Dear Reader,
If
you are one of the many
Westerners who harbor the myth that most or all Russian women are
desperate to
leave their country or want a green card, then please read my article
below and
consider the 12 points that I make which prove it to be a narrow-minded
egocentric American myth. These points are based on my
experiences of
being many months in
Regards,
Winston
12
Reasons Why Russian Women are NOT
Desperate
to Leave Their Country:
A
Complete Debunking of the American Myth
By
Winston Wu
This article addresses a myth
that comes up often during discussions about Russian women.
Many ignorant
Westerners (who have never been to Russia obviously) believe that most
women in
Russia are desperate to leave their country and get a green card to
America, or
they pose that as the explanation for why Russian women treat us men so
much
better and are more open and friendly than their Western
counterparts.
This myth is especially common among feminists and arrogant
men. These
people make snap judgments about something they know nothing
about.
However, this common myth is completely wrong, and I will demonstrate
this from
every factual angle in this article.
Now,
before I begin keep in
mind that this fallacy is based on a false and egocentric premise that Americans are
what everyone would be like if there were no ulterior motives. That is a major fallacy. Do you really think that humans are
unapproachable and stuck up in their default natural state?! Get real. Just because people are different in other
countries or
regions doesn't mean that they must have ulterior motives or a hidden
agenda. Differences are to be expected based on
culture, genes,
economics, mentality, socio-economic variables, and intangible factors even. For
instance,
1) First of all, the simple fact is that most
women in Russia are NOT trying to leave their country to live abroad. (In fact, most people in any country are not
trying to leave it.) I've met hundreds
of women in Russia, some casually, some I dated, and some as friends. Out of them, only a few claimed they
seriously intend on emigrating to America (and I mean move there, not just
visit).
In fact, the percentage of the
female population in Russia who belong to marriage agencies is far less than
one percent of the population. According
to the statistics on the Myths section of Elena's site (http://www.womenrussia.com/myths.htm)
the percentage of the women in Russia affiliated with marriage agencies looking
for foreign men is about 0.13 percent of the total population. That's about a tenth of one percent! Such a stat is only an estimate of course,
but the point is that the women looking to leave their country for good is a
very small percentage of the whole, contrary to what many Americans believe and
what our media likes to perpetuate.
Through the many diverse Russian
women I've met in 12 cities over many months, here is what I've learned. The average Russian woman loves to travel to
other countries due to their love of foreign culture, curiosity, and sense of
adventure. But they are not looking to
move abroad permanently. It is rare to
find one with the sole purpose of moving abroad.
Those that are considering moving
abroad are not usually desperate to do so anyway. It is rare to find a person in Russia who is
desperate to leave their country, but as always, those who are, are the ones
who make the news, getting attention which contributes to this myth. Furthermore, many women who join internet
marriage agencies are not even willing to leave their country, but are just
scammers without serious intentions who get a high off of having men come and
spend money on them, wine and dine them, etc.
And even among the sincere women in marriage agencies, they are usually
just considering it as an option anyway, not basing all their hopes on it. Their view is that they would consider moving
abroad for the right man that they fall in love with, but relocating is not
their primary objective. Finding the
right man for them is.
And even among these few who want
to relocate, most of them prefer Europe rather than America because a) the
proximity is more convenient to allow them to come back to visit their
families, and b) European culture is closer and more compatible with Russian
culture, and nowhere near the extreme shock one feels transitioning from Russia
to America.
In fact, I met more Russian women
who wanted to move to Germany than America.
For some reason, they have an affinity for Germany (despite what that
country did to them in the Second World War), though they say they don’t know
why, and many Russian women speak German as a second language rather than
English.
