Meet Evgenia. She's a 5-foot-6, 130-pound, 22-year-old Russian woman. She speaks some English, and she's never been married.
Meet Sveta. She's a 5-foot-1, 135-pound, 42-year-old Russian woman. She's divorced with a 14-year-old son.
Both women - and hundreds more - can be found amongst the personal ads of International Connections at www.bridegirl.com, the East Lansing-based Web site designed to match American men with Russian women.
A dozen years after immigrating to the United States, Alex Dovlatov, 48, opened the site in September in hopes of cashing in on the psychology of American men looking for foreign brides.
At the same time, he operates in a culture where some consider his work to be taboo - or even a legalized form of international prostitution.
To Dovlatov, a 2000 MSU sociology graduate, the site simply provides a venue for international dating or linking American men with would-be Russian brides.
There is no sex for sale at www.bridegirl.com, he says. Rather, the site lets customers view hundreds of photos on Dovlatov's site before choosing women to pursue.
For a fee, Dovlatov eases courtship by providing e-mail addresses and assisting in three-way conversations. Eventually, he'll help arrange for his customers to meet their potential bride.
"I know the nature of this business," Dovlatov said. "I know how it works. I know the agencies in Russia. I know the psychology of people who want to get married with foreign brides.
"I feel like an expert in this field."
It's no small field, either. There are hundreds of Web sites designed to turn a profit by making it easy for American men to find foreign brides.
In 1995, founders of "A Foreign Affair" launched the site, loveme.com to provide a range of matchmaking services for American men.
"There is a lot of demand for it," said John Adams, president of the Phoenix, Ariz.-based site. "It is very possible for it to be successful."
"A Foreign Affair" offers more than 100,000 online pictures of potential international brides and the means for putting men face-to-face with prospects.
Through "Romance Tours," clients can travel to at least 10 foreign cities to scout out potential brides. The company guarantees that customers will meet 500 to 2,000 women on each tour.
Sporting all these services, the company claims to be responsible for seven engagements each day.
"Both the men and women are taking the time to find the right person," said Adams, who found his foreign wife through a matching service.
There are pitfalls, though, says MSU sociology professor Vladimir Shlapentokh, who was among the first to write about dating services in Russian newspapers while a Soviet citizen in the early 1970s.
"The ratio of success is not very high," Shlapentokh said. "It is a sad story that many Russian women can find husbands in their own country, but because of material problems, they look for husbands elsewhere.
"It is a difficult enterprise and not often very successful."
It is imperative for business operators to be up-front with clients and the women involved about the potential dangers and complications of engaging in an international marriage, Shlapentokh said.
Shlapentokh calls his former student, Dovlatov, a "nice, reasonable and polite" man.
But, he says, "I hope he will be cautious and honest with Russian women and warn them of the pitfalls they will approach in this country."
In addition to making both parties aware of concerns, people operating sites of this nature are continuously walking a fine line with public image and the law.
Last month, an East Lansing police detective investigated Dovlatov's operation and concluded that no illegal businesses is taking place, police Capt. Juli Liebler said.
"It is more like a travel agency where they arrange for you to go to Russia and meet these women," she said. "It is more like a dating service."
International women's rights organizations have cited international matchmaking services as being a front for prostitution or illegal activity.
"That would always be our first concern," Liebler said. "We certainly don't want that type of atmosphere here in East Lansing, but according to the law, he is doing nothing wrong."
Dovlatov says his business is no different than www.match.com or Yahoo! Personals, two highly frequented online-dating services.
"I am selling information, not women, and making it easier for men to travel to Russia and meet them," he said. "When they come there, they can choose one."
So far, though, he's received few calls for his services in his business' first weeks. But that, he hopes, will change.
Dovlatov said, "I know this business will grow."
Steve Eder can be reached at ederstev@msu.edu.
