Russian Language Barriers

Language barriers are a daunting challenge for American men who often find it difficult to even conceive of dating Russian women who speak no English and who require a translator present for all dates.

One of my favorite stories is that of a local friend who traveled to Russia around 2000 on an "Individual Tour". I'll call him "Matt" for the purposes of this story.

"Matt" said he met at least 25 Russian women, and in the span of his two weeks there he narrowed it down to one special girl (who did not speak English). He proposed marriage through a translator. They have now been married around 10 years, she is a full citizen, and they still act like newlyweds. While her fiance visa was being approved she learned enough English to get by in America, and soon after she arrived she was almost fluent.

Overcoming language barriers may not work for everyone, and it may not work for you, but it it can and does work... at least for some!

But "Matt" was focused. He said when choosing the women he wanted to meet he ruled out women who (a) spoke of money in their profile, (b) stated in their profile that they sought a "good looking" or "handsome" man, or (c) did not have at least one picture posted on their profile that showed them smiling.

He was not looking for a supermodel, an actress, or just a fun dating adventure. He was looking for a special Russian woman to marry and with whom spend the rest of his life. So he found a girl who seemed to have a plan compatible with his and married her. He had the very healthy view that if everything else about a girl was perfect, language barriers were a non-issue.

Now with this approach to finding a Russian woman to marry, "Matt" really could hardly go wrong, even if the girl only spoke Swahili.

But just because this worked for "Matt" doesn't mean it will work for you... that's between you and fate. And there are a few things to think about when considering whether the language barrier is worth the challenge. Personally, I feel like it is a pretty close call.

The biggest advantage to taking on language barriers and opening yourself up to Russian women who don't speak English is that you seriously expand your pool of good prospects.

Simply put, the competition is much stiffer for the more "accessible" women. When 99% of the men are competing for the 1% of the women who have email and speak good English and live in the big cities, you may as well stick with Match.com. A drop-dead model-gorgeous woman in Moscow or Kiev who has email, and speaks/writes fluent English gets a LOT of attention and probably has more opportunities for dates than she could possibly ever entertain, and many from very wealthy men – probably wealthier, younger, and better looking than you. The chances of a "regular guy" even having his email read are slim.

BUT, if you were willing to be a little more patient and spend a little more money for letters to be translated and for translators for your dates, you might be very pleasantly surprised. And, it would still cost a lot less in the long run than paying for the knockout's vacations and gifts, and lawyer fees and the "equitable division of the marital assets" when she wants a divorce because you aren't really coming through as she hoped!

Women in smaller towns who only speak Russian and who don't have email do not get as much attention. But they are just as beautiful, often more beautiful, and often sweeter, more family oriented, and down-to-earth. It is sort of like the difference between a "farmer's daughter" type of girl and a big city girl with hopes of making it big in modeling or acting.

But there are a few challenges to meeting Russian women who know only the Russian language.

First there is the obvious challenge: You can't speak to them or write to them without an intermediary. It can be a heck of a lot harder to feel much connection that way. I guess it largely depends on the kind of connection one seeks. I don't think "Matt" was really looking for some special feeling... just someone who seemed to be a decent, down-to-earth person with realistic expectations and hopes to find a partner for marriage.

The much bigger challenge to meeting women who know only the Russian language - it seems to me - is that of avoiding scams.

Apparently "Matt" used a good agency run by good people who had honest, sincere Russian women clients. Such agencies are the exception! There are many "scammy" agencies who use every creative energy they have to get more money out of you in ways that are almost impossible to prove. And MANY such creative strategies are based upon language barriers.

For instance, one popular strategy an agency uses is to recruit girls they know will be popular and ask them to claim they don't know English. This way when men want to write to her or meet her, translations are required. They often pay the girl for participating in the little show.

This is one of a million ways an agency can use the language barrier to make an illegitimate profit. Personally I think it's a little pathetic that such agencies would put so much creativity into tricking men into forking over money when they could put that creativity to honest use and probably earn even more!

But if you have weighed the risks and challenges against against the possible benefits of including non-English speaking Russian women in your search, you are going to need to know a little more about your translation options.

Click here to read more about your options for Russian translations

Click here to learn how to find a Russian interpreter/translator