I think this myth began as a rant
started by feminists to defend their pride against the tide of Western men who
are looking for women abroad, painting the men as desperate losers and the
foreign women as conniving users who want a green card. Plus, America likes to think that the world
revolves around them for some reason (it doesn’t and the well traveled soon
learn this). Probably the media further
perpetuated it to appease these feminists, whom are the main audience for their
advertisers. Our media's other purpose
is to motivate you to get up and go to work or school everyday to keep our
economy/society productive. One of the
ways of doing this is to make you think that other people are worse off than
you and would give anything to be in your shoes. And of course, bad news sells better for the
media and its advertisers, since people like to believe that others are worse
off than they are and would give anything to be in their shoes, to keep
themselves motivated in their current situation in life.
To get an idea of Russian
people's views on emigration, check out these interviews with everyday people
there at this site. You will see that
almost none of them are trying to leave their country.
http://www.waytorussia.net/Features/RussianPeople.html
Also, many Russian women are not
even drawn to the USA. For example,
here's what a Russian girl from Moscow that I corresponded with said to me in a
letter:
Elvira:
"To
be honest i don't like usa at all, i can move there but only if it is strongly
needed (if i fall for an american). Many of my friends was there(with families
or for student exchange Work&travel usa) and say something similar to:
"they have no culture, but the money... money and nothing more is
interesting for them", Doesnt sound inspiring.."
Perceptions of American life such
as hers are more common than you might think.
Now, here is a challenging question for the Westerners out there who
believe in this myth. I have heard that
in Saudi Arabia, the natives see Americans there who came on a spiritual
pilgrimage to Mecca, which they consider the spiritual center of the
world. This leads them to assume that
most Americans must be desperate to leave their country to come to Saudi Arabia
and Mecca. After all, that's what they
see happening around them. Now, let me
ask you this. Are they right that most
Americans are trying to leave their country to find salvation in Saudi
Arabia? Is that what they would find if
they came here? If not, then why
not? After all, that's what they see
going on in their country. They are
doing the same thing YOU do, looking around their immediate surroundings and
making snap judgments. You see a few
Russians around you in your country, hear stories on your news, etc. and assume
that most Russians want to come to your country. Their reasoning process is no
different than yours.
Do you see how faulty and narrow
your myth is now?
In fact, there's really no such
thing as a "Russian mail order bride" anymore than there is a Santa
Claus. You cannot just go online and
"order" a wife or bride. That
denigrating term and concept was created by our media for political and social
reasons to keep men in fear and appease the feminists. You can read about this in more detail at:
http://www.womenrussia.com/mail_order_brides/
http://www.womenrussia.com/russianwomen/escape.htm
Also check out the FAQ's and
misconceptions section of:
http://www.wtw.org/mob/Lies.htm
Sorry folks, but the truth is, in
real life you can't "buy" or "order" a bride from Russia,
contrary to the fictional concept created by our media. Those marriage/introduction/dating agencies
out there simply allow you to purchase their womens' contact information, not
sell away their individual rights to anyone.
You've still got to win their hearts or attraction to you. Of course
there are scammers on the Russian bride agencies, as well as gold diggers and
visa whores. But even in those cases, you are still not “ordering” someone to
be your bride.
2) Second, as I mentioned above, most of the
women that are in those online marriage agencies are NOT there for the sole
purpose of getting out the country. They
are there because there is a shortage of good men in their country who behave
decently and can financially provide for them (see the next point on surpluses
and shortages) and they want to see if they can meet such a man for them. IF they meet that right man, THEN they will
consider relocating to his country if he wishes. But their main objective is NOT to get out of
their country!
Now, if you want to claim that
some of these Russian women want a foreign man because he has more money and is
a better provider, that may be a factor, but you've also got to ask yourself,
how is that any different from an American woman (or any woman for that matter)
who wants a partner who has money and is financially stable? Most women do not
marry a man just for their money. There has to be more to the relationship than
just money usually. Russian women are human beings too, so why shouldn’t the same
apply to them? Motives are not mutually exclusive, contrary to what some ignorant
people want to believe.
Even a Russian woman who wants to
leave their country wants to at least leave with someone they LOVE and are
COMPATIBLE with them, not just anybody!
