American cinematography and especially Hollywood are known for intentional or unintentional demonizing Russia – with all the men being gangsters and the girls always being these femme fatales. And while we have already tried to tackle a few misconceptions people might have about Russia and Russians, quite a few stereotypes continue to exist about Russian women specifically.

And just as everybody has an opinion about Russia and Russians, it being stereotyped the most, the same applies to its women.

But which of these are actually true, and in what way?

Let's find out!

Russian women are renowned for their beauty, and it's true – we only need to look at Asiya for instance to see all these traits people regard as classically attractive: high cheekbones, slim figure, voluptuous lips, delicate nose, hourglass figure,…

And while a good many of them all have these traits of course not all Russian women fit the stereotypical 'Russian bombshell' image. But still it holds true that Russian women in the bigger cities are known for their beauty.

In one way it is easy to understand just why when realising that in this country – the largest in the world – approximately 190 ethnic identities exist together and this multi-ethnic mixture gives Russian women a very diverse, interesting and often attractive appearance. Since there are so maniy ethnicities we can say that in Russia most Russian people are in some form or another mixed-race. Now it's fact that we tend to view people with mixed ethnicities as more attractive which in part might explain this attraction Russian women hold.

Secondly, there is also the way their style and "presentation" accentuates their natural beauty. A Russian woman will always do her best to be beautifully dressed and made up, whether she goes to the shop to buy some food or visits some friends or family. All this effort is put in to demonstrate their femininity. It doesn't matter if the shoes might make your legs hurt or the clothes are a bit to tight. As a Russian proverb goes: beauty demands sacrifice. And if that is what it takes to look their best selves than so be it. Because being a (Russian) woman is about being the 'complete' woman: at the same time a strong individual, good mother and partner and a supremely beautiful girl.

Now, with a population littered with beautiful and feminine girls there will be of course people using this to prey on the easily manipulated men. And there are such girls who want to find a rich man with a yacht, sports car and big house. Why wouldn't it, these people live everywhere, not only in Russia.

But of course this stereotype probably has to do with a certain moment in time, during the Soviet era when people lived behind the proverbial Iron Curtain and there freedom was curtailed. Since a marriage with a foreigner might give them the chance to travel abroad for a number of women the choice was an easy one.

Today, the situation couldn't be more different, with international travel the standard for a lot of people. As we are developing more and more into one global culture this stereotype is more and more something from the past.

A certain type of men are looking for Russian (and Ukrainian) wives because they feel these girls conform more to the traditional idea of the woman being a housewife. Because, they seem to think, once a Russian woman has found her – preferably rich – husband she can turn into her true form, that of being an eternal housewife and homemaker. They are enticed by the promise of a good cook, cleaner and mother who conforms to their old fashioned values and beliefs.



So basically they want the reverse Cinderella: from princess to maid.

It says more about them and their view of women then it says about Russian girls to be honest.

Of course there are women who love nothing more than to take care of their husband are completely happy to be a housewife. And there is nothing wrong with that, because every person has a right to choose his or her happiness in whatever form it is. But people looking for a servant expecting to also find love and happiness at the same time should better take a look in the mirror first.

When 'buying' yourself a housewife in this way, everything becomes a transaction, and then it is of course no surprise when things go wrong that these girls are labelled nothing more than ordinary "gold-diggers'.

Really foreigners too often take Russian women for simple yes-girls and suppose they can easily "buy" a Russian girl with just a little money, the promise of a visa or prospects in living abroad. So then when a woman from Russia blows them off these European and American men feel hurt and try to vent their frustration. These comments are nothing more than just some bruised egos speaking.



Besides, modern Russian ladies are quite successful women in their own right as well, hard-working and with an education. So it's only natural that a girl who is herself pretty successful wants to have a man who is successful as well. And it is a fact that Russian women possess a very strong character and personality and they really don't like men who are weaker than them.

Of course there are gold-diggers, there are those in every country, but regarding Russian women it is just a denigrating stereotype.

We would like to close off with this wonderful analysis by Marina Khorosh who wrote about this specific topic that: