Find Russian Brides For Dating & Marriage: Facts, Figures & Costs In 2023
Interested in dating mail order brides from Russia? Want to meet Russian brides for marriage? Wondering if it’s possible to buy Russian wife? Then, you must read this guide on Russian mail order wives—we will answer all your questions about Russian women. Who are Russian women? How to get a Russian wife? How much does it cost? The answers are here!
Best legitimate Russian bride and international dating sites 2023
The list of the top dating sites is here. Check it out, choose among the best, the most popular, and the most trusted dating sites, and build your own success story with the woman you’ve been dreaming of!
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Russian bride cost: How much are Russian mail-order brides?
You can’t buy a Russian woman, of course. You can’t buy a Slavic woman, a foreign woman from any other country, or a woman from the US—that’s just not how it works (not to mention it would be 200% illegal).
What you can do is date a mail order bride online, meet a Russian lady in her country, and propose to her after that. Basically, it’s a traditional online dating—with only a few differences.
First of all, most mail order bride sites are paid—the dating sites with foreign women like TheLuckyDate or SofiaDate are typically not free because they need to take additional anti-scam and anti-bot measures, because they have more messaging tools than American dating platforms, and because such dating sites often need to pay for additional infrastructure. But don’t worry—most international dating sites with Russian females cost around $150 per year (12 months Platinum Membership).
Then, you’ll need to visit that Russian girl you chatted with in her country—it’s much easier than getting her a US visa. A trip to Russia will cost you around $2,000-$2,500 for two weeks. The wedding with a Russian woman will cost you anything from $2,000 to $10,000—it depends on a lot of factors and we won’t talk about all of them here.
You will also need to pay for the visa—we’ll talk about it later in more detail, but in most cases, you’ll need to pay around $2,200 for a K-1 visa for your Russian mail order wife.
If you want to know more about how much it costs to meet Russian women for marriage, read this full guide—all the details are covered and all the expenses are listed there.
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Stories of men who married Russian girls
Mike and Viktoriya
Before, I considered online dating a simple waste of time. However, I never attempted to communicate there, so once I decided to create my account on the website with Russian mail order brides. Numerous ladies tried to catch my attention, but I noticed one Russian woman that was definitely worth it—I opened her portfolio, saw her photographs, and afterward chose to write.
What are my impressions? I had never experienced anything like it before, as I didn’t believe that finding my ideal partner so quickly and easily was possible. After two months of communication with Viktoriya, we agreed to meet in real life. Because it helped us realize that our values and life goals were so similar, that date was crucial. Currently, my Russian bride is preparing documents to move to my city.
Paul and Julia
It was another boring evening when I surfed different websites with Russian mail order brides. Out of pure curiosity, I clicked on the link and quickly registered—many girls had written to me, but only one message caught my attention. Julia didn’t use pre-made phrases and looked just stunning. So I decided to respond because her message was sincere and filled with genuine feelings. We communicated for several hours, and it has become a daily habit.
After several months of communication, we arranged a real-life meeting. When I first saw my Russian lady, I was astonished by her attractiveness and compassion. Enjoying a long conversation with Julia, I’ve already imagined our life together. Since we realized that we perfectly suit each other, we have been together for almost a year.
Jack and Svetlana
To be honest, I’ve always been attracted to Slavic girls, mostly because of the way they look, but I must admit that I knew almost nothing about them when I joined one of the sites with Russian brides. They were way more friendly than I expected them to be—to be honest, most Russians I met seemed like women I shouldn’t approach just because I was totally out of their league. But after I started talking to them, I realized that they are super kind, friendly, and open—it just takes time for them to get closer to a person and start expressing their real thoughts and emotions. I married the nicest of them, and though it took time for her to assimilate, but now we’re happy in the US.
Ted and Tonya
I’ve been dating women from different countries—Philippines, Denmark, Germany, and Brazil, and all of them are beautiful in their own way, but I ended up marrying a Russian girl, of course, for a reason. What I love about my wife and all other Russian women are intelligence and education. For many men, it’s not the primary reason to date someone, but what I learned from years of dating is that if you want to have a happy relationship, you need to marry your good friend, someone with whom you can adequately talk about different things, from politics to evolution. I found such a woman in Russia and married her after a year of dating. Best decision in my life.
