Russian brides: four basic types

Since 90s Russia has become not only a new cultural phenomenon, but also a place where foreigners started looking for "perfect" wives, who were interested in marrying foreign men. Such a trend can be easily explained: Russian women are beautiful, educated, and foreign men are perceived as reliable, wealthy, and interesting. This demand promoted a huge market, with numerous opportunities and scams.
So, who are the Russian brides, who have ventured into looking for a partner abroad? Well, there is no single answer. The kinds of women (and their motivation) looking for a husband overseas can vary greatly: some are genuinely interested in creating a family, others are looking for fun, and some want to make money. All women who engage in a foreign husband search can pretty much fit into the following categories:
Family-oriented: this kind of woman is sincere in her intentions and expects the same sincerity from the partner. She wants to create a family, have a future, a husband who will care about her, understand and love her. Such women are not extremely young, starting at about early-mid twenties. These women are looking for a reliable male, to her that translates in security: in a stable job, in the house she can take care of, in money (in a sense that she will not have to live from paycheck to paycheck, and that it will come regularly). Her motive is not so much in getting out of the country, she firstly looks at well-being of her future family, the place where it is created makes little difference. While interested in family values, it does not mean that this woman's dream is to be a house wife. Of course, if she decides to be one, she will be the best one for this mission: your house will always be cozy and clean, you will always have dinner waiting for you when you get home from work, and kids will have the most attentive, caring mother possible. At the same time, if she decides she is not opposed to having a job, your house will still be immaculate, dinner - cooked on time, and kids well taken care of. Russian women have long been used to juggling workplace and household needs; so if your sweetheart goes to office during the day, you can count on having reasons to be proud of her workplace achievements as well as of her household management skills.
A lover: such women generally are more interested in having a good time rather than creating a family. This is not to say she is light-minded - she is interested in finding someone who is worthy of her attention: educated, interesting to talk to, etc. If this is a lady who is in her mid twenties, she will probably be pretty ambitious, will not be looking for someone to lean on and will maintain herself as being self-sufficient. You are likely to have a great time with such a charming lady, but most likely it will not develop into a serious relationship. If she is very young, once again, chances of building a serious relationship are pretty slim. A young woman will be genuinely interested in getting to know you, having you visit, sharing about her life, but she will most likely not be ready for a serious commitment. There have been cases when a relationship with a younger Russian woman lasted for several years before both partners were ready to tie the knot. It might be the best alternative if your Russian lady of choice is very young - it will give both of you time to get to know each other, give her time to decide what she wants from a relationship, and mature for a serious step.
Foreign bound: you will hear such women talk a lot about Russia and the state of things there - and not in a good sense. She will constantly say how bad things are in her home country, she will refer to negatives about Russian people, and it will be pretty obvious from the start that her main goal is to leave the country. Such women are willing to sacrifice a lot to get their ticket abroad. They will be willing to do anything for their husband (sacrifice her career, friends and family, etc) as long as she has the change to live abroad and leave Russia. This is not to say that there is no chance of such a woman developing warm feelings for her partner as the relationship progresses, but initially her interest will be focused on your home geographic location.
Money maker: This type of woman is the one you read about on the internet, who poses the biggest danger of running a scam. Such women are the ones who are interested only in one thing: money; relationships are out of the question. If she can not find a husband, who will (being at distance) provide her with a steady allowance, she will look for ways to sucker men into sending her money before quickly disappearing and looking for a new victim. Such women generally have several men with whom they are corresponding at once (chances are, they probably do not even remember names of all of them), they are very open and passionate in their letters, their writing is very sweet, and you can count on her "falling head-over-heels" for you pretty quickly after you meet. And she will, of course, be a victim, a helpless damsel in distress, who will be asking for your help in matters that require financial support.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and these are just a few basic ideas of what kind of women you can find in Russia. The best way to find out if the woman you are talking to is the right one for you, make sure that you communicate openly and ask her about her wants and expectations, to avoid wasting time or potential disappointments.