Just because someone wants a foreign mate doesn't mean they'll take
anyone! Common sense should tell you
that. Think about it and put yourself in
their shoes. If you wanted to move to a
country by marrying someone there, would you take anyone, or something you are
compatible with and love? So why would
it be any different for a Russian woman who wanted to marry a foreigner? People are so quick to believe the worst
about others, which is sad because it marks a sign of a dysfunctional psyche.
3) Third, in Russia there is a big SURPLUS of
attractive mentally healthy single women, rather than a shortage like in the
US. In the US there is a surplus of nice
good single men and a shortage of nice attractive mentally healthy single
women. As a result, even the less
attractive women in the US can afford to become pickier, and good single
American men can easily have trouble finding available decent women. Just go to any bar or nightclub in the US and
you'll see that usually the men outnumber the women. And even the unattractive women in those
places seem like princesses to the surplus of disgruntled chumps there. It's a really pathetic scene for the nice
guy.
But in Russia, the deck is
stacked in the average man's favor rather than against him like in the US. The surplus of available women is another
factor in why Russian women are friendly and approachable.
In fact, a Russian woman I corresponded
with named Natasha wrote this below in response to my question of why she was
seeking a foreign mate.
Me:
"Why
do you seek foreign relations?”
Natasha:
“Because
its very difficult to find someone special in my city. I live in a small city,
we have a lot of girls, but not many boys. Some of boys doesn't want to have
serious relationship, they want to have girl for one night, you understand what
i mean. Some of them like to have fun and not care about future, some of them
marryed and some of them prefer to drink to much. That is why i'm trying to
find someone special abroad."
Well she has a good point there
if you think about it. If the women
outnumber the men, then the men will be less inclined to marry or have serious
relationships because they are able to play around and have multiple
relationships at the same time. Not that
that's a good thing, but that describes the nature of many men. (However, I have to admit that unfortunately,
this also means that many Western men who go to the Former Soviet Union will
also be tempted to not get serious in a monogamous relationship, and instead
just to play around with multiple women.)
4) Fourth, the women in Russia are naturally
communicative, inclusive, curious, and intellectual. They typically have a wide variety of
interests too. Therefore, they are
obviously going to be naturally outgoing and communicative with me out of sheer
curiosity if nothing else. This is also
true of European women as well, which as we know, do not have a reputation for
being desperate to leave their country.
And it’s true of foreign women in general as well. This just goes to show that women everywhere
CAN be friendly to strangers, open, and inclusive, without there being an
ulterior motive.
5) Fifth, I can tell you from experience that
overt friendliness, inclusiveness and hospitality is an integral part of
Russian culture. As my friend Masha told
me after my first trip to Russia:
"I
don't think that Russians treated you so well only to your being a rich,
Hospitality is an integral part of Russian character, and you can see it during
travelling by trains when people in one compartment became good friends,
spending together not much time and treating each other with their food. On my
way to Izhevsk, I was in one compartment with an old woman and spent 2 days
together and she told me about all her life since her childhood and when she
got off the train( but earlier than I) she introduced me to all her relatives
who came to meet her at the station. So, don't think that you was met good only
due to your been a foreigner, rich foreigner, may be, you can't understand why they did so, and I
can't explain-it's Russian character, if you'll come to Russia again and live
for a while, may be then you will understand and even feel why."
Well she was right. After many months in Russia the second time,
I experienced what she meant. I
definitely felt the hospitality and friendliness that was an integral part of
Russian culture and soul. I could sense
the natural inclusive vibe of the social environment, which was much better for
my mental health than the isolationism of the states. It is something that exists naturally,
straight from the depths of people's souls, without agenda or motive. And it's sad that many Americans cannot
fathom such a concept that's above their heads, since in our western
materialistic individualistic society, actions almost always have motives and
agendas. That says sad things about what
our society, though economically prosperous, has become. Our mistaken mentality is that just because
we tend to be agenda-driven, does not mean other people are too.
