Did he disappear for weeks at a stretch or did he threaten to harm anyone who tried to befriend her? This lady's husband is undoubtedly no prize, but something about her story just doesn't ring true.
Her story probably is true. I know of a woman going through problems with a guy who brought her to America, the 'agencies' in Russia translate everything so that both parties involved think it's bliss. Most of the losers who go over there have already had a string of unsuccessful marriages in the states, most 'restarant meetings' like the article describes are little more than sex trips for the men.
There's a fair amount of Russian women scamming American men but few make it here, the process is pretty stringint. (most scam a guy for 2000 bucks saying it's to buy a visa, and disappear).
Still there's an incredible number creatins looking for little more than a live in sex slave going over to Russia though these agencies.
while I'm sure there are cases like this, a big percentage of russian mail order bride industry is run by the russian mob and many of the women are brought into the country so they can obtain greencards and work as prostitutes and strippers in the north east.
Some of these women are innocent and were just looking for a way out of the country, but easily fall into a trap by the Russian mob and married off to total scumbags or go to foreign countries beliving they are there for work, and end up forced into prostitution. But many are russian prostitutes without the american men even knowing to being with. THey were told they were school teachers or art students, etc...
Many of these men meet beautiful charming sweet russian women thinking they are getting wife and mother material.
They end up paying thousands of dollars to the "matchmaking services" which are just fronts run by the mob.
Soon after they arrive, the women start making the mans life a living hell and have no desire to act like wife and have children, and as soon as the time has past that they can qualify for citizenship without being married, they invent stories of abuse to be able to win as much money as possible in the divorce settlement to help pay off the debt/deals they have with the russian mob.
As the saying goes, buyer beware.
If she claims abuse, she can divorce him, get money, and get to stay in the US as well