Russian marriage and wedding traditions.

Russian connubial culture has many interesting traditions. The most developed tradition is a stealing the bride and demanding a ransom during the wedding. Of course they always do it in a jesting way. I think this custom was adopted from Caucasian people. Usually somebody brave of the guests negotiated with the bride and she let them to steal her for a half an hour. The ransom is usually about $30 or more and a person, usually the bridegroom's witness who gives the ransom is made to drink some vodka from a bride's white shoe. The other funny tradition on a Russian wedding is to put on the clothing in the gypsy's style on the second day of the wedding. Relatives and guests put on the rather strange and unusual clothing like wizards and fairies and you even won't recognize who is who. And be careful not to be late coming on the second day of the wedding because you can be offered to kiss a frying pan or to drink a big glass of vodka as a fine. But they are all jokes. If you strongly refuse, everything will be all right. That's all just for fun. Russians are used to situations where everything is unpredictable and unstable. And they love it. It's rather boring if everything is planned in advance. We all know that's the boredom is the first enemy in the young family life. The psychologists say that Russian women can suffer from the routine and sameness in their families, even if everything's all right on the first sight. May be it's because of their special nature. Wild East and accurate West, they are in their blood. Usually such strange Russian marriage and wedding traditions lead to happy family life.

Family life of just married Russian souples.

As a rule the Russian spouses in family lives are rather independent. The family life is built on the independence of both of them. Usually they don't sign any marriage contracts. They consider it as a token which leads to a bad luck. Usually Russians live in small apartments in large blocks, with their relatives together. But their relatives don't put their noses in businesses of young couples. Usually their relatives help young Russian couples with money and other things. It's normal when grown single children live with parents and even when married children with spouses stay with their parents because it's economically cheaper. There's absolutely another system of life in Russia. Usually a young married couple can't afford themselves to rent another accommodation. If a young married couple has good and kind relatives they live happily with their parents until they begin to earn enough money to move to another flat. But if they have relatives with a temper they often have scandals and very often such marriages are divorced.

When its time to marry for a Russian woman ?

It's hard to say what an average married couple in Russia is. I think now it's a couple with one or two children. The father is a driver; the mother is a shop assistant. They both earn enough money to set their children off to school but they haven't got enough money to go to the seaside in summer. The times change and many habits and traditions had been forgotten. During the Soviet times people couldn't buy a good apartment to live in. They could only receive an apartment from the state. The apartments were given to people without money, according to the queue, or the time they have worked on their enterprises, plants or institutes. They should pay only small payments for communal services.

Nowadays people in Russia can buy apartments and the state does not give flats in block of flats to people without money anymore. Today the buying an apartment is unachievable dream for the majority of population in Russia because of very small salaries. Living in small apartments together with parents and children makes Russians take care of each other. They have to be considerate and ready to compromise. They have to adapt to the family lifestyle and rules.

That's why I think that Russian women have very good experience to make good wives. There's nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eyes to eye keep house as husband and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.

Being single in Russia puts a label on a woman. If she is over 27 and still is single it can mean that something's wrong with her. Usually women have their boyfriends. Some of them can marry after 30 or 40. It's harder to find the right person to marry in an older age but it's possible. Even if she earns good money or her career is successful she can't feel herself happy because she's unmarried.

From the other side it's not very big happiness for a woman - to be married in Russia. A married rich wife is supposed to be at home while her husband is always at work. And it's very often her husband allows to himself spending his private time with friends and other ladies in restaurants and even in dancing night clubs. All what is left for her is housework, preparing food and looking for children. Women outnumber men in Russia and any man can easily find somebody for a dating. For a woman who wishes a casual sex is the way of attracting a partner that she hopes may be later to offer her society. Often single ladies want to find a real man and get married. A good marriage is that in which each of two appoints the other the guardian of his or her happiness.

At the end of this article I want to tell you a story how a Russian lady of 50 years old got married a very rich man from America. She even couldn't dream about that! She found him through the internet. They are happy now. That gentleman came to Russia to see and to meet her closer. And he said that it's enough for him to meet those empty girls who want only money. But this woman became very interesting for him and he took her to America together with her relatives. He was about 60 years old! Happiness comes more from loving that being loved, and often when our affection seems wounded it is only our vanity bleeding. To love, to be hurt often, and to love again - this is the brave and happy life.