6) Sixth, Russian women come from a different
economic/social system than ours, which give them a different mentality and
social attitude than us. Our country is
based on a strong capitalistic system that is Darwinistic in nature and fosters
individualism. Competition is the basis
of our culture and economy, and therefore becomes our mentality as well. This means that people either have money, or
they are striving to be better than everyone else. This competitive mentality eventually leads
us to become more "stuck up" toward others than we would otherwise
be. We evaluate others in terms of their
worth, and compare ourselves to them.
This creates a rivalry mentality that leads fellow human beings in our
country to see each other as opponents or adversaries. And sadly enough, having a lot of money and material
possessions changes your attitude toward others, making you more spoiled and
"stuck up".
On the other hand, countries like
Russia are accustomed to a more socialistic system that is less individualistic
and competitive in nature. Therefore, people's
mentality and attitude are going to be different obviously. In poor countries, people don't have as much
money and material possessions, so therefore they are not so spoiled and
"stuck up" as people in capitalist countries. What they lack in material assets, they make
up for in personality and soulfulness.
It's a simple trade-off here. In
the US, it's vice versa of course.
Therefore, it is not realistic to expect them to be the same as us (and
thank goodness for that). And that's one
reason why people in general in Russia are more open and friendly. Therefore, the major factor in why Russian
women are so much friendlier and open has to do with the economic/social system
they live under and the mentality it produces, and not because they are desperate
to leave their country.
7) Seventh, women in Russia have a natural
admiration for men, as long as they are good, decent, kind, and have good
character. They do not have the deep
rooted hatred for men that American women have who were brought up with by
their mothers, peers, and feminist media.
Any sane man would obviously prefer to be around the former than the
latter, since obviously the former brings out the best in men while the latter
brings out the worst in them.
Nowadays in America many women
seem to have a deep-rooted subconscious hatred of men. Even if they like a man at first, they seem
to look for excuses or ways to hate him later, even going so far as fabricating
reasons or manipulating facts. First
they bring out the WORST in them, and then use that AGAINST them as well,
justifying their hatred of men, and making it a no-win situation for the
man! Not all are like this of course,
but many are. It seems like some kind of
psychosis or control drama that has become a disturbing pattern. Every man's nightmare is seeing his woman
whom he thought loved him, suddenly becoming cold, cruel, and flaky. It's a creepy and shocking experience.
In addition, nowadays American
women don't even NEED men anymore, so they treat them as expendable and
unnecessary. They have all the
advantages in our society now - money, career, the legal system on their side,
the ability to get jobs with their looks rather than qualifications, etc. and
they simply don't need (or even like) men anymore. That's the growing trend, and with their
goddess mentality, they demand that men be submissive, lest they be seen as
creeps or chauvinistic pigs.
In fact, all the foreign people
I've met in my travels seem to either have a negative opinion of American women,
or else they've heard nothing but negative things about them. Now, do you think that's a pure
coincidence? Do you think that's due to
no fault of American women? Do you think
this international reputation of women in America is the result of "evil
American men" (sarcastic)? lol What
does common sense tell you?
8) Eighth, there are many American man/Russian
woman couples who live together in Russia.
I have met some of them too. You
just don't hear about them because our media doesn't cover them. Now, if the Russian woman in these couples was
desperate to leave their country, then why would they choose to stay in
Russia? Some of the men in these couples
told me that their Russian wife/girlfriend preferred to stay in Russia, and so
they stayed with them.
9) Ninth, the Russian women I met who weren't
trying to leave their country or seeking relations with foreign men didn't
treat me any less better than those who did.
They were just as warm and enthusiastic toward me, and were willing to
spend time with me and get to know me.
The same goes for those who didn't have a romantic interest and just
wanted to be friends.
