Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Ukraine - extended stay	Vika and I talked about this yesterday. She asks (like one of the earlier posters here) why you don't just cross the border into Romania, Moldova, or any other country, then cross back. That would get you 90 more days, wouldn't it? Well Romania anyway, or any EU country, because you won't need a visa with a US passport either direction. Edited by Brad and Vika, 05 February 2012 - 11:42 AM.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-02-05 11:40:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian visa in Belarus?	It used to be possible, but the last time I looked into it was in Minsk, probably six or seven years ago. Things could be totally different now. I was also on a business visa, and that might make a difference. I was told that it would take ten days after my application, and would cost the same as applying from America. I couldn't apply until my residency was registered though, and there just wasn't time to do a decent trip and still catch my plane home from Minsk. I never had more than three weeks total. Edited to ask if your wife has called the Russian Embassy. That might be the easiest way to find out. Edited by Brad and Vika, 23 May 2012 - 04:51 PM.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-05-23 16:49:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	I-94 Cheat Sheet in Russian	my mother n law just made the flight here and same does not speak English. i tried to have somebody to help her in pairs and in Atlanta but air France did not offer that. but delta had interpenetrates on telephone and she made it to Charleston SC quite fine! no problems at all! so have faith in her and on flight out of Ukraine have her ask the Russian speaking person to show her where to go in airport for change or to get her help there. Tell us more about the translation by phone. Did MIL call some one, or was there some one available in Atlanta? Not sure I understood all of the post above.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-05-27 17:50:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MIL just passed her interview!	After 5 B-1 Visa denials by the consulate, we had had no alternative but to go for an IR-5 on my MIL. They are so arbitrary in they're approvals it makes me sick. So....we are at NVC now, should be Mid-August or a bit later...she'll be here......... I read several stories like yours. It made for a real nail biter for us. We feel blessed to have gone through with out a hitch.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-05-31 17:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MIL just passed her interview!	Congrats LL!! We are a loooong way from letting MIL move in permanently, but she did get a five year visitor visa.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-05-23 15:57:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Father's permission for child to emigrate	Usually the threat of child support or the bribe of waiving child support plus some monetary consideration has been successful. I would suggest you put off all visa plans UNTIL you have his notarized signature on a paper; without it, the child will not be allowed to leave. Period. If they don't show up, find and contact Gary and Alla who posts in this forum; they have real life experience. I agree with Baron. This has been covered by several RUB members (I think Baron might be one), and Gary actually paid off the stepdad, if I recall. Edited by Brad and Vika, 02 February 2012 - 04:26 PM.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-02-02 16:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	KIEV	Thank you all for the info. We were planning on her doing the medical 2 days before interview, as it states you can get results same day after 3 pm. Sometime around here, i will be meeting her in kiev to attend interview. Anyone see a problem with doing the medical so close to interview??? Good for you!! I think attending the interview is a great idea too.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-07 10:22:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Child in Belarus	I split this topic from the topic for this same subject in Ukraine. Op is asking for Belarus specific information.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-16 18:29:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Rules for Ukraine	No recent changes that I am aware of.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-05-31 20:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Another interview experience	Congrats	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-18 20:38:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Hello to All!!!	pics of hot RUB wives > monkeys Dead cat = dead husband	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-28 12:25:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Hello to All!!!	Careful there Lena might think you are drawing the evil eye by posting her picture! I had to remove all of ours on pain of death.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-27 22:21:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Hello to All!!!	Thanks for the welcome everyone. Lena is 28 and has never been married and has no children. She is from Kovel which is to the northwest of Lviv near the Polish/Belarus border. I am 47 and live in the beautiful Pacific Norhtwest near Seattle. I have recieved my NOA1 and awaiting the NOA2. We met over a year ago and met in Lviv. I have made 2 trips to meet her. I am really glad to be here. This site makes this process sooo much easier with the all experience here. Hope I will be able to contribute as well as learn. [attachment=15142:My Lena-3.jpg] Thanks for telling some of your story Hector. I am your age, and my wife is now 30. She is from Kherson (a few hours from Odessa), and we live in Kentucky. We vacationed in Lvov once - nice place. We stayed on the Central Square in a hotel, and I still remember the pensioners gathered there singing in the evening. Never been to Kovel though.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-27 22:18:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Hello to All!!!	Great to see you, welcome aboard!	