Are Russian brides legal? Are Russian brides real?
Are Russian brides legit? If you’re searching for Russian girls for marriage, you probably have such questions, too. The answer is: yes, they are 100% legal and legit. The details are as follows.
How to bring a Russian mail order bride to the USA and how much does it cost?
K-1 or CR-1 visa?
There are two types of visas for foreign brides/wives of US nationals: K-1 and CR-1. The main difference is that K-1 visas are called “fiance(e)” visas and are available to those who are not married yet—a K-1 visa applicant can get married only in the US and only within 90 days after arrival. CR-1 visas are available to foreign spouses of US nationals. K-1 visas are faster than CR-1 visas (5-12 months vs 12-18 months) but they are also more expensive ($2,000 vs $1,200). More information is available here.
Please be aware that it’s only a short guide—a full guide is available here.
How much does a K-1 visa cost?
The cost of a K-1 visa is typically around $2,200 ($920 of fixed fees, $100-$300 for a medical exam, $1,200 for a green card). However, the final cost depends on a lot of factors—read this guide to find out the details.
K-1 visa: Requirements
- A petitioner must be a US citizen who is legally free to marry and has an intention to get married within 90 days.
- A petitioner (sponsor) must also meet minimum income requirements (125% of the poverty line) and must have met a bride in person within the last 2 years (the more photos, tickets, and stamps you have, the better).
- A bride must have no infectious diseases, she must be legally free to get married, and she must have no criminal record.
If you need more information on the topic, you can find it here.
K-1 visa interview: What you need to know
- Tell your bride to be confident, polite, and relaxed—if your relationship is genuine, there’s nothing to worry about.
- Memorize your important dates (e.g dates of trips, birthday, the day you met) together before the interview.
- Make sure you have a lot of tickets and photos that can prove that you’ve met in person.
- Your bride should dress appropriately—smart casual will work great.
Read this guide to find a detailed checklist of everything you need for a K-1 interview.
How to find a Russian bride? Can you buy a Russian wife?
Going to find a Russian bride? Technically, you can go two ways—online and offline. However, going to Russia and trying to find your perfect woman there is too expensive and time-consuming—that’s why it’s not the option we’ll talk about here.
What we’ll discuss is online dating services and bride agencies.
Russian bride agencies: Tours to meet Russian brides
Don’t know how to meet Russian brides? If you google something like “get a Russian bride”, you’ll surely find a lot of brides agencies. Here’s how they work: you pay to an agency, an agency buys a ticket for you, pays for the hotel room, and solves all the problems during the trip (including the language barrier problem). Then, you go to the country you’re interested in and meet women there—you can’t chat with them or call them before the meeting. Such tours typically last around 1-2 weeks and cost around $5,000-$10,000 depending on the time you want to spend and the level of activity you want to maintain abroad.
Basically, marriage or brides tours are like blind dates with all the disadvantages blind dates have.
Russian bride sites: Meeting a Russian mail bride online
Meeting Russian brides on a dating service like UkraineBride4You or TheLuckyDate is pretty similar to online dating in the US, but with a few differences. It’s simple, fast, and cheap—but what’s even more important, it really works. There are thousands of success stories written by people who have met their husbands and wives on mail bride sites—so this method works.
Let’s be more detailed.
How do Russian brides websites work?
First, you choose a mail order brides service—you can read our reviews to find the site that would work best for you or you can do your own research. When it’s done, you need to create an account, pay for a premium subscription (if needed), or to buy credits.
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On the websites with a credit system such as SofiaDate, you buy “credits” and exchange them for the services you need—like, you can buy 10 credits and exchange them for 20 minutes of text chat or 5 minutes of video chat. On the websites with a premium subscription system, you pay for the subscription—you can’t choose what you pay for, you can only buy access to all the services at once.
After that, you can start chatting with women—some sites (typically the ones with a subscription system) only offer a text chat service, while the others have a video chat and a voice call feature.
