(Former) Soviet Union women?

[The_Hero_of_Men]

I am reading Feminist Fantasies (by Phyllis Schlafly) and she mentions somewhere that giving a roll of toilet paper to a (Former) Soviet Union woman is the same thing as giving an american woman flowers or candy (a very romantic gift). To anyone who has lived in the USSR, is this true?

[Jester]

I've only been in Armenia not Ukraine or Russia etc. But it was all Soviet then.

The answer in my very limited experience is no.

Maybe in the 1960's that was the case. There were lines to buy it, even in advanced areas like Estonia and Armenia. When I was there it wasn't great but it was okay.

Maybe Mrs. Schlafly is thinking of the old Robin Williams movie, Moscow on the Hudson. The opening sequence has him buying American t.p. on the black market and ringing it home to his gf as a romantic gesture.

The only other thing I could add to that would be that when we went over there in the 1970's, even though the people didn't have lipstick, toiletries, etc., we felt like the gifts we brought were too downscale - like visiting a primitive tribe in the Congo. When they give gifts over there, they give quality stuff you will keep and remember them buy. Ideally stuff that can even be shown off. Certainly the russkies over here now are quality-minded folks.

If you do happen to take some fancy kind of high-end grooming item it might be appreciated - *IF* you already know the lady well. Not if it's a first meeting.

But I would sure not try to put that in place of flowers and candy. If doing flowers do it big. Russians like to do things theatrically.

Russian chocolate, btw, is some of the best in the world.

Dosvidanya.

[Google]

I am reading Feminist Fantasies (by Phyllis Schlafly) and she mentions somewhere that giving a roll of toilet paper to a (Former) Soviet Union woman is the same thing as giving an american woman flowers or candy (a very romantic gift). To anyone who has lived in the USSR, is this true?

it's ridiculous.

Russian chocolate, btw, is some of the best in the world.

Dosvidanya.

also some of the best chocolate is Ukrainian "Svitoch" or " Roshen"

[PeterAndrewNolan]

Not that I have heard of.....if she can buy her own she will.

Funnily enough they do like gifts out of all proportion to the value of the gift.

My fav#1 (Ukrainian) had a birthday a few years back and I figured we would not see another birthday together. I was right. So I decided to buy her something really, really nice. Something permanent. I sent her a text and gave her a budget of EUR500 and gave her instructions on what I wanted her to buy. The gift itself was her choice but I set the parameters.

She called inside 5 minutes and asked if I really sent the text. She thought it might be a mate of mine she knows trying to get her into trouble!! LOL!!!

I assured her it was from me and that the offer was real. I thought nothing more of it. A EUR500 birthday gift is neither here nor there to me.

About 3 or 4 days later I get this call from her. She has been out each afternoon looking for this gift. I was surprised she spent so much time and I asked her why. She told me no one had EVER offered to buy her such a gift before. She was standing in the store and she said she had the gift she wanted in front of her. So I asked why she was calling me. Her answer was

"this is the most beautiful necklace I have every had the opportunity to buy in my life. I want to be sure I will be able to keep it and you will not make me bring it back."

I laughed my arse off. Anyway...the necklace was only EUR350. I must say. It is a stunning piece of jewelry that matches her very well.

I have NEVER seen a woman so thankful for a gift. Certainly NEVER my wife! LOL!!

[Jester]

Nice to have done that. Classy way to wind things up. I guarantee you remembers you when she wears it.

[PeterAndrewNolan]

Nice to have done that. Classy way to wind things up. I guarantee you remembers you when she wears it.

She certainly does...she has told me so. We remain friendly.....we split in an october.....that christmas I was sitting in my place alone just working away as I have no family to talk to now. The phone rings and it is her. I asked her why she had called me for christmas since we had split. Her answer was "just because I do not want to marry you does not mean I should not call you for christmas". So I asked her who else she called. Only her mother, brother and son....so I felt well pleased....

Since my birthday is january I was even more surprised she called me for my birthday and sang happy birthday to me over the phone. She has a lovely voice.

So now we have the joke where we call each other for christmas and birthdays.

Funnily enough, this birthday just passed for her I offered to take her to dinner. No gift arranged. When we were out to dinner one of the things she mentioned to me was that just that week she had lost her ipod nano. It had come loose from her jeans on the train while she was not listening to it so she didn't notice it was gone. She was bitterly disappointed as she is working fewer hours to have time to study and she did not have money to replace it. Or, more correctly, she is the kind of woman who would turn a euro coin over 10 times before spending it. So I offered to buy her a new one as a small birthday gift.

This is an ipod nano for goodness sakes. You would have thought I bought her a HOUSE. She was like a giddy teenager over me being willing to buy her a new one.

Contrast that with my ex. On the event of her 40th birthday, when we did not have much cash at hand, I bought her hand made jewelry made out of Irish silver. They were a matched set of necklace, ear-rings, bracelet. This was exquisite jewelry. It cost EUR800 in 2002 so a lot more than EUR800 will get you now.

As far as I recall I was not even thanked for buying this. As far as I recall this was an "entitlement" because she turned 40.

An even BETTER story. In 92 we moved into our second house. Long story short it was VERY hard to make that deal and everything work. The moving day HAPPENED to be feb 14th. Valentines day. My brother and I laboured ALL DAY to move as we could not afford to pay movers. At the end of the day Jennifer and I were having pizza and champaign in our new house. (very run down renovators dream).

Suddenly she started crying. I asked what was wrong. She was "upset" because it was valentines day and I did not buy her a valentines day gift. I told her "but I bought you a HOUSE today".

Her reply was "Yes, but I would still like a valentines day present". I was FURIOUS and went to bed.

Another time I had FLOWN HOME to be with her on princesses birthday as she demanded. On the saturday morning I got up to go for jog. When I got home she was FURIOUS and HYSTERICAL in equal measure. My "crime" was I went jogging before coming to wish her happy birthday. I had also planned to take my son into town to buy a birthday gift with him as he did not want to buy one with his mum present and he was too young to go into town.

When I gave her her birthday gift from me I told her "you had better enjoy this because so long as I live I will NEVER buy you another. the way you acted today is not acceptable to me. the price is no birthday gift ever again."

[djfourmoney]

Peter that just proves that Anglo women by and large are ungrateful and totally in entitlement mode at all times. This is because Anglo Governments give WOMEN EVERYTHING but a direct way out of poverty.

If you're a single woman you are equal to single man, ONLY women can CHOOSE to shack up with almost any guy, tell them sex is off limits and that she'll pay what she can afford. Do men have this option? Only desperate single mothers and obese BBW's who don't get enough attention MIGHT accept you.

If your a woman with a child. Go down to social services, you don't even need a sob story and you get subsidized rent, phone, gas and electric. On TOP of that, you get food subsidizes and CASH!

To be fair many men with a child can also get this, but a single man? HELL NO, Women and Children first. You Man, you figure it out! I thought the point of unemployment was to help people stay economically viable in an economy, not a way to limit access to people, which is what its turned into.

Most women would be grateful for the chance to live in an advanced economy and the opportunities it brings. The fact that things like the IPod Nano are generally affordable compared to Ukraine because of the exchange rate.

Leave them alone! (Anglo Women)

[PeterAndrewNolan]

djfourmoney,
Yep..I certainly leave anglo women alone. I do have to work with them but I am under no obligation to date them.