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-27 22:02:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Medical Exam Kiev Help	does anybody know where to pay medical exam for kiev in ukraine and how much? Vika says there is a cashier at the clinic and you pay there.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-07-01 19:50:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Medical Exam Kiev Help	Duplicate topics merged	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-26 15:49:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	coming home	We bought tickets a week out. Picked up the visa in two days in Kiev. Just allow time for delays. We knew this was a gamble, and I would advise a carefull conversation about travel back, goodbyes, etc before buying tickets. We didn't want to wait, and Vika took care of all her business before leaving for the interview. IMO it comes down to your preference.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-07-20 09:14:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	interview kyiv	Ours was a while back, and I had to go back and look at the timeline. It looked like about a week from NOA2 to NVC, and a day at NVC. I remember hearing a three day average for NVC, but it sounds like that isn't true any more, based on what I am reading here. It did take some time for the Embassy to get our file in their system so I could schedule an interview too. Good luck, and please let us know what happens.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-07-20 09:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	(not) Smiling in pictures	According to her, they look how they look. They don't need to smile and pretend they're happy just because someone's taking their picture. There's also this school of thought in Russia that if you're always happy and look happy (and especially if you "whistle like stupid" all day long) that you're a dope and not smart and something bad is going to happen to you. I will add this (smiling and whistling) to the already loooong list of activities that invite the evil eye. Vika usually does smile for pictures, but I do get "why should I act happy or nice when I don't feel that way?". I think taking pictures just makes her happy. She still can have that "I will break you" look, but she saves that for when she is just around me. Most married guys know that special look.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-07-14 19:21:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Looking for advice from the Veteran VJ RUB Couples	The truth is it all depends on what kind of person your wife is. If she was a quality person in the FSU with quality friends there she will seek out quality friends when she gets here and you will have few problems because of it. Most men who marry women women from the FSU don't really know them that well (if they will admit it or not). If things go south in your marriage because of the friends she makes here there is little you will be able to do about it...and you will not know about it until it is too late... Initially any one who spoke Russian seemed to have a lot of credibility with Vika. She did catch on fast, and saw that not every one was happy for her, or had her best interests at heart when they were laying on advice. She is pretty choosy now about who she talks to, evil eye aside The initial desire to talk with them came from some homesickness, and a need to ask questions and communicate with people that were thought to have a similar experience set. Completely natural.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-07-24 17:40:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Looking for advice from the Veteran VJ RUB Couples	It seems that our Russian speaking community is splitting into various groups with a lot of gossip and talking behind peoples backs which my wife hates. Our exposure to them is becoming less and less. In the end, it is all about you and your spouse. So true - you have to focus on your family. Yeah, this is a big reason why my wife is extremely choosy about who she befriends. Of the dozens of FSU people we've come across, we really only stay in touch with two. Lot of back-biting that goes on in these communities, although to be fair I don't think it's so much a Russian thing. I've been in American/Western expat communities overseas, and it was just as bad. I think it's the isolation that drives it. In any case, we don't choose to be any part of it. Isolation or whatever it is, it definitely is a turn off. We do go to parties sometimes with a fairly high ratio of Russian speakers, and we both tend to have a good time. Nothing like the culture of hospitality I have found in Eastern Europe though. I'll take the real deal.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-07-20 19:55:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Looking for advice from the Veteran VJ RUB Couples	I have always maintained that if you introduce your SO to others from their region of the world, make sure they are happily married. Otherwise you might be getting a lot more than you wanted. This is one of Vika's pet peeves about the Russian community here. They tend to look at new arrivals as "new meat" in a variety of ways. The Russian speakers that I knew in town before before I met Vika told us so, and my wife was surprised at the truth of it. She really doesn't have a desire to mix with the Russian store community at all. She makes acquaintances among some women of similar age and circumstance to herself, and very cautiously.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-07-20 09:05:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Looking for advice from the Veteran VJ RUB Couples	I can't wait to see my wife's reaction next time she's mad and I tell her it's all a big game. Her game to play, mad or not Honestly all of that stopped way before we married. Like I said, I just didn't get it, so she had to keep explaining that it was supposed to be this way.... and eventually the results just didn't justify the effort (my story anyway).	