How much does a Russian mail order bride website cost?
On most sites with a credit system, 1 minute of live text chat will cost you $0.2-$0.4 (it depends on the credit package you’re going to purchase). Video chat typically costs around $2-$4 per minute. The sites with a premium subscription system like MeetSlavicGirls typically cost around $30-$40 per month (if you buy a 1-month package) or $10-$12 per month (if you buy a 12-months package).
More information on Russian brides cost and particular sites is available here.
Dating Russian brides online: Top 3 tips
- Make sure you have high-quality, professional photos—you should make a great first impression
- Buy a premium subscription even if it’s not needed—premium users always get more attention, profile views, and messages
- Write a catchy bio to attract more brides and to show them you’re an interesting person
Russian mail order brides statistics: Success rate, divorce, children, visa statistics
Before you start meeting Russian ladies online or offline, you need to understand them. Here, we’ll talk about Russian women through the prism of American-Russian mail-order marriages—that’s exactly what an American interested in Russian ladies needs to understand these ladies better.
- A large age gap is not a problem for Russian brides. According to the statistics [1], the average age gap in American-Russian mail-order families is 6.5 years if the couple is married after the arrival of a bride (K-1 visa). If a Russian bride gets married before/on arrival (CR-1 visa), the predicted age gap is 9 years! Basically, a large age gap is an extremely common thing when it comes to international online dating and international marriages—so it’s not something unique for Russian women.
- The divorce rate in mail-order marriages (American husband and Russian wife) is lower than the overall US divorce rate (35.8%-41.3% vs 48%). The most interesting part here is that Russia has an extremely high divorce rate—but this phenomenon is quite easy to explain. We’ll talk about it later in this text.
- The number of mail-bride marriages has more than doubled [2] (from 6,000 to 15,000) from 1999 to 2010. The same is about the international marriage agencies (from 200 to 400). The mail bride industry becomes larger every single year, the number of dating websites for Russian girls and Western gentlemen like UkraineBride4You or SofiaDate is constantly increasing, and such sites are becoming more and more popular.
- Russia is one of the most popular European countries regarding K-1 visas (the ones used by the absolute majority of mail order brides to enter the United States). In 2020 [3], 277 Russian mail order brides got a K-1 visa and entered the United States to get married to an American citizen—only Ukraine and Great Britain showed better results. This statistic doesn’t show how many Russian singles are actually looking for a foreign man because the US visa processing has dropped sharply in 2020—just so you know, there are tens of thousands of beautiful ladies from Russia and other countries of the region on the top sites such as MeetSlavicGirls in this industry.
- Only 1 out of 5 Russian women for marriage already has a child before marrying an American man. This statistic runs counter to the stereotype of “Russian females who want to get their children to the Western countries by marrying Western men”, but that’s a fact.
- As for CR-1 visas, everything is not that bright here—in 2020, only 95 Russian wives entered the US on a “spouse” visa (CR-1). An interesting fact is that 1 out of 3 Russian wives who got a CR-1 visa got children—so we can assume that Russian beauties with children prefer to get married to a US national in Russia and move to the United States only after that.
- 2020 year is not the best year to evaluate the popularity of this country regarding mail order brides. In 2019, before all the restrictions, limitations, and suspension of routine visa services by the US Department of State, the number of new K-1 visa holders from this country was 815—three times as many as in 2020! Russia is the #1 country in Eastern Europe regarding the number of foreign brides, and this is quite impressive, taking into account the popularity of Slavic women among American men.
- Russian brides are not looking for a Western man because of low livind standards in Russia. First of all, Russia is actually not the country with the most affordable prices—you’ll see it when you visit Moscow or Saint-Petersburg. Second, that’s just not what drives Russian women, according to some studies [4]—what they say is that they want to find a stable husband willing to build up a family (a type of man hard to find in Russia, according to these women). That’s what most Slavic girls say, actually—they say they’re searching for a loyal and stable life partner who will treat them with respect.
| ❤️ Successful marriages | ~90% |
| 💰 Average mail order bride cost | $4,590 |
| ⏳ Average mail order bride age | 25 y.o. |
| 🇷🇺 Popular cities with brides: | Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk |
If that’s not enough, continue reading—we’ll tell you even more interesting facts about Russian women here. We also recommend you watch this documentary video about single Russian women who met a foreign husband on mail order bride sites—the video lasts 52 minutes, but it’s definitely worth the time.
