Sisterhood of Survival: The Making of the Post-Soviet International Marriage Industry

• In Event: Sex and the (Post-)Soviet Woman

Abstract

This paper addresses the experiences of post-Soviet women who married American men that they met through internet agencies in the 1990s and 2000s. These women have been primarily written about in a framework that centers American culture and law, which has relegated their experiences in the former Soviet Union to the periphery. I argue that the experience of international dating was a collaborative process among post-Soviet women, somewhere between friendship and business. Sisters and friends would sign loved ones up for marriage agencies and embark on the process together, pooling skill sets and resources in order to both attract and evaluate potential suitors. In the entrepreneurial post-Soviet landscape, many women were also involved in the business side of international marriage and sold services such as styling, translation, photography, and access to the internet. The skill sets of attracting and evaluating men became financially valuable as more and more women became interested in international marriage. Ultimately, I argue that the methods used to navigate international marriage in the post-Soviet period echoed those used to navigate the economic decline of the late Soviet period. I draw on oral history interviews, online guidebooks, diaries, and the existing literature on personal favor (blat) networking in the Soviet Union.

Author

• August Brereton, U of Wisconsin-Madison