I read both columns. Amusing but, ultimately, how much fun is it to respond to what is essentially a form letter? We know there really is no Natalia at the other end or, at least, not one who understands English enough to know when she is being mocked and heckled.
I have visited with some Russian women online and have a running e-mail chat with one but I did not meet her through any sort of dating service and she does not seem eager to come to the U.S. But she does relay her disdain for Russian men. We've talked by phone and I have a picture of her wearing something I sent her for her birthday so I know she is quite real and progressing in her English proficiency.
Still, happiness is where you find it and it can be found in some "gorsk" in the middle of Siberia or in the middle of Florida. Conversely, either place can also make you miserable if you are not happy with yourself.
I do think many Russian woman want to escape their surroundings and will use their beauty (as most women do) to try to make their lives better in one way or another. Those who are genuinely interested in becoming good wives in America, I wish them well and hope the guy they find values them as an equal. For the scammers, it is just one more reason why you have to be careful and wary with the world that comes to you through the World Wide Web. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
As Ronald Reagan once said about the Russians, "Trust, but verify."