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-06-03 19:03:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Looking for advice from the Veteran VJ RUB Couples	Brad & Vika: But if she feels very strongly about a situation or thing I tend to just be supportive and let her go with it. At first you will have do be more of a director, but as she gets used to things here you may find you don't need to. Absolutely... we even talk about this, cuz I am the "experienced" one... yeah, right... I tell her that many things just aren't worth arguing over. Better to be happy than always right... I gather this is because in her home culture, admissions and apologies can be seen as weakness, so compromising or admitting you are wrong mean you lose... We have both seen eachother's personalities here when arguing... and have both had to admit we were wrong and are "Kakashka" sometimes... It's actually kinda cool, because neither were "too big" for this. She knows I won't dominate her and I will admit I'm wrong and apologize, but I don't take ####### either if I feel strongly about it... Interestingly enough, arguments came from misunderstandings that get inflated by Skype or just long distance. In the end, she knows how I feel about her and that I love her anyway, and she does also with me... After those times... you REALLY wish you could be with them in person... cuz you need more than words... Durak maybe... never kakashka. Also, my wife tells me it is customary to play games with men before marraige. Make sure they are truly patient and get that THIS gal will not be dominated This tradition went so badly for us that she had to stop and explain to me what she was doing and why. Kind of defeating the purpose.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-05-31 17:38:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Looking for advice from the Veteran VJ RUB Couples	i'm starting to wonder if my wife is russian now. Some things seem to span cultures and oceans	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-05-27 20:22:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Looking for advice from the Veteran VJ RUB Couples	I find that lots of calm works, and patience has been helpful. We have been married about 3.5 years, and knew each other a year or so before that. Vika and I definitely have the normal range of guy/girl issues, and find that there are cultural issues on top of those (less as time goes on). Over the top of that there are things relating to our age difference (about seventeen years). I would say we are very happily married. There is one thing I think we share with most others posting here that are happy together - sometimes it is best to let things go. Another way of saying this is "happy wife, happy life". If she thinks she really needs something, or needs things a particular way, let her have it. Unless her way is super expensive or otherwise painful, let her do what she wants and figure it out. I do voice opinions and advise her, and we do mostly make decisions together, but if she feels very strongly about a situation or thing I tend to just be supportive and let her go with it. At first you will have do be more of a director, but as she gets used to things here you may find you don't need to. Another tendency I see is that my wife and her Ukrainian girlfriends all seem to quickly make any disagreement into a zero-sum discussion. I gather this is because in her home culture, admissions and apologies can be seen as weakness, so compromising or admitting you are wrong mean you lose. An easy way do diffuse problems, and avoid goofy sounding rationalizations, is to just not engage. My two cents :-)	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-05-23 16:34:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Received email from American Embassy in Russia. Super confused now.	No response from the OP, and they have not been active since the date of this post. I am kind of curious as to what happened.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-08-05 18:23:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Too Quiet, zzz man	Still too quiet, zzz man. In gripping news, just happened to notice my own 5-year anniversary on VJ, see man.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2012-07-26 20:03:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Putin proposes scrapping visas between Russia, US	Heinekin and Tuborg for cheap ! I always enjoyed the local beers more. I thought Lidaskye (from Lida ) was the best of the bunch. I can only vouch for Minsk Oblast...and that's the richest of them all. Housing prices may be up...but how many of those houses and apts. are actually moving...being sold ? You ever read "tut.by" ? They have the classified section on there along with Luka's fantasy neighborhoods that he plans on building. Other than that gated community you see when leaving Minsk on the East Road, you don't see jack. Fifteen minutes out of town on the East Road, or even the Road heading north towards Zhodino you start seeing houses with no electricity and water. That's only fifteen miles from Minsk...well before you get to MSQ (air port). Brest and Grodno by the looks of it aren't doing any better. It has been awhile, but I remember driving out past the National Library in Minsk, and seeing large new subdivisions. Big homes, new roads, and really nice looking. My partners said that they were beautiful, but worthless until the government actually ran water, gas, and electricity there - so they were all vacant. I don't know if things have changed recently though.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-11 15:30:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Putin proposes scrapping visas between Russia, US	Any chance those were the same people who got thrown out of Ukraine by nationalists? If so, I would believe it. And then there is always a minor portion of brainwashed nationalists in almost any country. Some countries, like Ukraine, have more of them than is healthy I really couldn't say I only know what my wife's family tell her. That sort of talk definitely irritates most Ukrainians. I believe the eastern part of the country wants closer economic ties to Russia, but not a unified government at all. The western half has a different opinion entirely.