10) Tenth, if they were desperate and saw me as a
ticket out of Russia, why would some dump me if they didn't think we were
compatible? And why didn't I get a 100
percent response rate from the ones I wrote, if it didn't matter who wrote to
them, only that he could take them out of their country?
11) Eleventh, here is another good point made on
an internet article I read that I didn't consider before. It made sense and is another factor at work
here, so let me quote it.
http://www.womenrussia.com/russianwomen/escape.htm
"The
truth of the matter is, that the percentage of Russian women who are looking
for their "soul mates" through the internet is no greater than the
percentage of women from western countries such as England, Canada, Australia
and the United States who are searching the Internet for their future
spouse!!!!
Here
is an interesting tidbit: With the population of Russia at approximately 170
million people as compared to the United State's population of more than 250
million people, why is it that you don't see as many dating agencies from other
countries?
The
answer, is a simple one... CHOICE!!!
Women,
from the USA and most other Western Nations have choices to use or not to use
the services of a dating agency. Almost all women from western countries have
computers at home or at work. The Internet services in most of these countries
are ridiculously low when compared with the cost of the same services in
Russia.
Only
a few very big Russian cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg have Internet
services that are more or less affordable for an average person. Russia is a
huge country, with its eleven time zones from East To West and is just now
establishing Internet services. It is only within the last three or four years
that the Internet service providers have begun to take hold within Russia and
the fees for their monthly services are out of reach to most Russian citizens.
It is not uncommon for most Internet services to cost $100.00 or more, a month.
With the average salary, for example, for a Russian doctor being around a
$100.00, it is a luxury few citizens can afford. But, we are talking about a
single woman or a one-parent household.
Do
you think that the average American single mother could afford this kind of
money for Internet services? So, this is the reason why you see so many Russian
dating agencies! Russian women HAVE TO USE their service!"
12) Twelfth and finally, despite all of the
above, the bottom line here is that women in Russia are VERY APPROACHABLE! That is the reality, regardless of the
reasons for it. Whether they like you or
not, whether they are interested or not, whether they are available or not,
they are extremely approachable at least. And often, they are warm and
enthusiastic toward you, even on the first meeting. They almost NEVER give you
that look that American women do when you approach them that says "Who are
you? If you don't know me and aren’t in my clique, you aren't supposed to be
talking to me.” This means that you
never feel awkward, uncomfortable, or like a creep for approaching them. And that’s because unlike the prudish
puritanical USA, men are allowed to act on their desires in Russia and most
countries where such behaviors are not seen as creepish/perverted or
criminal. Even if she’s a model or
married, she won’t get offended or defensive toward you for your interest and
initiative. You feel like there's
nothing to lose. And that's a BIG
difference.
In contrast, in the US, when you
try to approach and meet a girl you find attractive but don't know, it feels
awkward and “out of bounds” as if you are crossing a boundary or violating some
rule. They make you feel like you are a
creep because in their minds, strangers don’t talk to each other unless it’s
business-related. That awkward feeling
makes it an uphill battle that really sucks and shouldn't be that way,
especially when once you see that other places aren’t that way..
Also, Russian women are not only
approachable to me because I am a foreigner or because they want something from
me. It's how they naturally are. They are that way to Russian men too. So it's not really about me, but about THEM! They are warm and enthusiastic by
nature. European and foreign women in
general are like that too, even if they are from economically stable countries
that don’t idealize the USA, which proves that women can be that way without
having an ulterior motive. Though I try
to keep them as the focus, my critics tend to prefer to focus on finding fault
with me instead. How convenient.
What the critics don't understand
is that it's not really about my status as an American to them, or they wanting
my money or a visa to the US. They have an open direct personality that is
similar to my own that I naturally click with. On the other hand, I've always
found it hard to connect or click with the typical mainstream hot American
airhead girl who likes to blurt "Alright!" and "Yeah!" I don't know why. It's like there's nothing there but a pretty
shell, or maybe they're just too different from me.