Our experts’ opinions
Kevin Benett:
‘The divorce rate is what can help understand how strong the institution of family is in a particular country. In Russia, this rate is high—higher than in the US or the UK, but in this case, it’s not about of lack of motivation to keep family together. According to the statistics, there are two main reasons for that: poverty and adultery, and that’s what most Russian mail order brides want to avoid by finding a husband in western countries. Considering the fact that most marriages of Russian women and American husbands work (the rate of divorces for marriages with mail order brides is lower than the divorce rate in Russia and even the divorce rate in the US), most of them succeed.’
Kate Stewart:
‘Here’s what all men looking for a mail order wife from Russia should consider—contrary to popular belief, Russian women don’t want to have children at a very young age. Yes, these women are family-minded, and they want to have kids, but most give birth to their first kid at 27. For example, in the US, the average age of first-time mothers is 26. Hence, if you marry a 24-year-old Russian bride, it will be wrong to expect her to want to become a mother right after you celebrate your wedding.’
Tonya Lester:
‘When analyzing the phenomenon of Russian mail order brides, people often relate to gender disproportion, and well, it really exists. For example, there are 100 women per 86.8 men in Russia, and that’s supposed to create that fierce competition between single ladies. However, if we take a closer look at the demographic situation, we’ll find out that for the 20-24 age category, there are 959 females for 1,000 males. That, in turn, means that gender disproportion is not the primary reason why Russian women marry foreigners. There are other even more important things that make them take this decision, from the alcohol abuse rate to the desire to find a “socially equal” partner.’
Jane Adams:
‘Portraying a Russian bride as a money-hungry, unemployed woman is pretty common, but in most cases, that has nothing to do with reality. In fact, the vast majority of female singles in Russia are employed. Moreover, most of them have at least a bachelor’s degree and have careers. They want to get married and have children, that’s true, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t care about self-realization and self-development.’
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Russian bride scam: How to not lose money
If you worry about Russian wife scams, that makes sense—thousands of American men get scammed every year. Here, we’ll explain how to not get scammed on a Russia bride website.
First of all, there are two types of mail order Russian bride scam:
- The one where a scammer wants to steal your money directly aka “Send me money, I’m in trouble”
- The one where a scammer wants to steal your money from your bank card/PayPal aka “Give me your credit card number/PayPal password”
As you see, there’s nothing complex here—most scammers just don’t want to waste their time creating complex schemes. Here are the top 3 tips to not lose money on Russian mail order bride websites:
- Make sure you’re chatting with real Russian brides on a dating site—google the photos of women, have a video chat, etc.
- Never provide your financial information to anyone you met on a dating site. Credit card number, PayPal information, even your phone number and SSN—keep all these private.
- Never send money. That’s the main problem of scam victims—they forget this rule and send money to “Russian brides” they’ve met online, but that’s something you must not do if you never met them in person.
It’s really not that difficult to stay safe when dating online. Just follow these simple rules and use your common sense—in most cases, that would be enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Never was love connected with politics. Mail order Russian brides still need love and want to meet men abroad. We noticed little activity reduction from Russian brides, but many girls are still at the site. Western men still have an extensive choice of beautiful and educated women.
You will not find districts for this in the law, but this way of marrying has a disadvantage. This situation could make immigration officers suspicious. There are possible doubts about true feelings. We recommend using a K-1 visa if you want to marry in the USA. You can also use CR-1 and IR-1 visas if you marry abroad.
Life in Russia is not always about democracy, but divorce is allowed for everyone in the country. Women and men can stop marriage anytime.
Stunning Russian women can thank perfect Slavic genes for their beauty, and also the persistent determination of working out in the gym and self-care to keep their beauty infinite.
Real Russian women are incredibly beautiful, straightforward, loving partners and caring mothers. They have a talent of making their partner happy.