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-11 08:54:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Putin proposes scrapping visas between Russia, US	That sounds about right. Luckily, Ukraine or Belarus could never be taken by Russian government by force. People (army) simply will not do that and government knows it. I have been told that in some Russian cities (Rosta specifically), people talk about "getting our Ukraine back" openly. It get's even better though. After Lukashenko was voted in president the first time, the first thing he did was take his Russian trained KGB and arrest Congress, install a new Congress and then changed the Belarusian Constitution so that not only did he now have unlimited powers, but he can run for president as many times as he likes. And all this was planned in Moscow well before Lukashenko won the first time around. I know that is true. My business there depended on having strong partners in Minsk, because the courts are an extension of the government - so any dispute goes against the foriegn entity, especially an American one. I was surprised when my own government torpedoed the venture My partners also told me that unification was never going to happen because no one in Belarus wanted Russian businesses to control the entire market there. The Office of the President of the Republic owns a piece of most businesses, and collects lots of revenue in addition to that from the large ones. None of the people making a profit from the monopolies could continue to make a living if the government "share" went to Moscow.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-11 08:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Putin proposes scrapping visas between Russia, US	Ah yes the "Union State"...the same idea that Luksahenko has been dangling in front of the Kremlin for years now knowing that every Russian nationalist and brainwashed NASHI member salivates at. And where will this "Union State" be ran from ? I'm going to guess it's the Kremlin seeing how most Russian nationalist think that Ukraine is still "Malorussia" and that Belarus is nothing more than a Russian Oblast. Not gonna happen. Ukraine has their own language and borders, and it's the same for Belarus. The citizens of those country's know only too well what will happen once the Kremlin takes over. It's bad enough for them already, and they don't need to go any further backwards in regards to democracy than they already have. My ex business partners in Minsk told me once that as the Yeltsin era came to a close, Uncle Sasha (Lukashenko) had a fair amount of leverage with the union issue. Some say he could have wound up a powerful figure in the unified country. They also said that few powerful Russians (or nationalistic ones) would agree. Lukashenko picked the wrong side, whatever that was, and Putin said he would be most happy to unify Belarus by annexing it. This would make it a Russian satellite or province of some kind, and the current government would have had to go. I don't know the truth of it, just what I was told.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-10 19:40:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian TV in USA & Russian Keyboards	We bought a Russian keyboard at a mall in Odessa. About $20, packed it and brought it back.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-17 20:02:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian TV in USA & Russian Keyboards	QUOTE (Jeff and Tatiana @ Sep 22 2009, 09:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I If your bride wants to "chat" with her parents online, she is used to using a Russian Character Keyboard. What brands, models, types have you found? Where did you buy them at? How does it actaully work? Do I have to just temporarly change the language on the OS to be Russian? I have found some stuff online myself, but I am a bit fuzzy as to how they actually work, so anyone who has practical knowledge please share!! I am in Ukraine now, and will buy a keyboard before I return. Let you know the details.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2009-10-03 14:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	The Solstice is trashed	No sweat - just go back and be the bad guy. I really enjoy that	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-23 19:10:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	The Solstice is trashed	She claims it was because of her accent and they do not take a "foreign woman" seriously. They do not take any woman seriously. Vika was stunned when I walked away after a dealership manager said "you have already bent me over buddy, I can't do any better than that". When we came back, he said "what will it take, etc.". Well , Vika says "OMG, he alredy said this was the BEST price". When I offered an additional $2,000 less, she was really shocked that they (I need to check with my manager sir) said OK in 90 seconds.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-23 18:57:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Why do they live in different communities?	When's the next time you coming up to the 2100 block of North Clark street? You kiddin' me? Whenever I want. When you comin' sout for dat dog show?	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-04-01 21:01:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Why do they live in different communities?	Translation... Money laundering. Or accountant......didn't save Al Capone though! I tol' you before - don't ever ask me 'bout my business.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-04-01 11:51:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Why do they live in different communities?	I was going to guess textiles at first, but after reading that I'm thinking more along the lines like running broads, booze, drugs, or guns. Honestly, my business was finance. I visited different countries for different reasons though. For awhile I worked with a foundation that runs orphanages in Romania, visited Poland on vacation from business in Belarus, just different stuff. I wrapped my business because of the Democracy in Belarus Act years ago. I started a new company to look into R/E in Ukraine, butnothing I found there made any sense because of the way Ukraine approaches ownership by foreign persons (including corporate entities and partnerships). Plus I just couldn't find strong, honest partners there.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-04-01 08:28:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Why do they live in different communities?	D@mn Brad, you were all over the place. What business are you in ? If I told you, I'd have to kill you	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-31 20:25:00