Testing
my claims from your home
You might think that in order to
test my claims above, you would have to go to Russia yourself. You could do that of course, but I have a
simpler way for you to do it right from home.
And no, it doesn't involve looking for Russian women in your local home
town either (after all, would you try to learn what black people are like in
Africa from black people in America?).
Rather, it involves contacting average ordinary Russian women on a pen
pal site designed for friendship and cultural exchange. Remember that since this is not a marriage
agency or dating site, you will almost never find scammers or conniving gold
diggers on it. Therefore, the Russian
women from this site are much more representative of the average typical
females in their country. Here is the
link:
http://www.sv-agency.udm.ru/sv/penpal.php
Now select "Russia"
from the countries menu and click on the "Search" button. Around 500 results will come up, comprised
mostly of Russian female ads. You can
write the ones you find interesting individually, or just send them all a mass
form letter to save time. Many will
write you back and from their letters and words, you can get a glimpse of the
traits and qualities in them that I describe in this essay. But most importantly, to test my main claim
here that they aren't desperate to leave their country, you can poll them or
ask their opinion about moving to America.
You find that you will be lucky to find even one in a hundred among them
who is seeking to move permanently to America.
Try it and you'll see what I mean.
It will definitely show this myth to be in vain.
Conclusion
The people making these rash
statements about Russian women being desperate to leave their country have
never even been to Russia. No one who
has spent extensive time there thinks that people there are desperate to leave
their country. Most Russians are very
proud of their country and culture, and it shows in their traditions,
architecture, music, holidays, vibes, etc.
From what I've learned, the
reasons why Russian women treat me better and give me much more attention are
more due to the following:
1) They are NATURALLY friendlier, inclusive and
more open than women in the West. As
mentioned above, they lived under a different economic/societal system than
ours that didn't cultivate a competitive selfish mentality in them like ours
does. And as we all know, people from poorer
countries are less spoiled and selfish too.
They make up in personality and soulfulness what they lack in material
possessions.
2) As already mentioned, women in Russia are
almost always APPROACHABLE, both to foreigners and locals, whether they're
interested or not and whether they’re available or not (which further debunks
the myth that their friendliness is a cover for ulterior motives). One can speculate on the reasons for it, but
that's the reality. But in fact, most
foreign women are like this too, even the ones who are from economically
prosperous countries that don’t idealize the US.
3) They are naturally curious, communicative,
intellectual, and exploratory by nature.
There is a free-spirited uninhibited playfulness about them which you
would have to experience to know what I mean.
These are common traits I've noticed in a very high proportion of
Russian women I've met.
4) They have a natural admiration for men, as
long as he is good, decent, kind, and with good character, rather than the deep
rooted hatred for men that American women have influenced by their mothers,
peers, and feminist media. Therefore,
they bring out the best in a man, rather than the worst.
5) Some Russian women perceived me as rich and
wealthy by their standards (even if I told them that I'm not).
6) Those that don't care about money still see
me as an exotic and interesting novelty, or as a chance to practice their
English with.
7) Finally, like I said earlier, there is a big
surplus of attractive single women in Russia, and a shortage of good men who
can treat a women right (which is inverse to the US). Therefore, a lot of nice single women who
have trouble finding a good available man see me as a valuable find.
Some Russian women are friendly
to me due to one of these factors, others are due to a combination of
them. But as you can see above, NONE of
the reasons have to do with them being desperate to leave their country.
And besides, even if Russian
women only liked me because they want to leave their country (which they don't
of course), so what? It would still
change nothing because the bottom line is that I meet women in Russia easily
and am in the game there. That’s what’s important. And as long as everything is
consensual, what business is it of anyone else? To claim that I shouldn't
pursue fulfillment with people who might have ulterior motives would be like
telling someone not to buy something they want at Walmart because "Walmart
only wants your money". I mean sure Walmart might want your money, but
they are offering you something you want or need as well. It’s a barter. People
have a right to pursue their needs in a consenting way. And just because what I do is unconventional
doesn't mean it's wrong or bad.
