I'm sorry to be blunt, but if you're starting a new venture, you have to look at the hard questions.

Posted by: Vyesna

Quote:

Originally posted by Khashyar
I do feel that, because of the Russian Marriage phenomenon, there are more men browsing the internet and searching for issues about Russia, than English-speaking people who are just generally interested in Russia. That's the impression that I have received.

Khashyar

Yes and no. THere are more men perhaps browsing looking for sites with the word "Russia" in it because they are looking for RW wives. That does not mean, however, that they are the majority of people in the West interested in Russia. Are all or even most of those men truly interested in Russian culture, history and politics? Probably not. Where are you getting this impression? From other men like yourself who are married to RW and sought an RW wife? Have you talked to people who are interested in Russia independent of Western-Russian relationships? If you take all the people living in the U.S. right now who have or are pursuing a major or graduate degree in Russian language and/or studies, I would bet you that number far surpasses the number of men seriously pursuing an RW. If you add to that people who have a general interest in Russia for whatever reason and people who are interested in Russia because that's where their family originally was from, you get even bigger numbers. And out of those people, probably not many are involved personally in a relationship with a person who was born and grew up in Russia. Who is going to be more likely to read a magazine about Russia generally on an ongoing basis? I would guess not the average Western guy pursuing a RW, because that average guy is not doing it because he was interested in Russia in the first place. You may disagree with me, but please consider the point.

Posted by: Khashyar

Yes, Veysna... I of course am going to consider your points...

I wish that there were some statistics about which are the most popular search terms having to do with Russia...

About something that you had mentioned... most of the people who come to the Russian Meeting Place forums do not go to the homepage first... They search on search engines and enter the forum via one of our indexed forum threads, which are almost all listed on search engines...

In fact, "Russian Last Names" is the number one search that brings visitors to our forums

Yes, my intention with Russia Magazine is not to have a photo of Lena and I on the front page, with a link to photo personals and information about Russian women on it

But, I would like to point out that the RMP homepage also has information about news and weather, Photos about Russia in general, and Russian User Reviews. But, I can see how someone might think that a major topic of the site is Russian-Western relationships, although I am aware to use the terms "Russian-Western relationships/ marriage" and not "Western men looking for Russian brides" and those kind of terms that would exclude Russian men and Western women from the website...

As I had mentioned, I may eventually create different emphasies (what's the plural of emphasis?

) for each of the sites, and reorganize them a bit... The RMP site may emphasize R-W relationships, and Russia Magazine more about Russian arts and culture and current events, and the Russian Internet Guide about Russian reference, websites, and product reviews....

...I would be interested to read statistics about the demographics of English-speaking internet users who search for information about Russia....

You make thoughtful points, Vyesna...

Posted by: Khashyar

Hi Vyesna...

I respect you and the points you are making...

I have to leave now and pick up Lena from her out-of-the-house job.. so... I feel that we had a thoughtful conversation, and I appreciate that...

I do think that I want to split this thread into a Russia Magazine and a "What is this website and forum all about" section... But I will do this another time...

If you are interested, think of a topic to write an article about regarding Russia for Russia Magazine...

Take care (and have a good night),

Khashyar