Give your Russian girl a lot of attention, treat her well, and spend quality time with her. Russian women value soul connection more than sugar-sweet words.
The average price of a Russian bride is only around $2,200. Read our guide to get the full breakdown of the Russian mail order bride cost.
Treat your woman like a queen and make little pleasant surprises, Russian girls love that. Also, be honest and clear about your intentions from the very beginning.
Summing up
Dating a Russian bride is easier than you thinks, thanks to the dating site that are various online. Pick the one that suits your goals, register a profile and start looking for your mail order bride! It is that simple! Find the perfect foreign wife with the help of a specialized services and wide variety or options.
Sources of information
[1] – https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
[2] – https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/
[3] – https://travel.state.gov/
[4] – https://www.researchgate.net/
[5] – https://www.statista.com/
[6] – https://rapidvisa.com/
[7] – https://www.pewresearch.org/
[8] – https://www.bbc.com/
[9] – https://data.worldbank.org/
[10] – https://www.cdc.gov/
Our Team
The Experts We Trust
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My neighbor got a bride mail order Russian lady a few months ago, and he seems happy with her. I thought he was crazy when he first introduced us because she was so much younger than him and seemed like a regular gold digger. But I’ve since changed my mind. She’s really sweet to him and a great cook. Besides, she’s already taken up a few shifts here and there to keep busy. So now I’m thinking of checking out those Russian dating sites, so Zeke’s advice and your tips are super helpful.
I heard that most Russian brides dating sites are scams and that I’d have better luck searching for a girl on Instagram or TikTok.
Unfortunately, romance scams are widespread on dating sites, as well as social media platforms. On the one hand, dating sites usually run user verification and have safe dating features. On the other hand, most respectable dating platforms require a fee. So the final choice is up to you. As long as you remember to keep your sensitive information private and don’t send money to strangers, you should be relatively safe either way.
I don’t think your cost estimate of the Russian wife purchase is accurate. There’s no way to get from New York to Moscow for $700.
You’re right. Our numbers are a bit outdated, as we finished our research before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Current prices are at least twice as high since there are no direct flights to Russia from the US and vice versa. We’ll make sure to update the cost estimates soon.
You claim many of the Russian ladies who get married to Americans already have kids. What’s the chance such a Russian order bride would want to have more children with her new husband?
The only way to know for sure is to ask your bride if she wants more kids. Although the fertility rate in Russia is on the decline at around 1.5 births per woman, we believe it is primarily due to financial instability. So if you’re willing to support more kids, the chances are high that she’d want to have them with you.
The moment I find my mail order bride Russia starts a war. Sod’s law is the worst. Is there any way to get to Russia to meet my girl?
We’re sorry to hear about your predicament. Although many European countries banned flights to and from Russia in 2022, there are ways to get around it. You may consider a connecting flight through Turkey, Georgia, or UAE. Alternatively, you can meet with your lady in one of these countries, which will be safer for you.
Thanks for pointing out the common scams among mail order Russian brides. I almost got conned, but I remembered your warnings and blocked the girl who begged me for money. I gotta say, it was pretty convincing.
How do I order Russian brides on the sites you mention?
The sites we mention are dating platforms where you can meet and date a “mail order girlfriend” who can later become your wife. There is no way to “buy” or “order” Russian wifes like you would a coffee maker.
I don’t think getting married in Russia is a good idea. It’s definitely safer to bring a Russian male order bride to the US on a K-1.
My dating experience shows mail order Russian brides love to move. And as a result, they remain fit. My girlfriend in particular enjoys dancing whenever there is a beat to dance to—at home, in clubs, or anywhere else! She might drag you along, and as much as you’d like to relax and spend your Saturday night at home, you have to go with her as a good husband. She will dance for you a lot more when you get home, so don’t worry!
I am planning to visit my mail order girlfriend in Moscow. How much will it cost?
If you go to Russia to meet your girlfriend you met online, travel costs make up a significant portion of the typical cost of a Russian mail order bride. If we include round-trip tickets, accommodation, and some entertainment expenses, your trip will cost around $3,000-$4,000.
