Like any marriage where people get married at a young age, people can grow apart, as they get older.
Alcoholism, disenchantment with the responsibility of family life, the allure of available women outside marriage, the economic and political upheaval that has taken place over the past fifteen years, have all taken a toll on marriages in Russia.
Consider that many of the Russian women you will meet, who do not have children, may well have been married before. Maybe you have been married before yourself.
Consider that children raised in Russia often are better behaved than American children.
Also, there is a higher percentage of young widows in Russia than in western countries. Safety standards at work in Russia are not what they are in the west.
Making a living in the new economy can be downright hazardous if you are trying to take the fast track to success. Many people are jealous of the lifestyle of the ?new Russians? and are not shy about taking their place on the food chain using rather severe methods.
In addition, alcoholism, crime, and the military lead to a much higher death rate of men in Russia than in the west. The life expectancy of a man in the former Soviet Union is now fifty-seven years of age.
At the fall of the Soviet Union, men's life expectancy was nearly sixty-five. That is over an eight-year reduction in life expectancy in a ten-year period!
The reduced life expectancy of Russian men has added to the large population of single and available Russian women.
With regard to making a marriage last, consider that a woman with a child or children will usually work harder to make your marriage work than one without children. They have their children's welfare as their number one concern.
If she sees that her child is happy at home, she will go a lot further to make the relationship work than a woman who has no commitment other than herself.
They have already experienced the difficulty of divorce or death of their spouse. They have already experienced what it is like to raise a child on their own.
They are risking their child's welfare as well as their own in moving to a new country, with a new language, a new culture, without benefit of friends or family, to live with a man who is still much unknown to them.
Much of their desire to marry a Westerner is to make a better life for their children. They are looking for a situation where their children will have more opportunity. This is true for women who are planning on having children with you as well.
In direct words, a thirty-year-old with a child is much more likely to work out a relationship than a twenty-year-old looking for an adventure.
Don't categorically dismiss women with children. You may be overlooking a diamond hiding among the costume jewelry.