A
matter of personal qualification
If
you still doubt this, then ask yourself this.
Who is more qualified to comment on whether Russian women are desperate
to leave their country, someone like me who has been to many cities in Russia,
traveled around there for many months, met hundreds of people and had lots of
experiences, or the egocentric American who never goes abroad, gets his/her
information from the egocentric US media, and makes snap judgments about people
there being desperate to leave?
You
know, I hate it when people are so judgmental.
It's one thing to be judgmental about something you have a lot of
knowledge in, which I can respect. But
when people are judgmental about something they know almost nothing about,
that's ridiculous and a big turn off to me.
The
reasons I elaborated on obviously prove that this ignorant myth about desperate
Russian women is wrong. I have been
acquainted with many Russian women, and I can tell you that the majority of
them do not act desperate or project those kind of vibes. They are simply more open, modest, unspoiled,
friendly, unparanoid, etc. and do not have the self-righteous and arrogant tone
that many American women (and sometimes men) have.
A
final warning
By the way, I should warn you
though, that once you go to Russia and experience what I'm talking about, you
will NEVER get used to the way women are in America again. Ever.
Seriously. They will seem so masculine
and monstrous in comparison to the women you experienced in Russia and Eastern
Europe. Something deep inside of you
will change too, and you won't be the same person afterward. You have to experience it to truly understand
what I mean.
Picture this. Imagine being in an environment like Russia
surrounded by women who admire men and bring out the best in you, getting used
to that for many months, and then coming back home to be surrounded again by
women who hate men, bringing out the worst in you. Then you'll better understand what I mean
about how hard it is to get used to that.
Thanks for reading.
Best Regards,
Winston
Addendum
Here
are 12 more reasons that my Expat Advisor added to my list above.
Ladislav
Posted: May 24 2004, 12:01 PM
Twelve reasons:
1) There is no place like home. Even if other places have
more money. Do you
see Americans who desperate to leave and go and live in Luxembourg,
Brunei and
Kuwait or move to Switzerland because there is more money there?
2)Different language. If you cannot speak English why would you want to
go to
the US? Unlike in Hollywood movies where Russians speak perfect English
albeit
with an accent, in that country most people do not speak English and
are not
seriously studying it. Why should they? Who are they going to speak it
to?
Unless you are in a big city, you will probably never meet a foreigner
in all
of your life.
3)Propaganda- as most countries, especially big ones, Russia teaches
its
citizens that their country is the best. Other countries are potrayed
as worse
than Russia ( Yeah, right).
4) America is portrayed as a dangerous country with a high crime rate,
drugs,
homos and various perversions and depravity everywhere ( never mind
that the
Russian crime rate is twice as high and there is enormous alcoholism
problem
and that sexually Russia is freer than the US-the fact that America is
still
largely puritanical in so much of its culture is not even mentioned).
Russia is
shown as a safer, better country with highly "moral" people. ( which
is pure BS, but that is how most nations indoctrinate their citizenry).
5) Leaving family behind. Would you like to leave all your relatives
behind and
go live 4000 miles away for the next several decades?
6)Culture. You will miss the movies, the literature, the nature and all
those
other things.
7) You will miss your friends. Will you easily make new ones in the new
homeland?
8)Life is not so bad in Russia as it is portrayed in the West. Things
are cheap
and services are cheap, too. Little money can go a long way. There is a
lot of
freedom there, now, too.
9)America is very far away. Geographically and culturally. France , for
one,is
closer and people would probably be happier to go and live in France if
they
had the choice.
10) The mystic attachment to "Rodina"- the Motherland- Russians
generally do not like to live in other countries- that is why there are
so few
of them outside of Russia- unlike Anglo-Saxons who do not mind going
and
colonizing huge continents and never truly missing England again.
11) Logistical problems- it is a big undertaking to go and move to
another
country.
12) General fear of the unknown.
My 2c.