Calling Russia
Calling Russia can be expensive if you just pick up your cell phone and dial a direct Russian phone number. If you don't have any kind of international calling plan on your U.S. cell phone and you start calling Russia via direct-dial, you'll probably pay more than $2.00 per minute.But most U.S. cell carriers offer international plans where you pay a monthly fee that reduces the cost of your direct-dialed international calls to Russia.
Fortunately there are several very convenient and inexpensive options available for calls to Russia which we will review.
Skype
Skype has taken developing long-distance relationships with Russian women to a whole new level. And to meet, date, and marry a Russian woman, you must first get to know her. And unless you are so well off that you can spend a lot of time and money traveling to Russia to meet every girl you think may be the one, then you need to get to know them better from a distance before traveling to meet, and there is no better way to do that than with Skype video.Anyone with internet access and a computer with speakers, microphone, and webcam can use Skype to speak face to face via live video to anyone anywhere in the world for FREE as long as they also have internet access and a computer with speakers, microphone, and webcam.
And not only that, but even if a girl in Russia does not have internet or a computer, you can still use Skype to call her cell phone for some of the most competitive international phone rates available.
Click HERE to read my full review of Skype.
Viber/Whatsapp
If you haven't heard of Viber and Whatsapp you've probably been living under a rock since at least 2014. These are both smartphone communication apps allowing instant messages, sending/receiving pictures/videos, and voice and video communication. Both have computer-based counterparts. Just search for them wherever you get your phone apps.Both these apps are internet-based apps and will use data from your mobile internet plan if you aren't connected to a wifi network, just like your Maps, Facebook, and email apps.
Viber and Whatsapp are free to install and free to use, but since they are internet-based, they will use data. Basically that means that when you're not connected to a wifi network it will use your phone's mobile internet data, which you pay for.
With both apps you can communicate for free with anyone in in the world who is also using the same app (i.e. If you're using Viber, you can communicate with anyone else on Viber). And on Viber you can also call out to a normal phone number (landline or mobile number), but that does incur a per minute charge. That feature is called "Viber Out". As of mid 2017 this feature is not available on Whatsapp.
These two systems have completely revolutionized the business of calling Russia and Ukraine! And if you think that people in Russia/Ukraine are a little behind on technology and don't know about these, you're WRONG. In fact almost EVERYONE in Russia/Ukraine knows about Viber/Whatsapp and uses them extensively, much more so than even in the U.S. I would estimate that Viber is a bit more popular there than Whatsapp, but if you have both you should be thoroughly covered.
If a Russian/Ukrainian girl says she doesn't have access to a phone or Viber or Whatsapp, there's a 99% chance she's lying. People in Russia/Ukraine use Viber/Whatsapp more than they use their normal cell phone talk/SMS features. That's probably because free wifi is everywhere and that's all you need for Viber/Whatsapp.
And these apps do far more than just facilite calling Russia and Ukraine from the U.S., but you can also continue to use them on a trip there. Of course you will need to either be on a wifi network or make arrangements to get a Russian/Ukrainian SIM with a good data plan, but both approaches work.