I was looking for a committed relationship, not something casual. So I decided to seek my partner on Russian brides dating apps. My favorites are CharmDate and AmourFactory where I discovered many detailed profiles of beautiful girls. Thanks to these websites, there were a lot of first dates, though I really don’t know how many there were. So, on the variety of dates, I accidentally saw the profile of Anna with a picture showing her adorable face and decided to make the first step. She turned out to be an interesting girl for me and we continue our communication with pleasure hoping to get to the next level.
Throughout the majority of my dating experiences, I have been passive. I am an introvert and it’s really hard for me to show my actual character. So I waited for a Russian male order bride to message me when I signed up for a Russian brides dating site. In the hope that a match would pick up on the hint and start a conversation since I would occasionally send some girls a meme. In fact, some websites even allow sending funny videos that help start a conversation with a girl. Although the majority of my matches were insignificant, I realized for the first time that I was having fun dating online in particular. Indeed, even as a contemplative person, I was having a great time placing myself in the leading position, even though it was just on a dating platform that didn’t help me find a woman to date.
From my own experience, I know that mail order Russian brides are fierce and elegant. They need a devoted and caring man who will appreciate family coziness. Russian wives always prioritize their husbands and families when it comes to family. But a man will notice and appreciate it, and when I fail to do that, my wife gets literally mad 🙂
How can I get a bride? Mail order Russian women seem appealing but I’m still not sure about them. Please give me some good recommendations on how to steal the heart of a Russian lady.
Have you ever seen The Notebook? Become Noah because every Russian girl wants her own Noah! I sent my mail order girlfriend love letters, bought her flowers, sang songs, danced with her, hugged and kissed her, and told her how much I loved her. She really can become putty in your hands because of such actions, but be careful with that! At that point, she becomes solely yours and no one else’s.
Is it possible to find a real wife on Russian brides dating websites?
Yes! I found my future wife on one of those sites. I was aware that my Russian order bride was unique. I had enough experience to kind of hold back my hopes, but I think there was a small part of me that really hoped we would get along. On our second date, my girlfriend admitted to me that she was considering texting me to ask if we would get married. I felt so defenseless against this girl because I liked her so much. After that, we decided to go to the next level and get to know each other’s parents. Since that time, we have been happy together and planning our wedding. I still can’t believe that online dating helped me find my life partner!
Finally, a good article on this topic, thx!
Russia does have the most beautiful girls. I’ve been there twice, and 5 in every 10 young ladies you meet in the streets could immigrate and get themselves a sugar daddy in any western countries. They look much worse when they get older though, it’s harder to meet a good-looking woman in her forties there than for example in Western Europe.
Good info, but you should update the prices, they’re much higher now.
Russian scams are the worst. I have a friend who was scammed this way, and it was cruel. This seemed weird from the beginning – she said she loved him in 3 days! Just be careful if you’re going to look for someone online…
Hey what about visas? Can Russians still get them now after Russia has invaded Ukraine?
Yes, they can do it, at least for now. There are restrictions for Russian citizens in some European countries, but Russian foreign spouses and fiances can still apply for a K-1 visa and enter the US. We’ll update the information in our guide if anything changes.
Was surprised to see that the divorce rate is so low with Slavic mail order brides. Frankly, I was disappointed in marriage as a concept. Is there anyone who is married to a Russian woman?
Hi! I’ve been married for almost 5 years now. No regrets here. My wife is the best thing that happened to me. But the legal side of all the visas and documents is very tiring, but it definitely worth it.
Russian women look bomb, but their characters are also explosive. Highly recommend exploring more about Slavic dating culture before coming to a girl on one of the Eastern European dating sites.
I’ve always been into Slavic beauty and the idea of having a girlfriend from Eastern Europe has always been a dream of mine. I wasn’t sure that online dating could help, as I thought that it was just a scam. But as experience shows if you find a reliable site, you might find a great match.
Can I really buy a Russian bride and legally bring her to the US?
Hey, Joshua! You can bring a Russian bride to marry in the US. However, you are not actually buying a woman. You can get singles from Russia online or offline, and later on, bring your fiance to the US with a K-1 visa.