"And now, 15 years gone, forces their young women to sell themselves any way they can to survive. "
When is the last time you were in Moscow? A good majority of the prostitutes now are from Ukraine, Moldova, or the provinces. The Chechens are usually their pimps. Still a horrible situation, but the numbers "Muscovites" engaged in prostitution has plummeted enough that prostitutes will advertise on the internet or in papers stating they are a "true" Moscow gal (so they can up their price).
What's really sad is if you talk to these girls (they hang out in bars frequented by Westerners) you'll find that a lot of them are very educated and if they had been born somewhere else they'd probably be doing quite well for themselves.
It's been my experience (and observation) that most Russian (and Ukrainian) men take their women for granted.
Think the last time was 1999 (or 2000, can't remember). I was there a number of times in the mid-90's.
I'll probably be there again within the next year. Be interesting to see the changes.
I saw the changes from '95 to 2000. When I first went there, the prostitutes would roam around in the Metropole quite freely. They were Russian, and for the most part, incredibly beautiful. Jaw droppingly so. I still can't believe that they were doing what they were doing. The Mafiya thugs would hang around in the lobby, working protection. Pretty weird.
By 2000, though, they were gone. The hotels (Metropole, Sheraton are the ones I'm usually at) had guards and there weren't any girls working the stairways and elevators anymore. No more obvious gangsters, either, but I would bet that the 'security' guys did more than just work for the hotel.
I saw the Chechen pimps even then. Rather nauseating fellows. I always thought the term "Chechen gangster" was just an inter-ethnic slur. But it appears to be somewhat appropriate in their case.
If there are fewer Moscow women doing this, that's great. I wasn't sure why they did it in the first place, but then economics drives a lot of bad things. As far as Ukrainian girls, well, I've seen them too. They're typically quite pretty. Again, they're doing what they can, I guess. It's an old story of girls from rural areas coming to the big city and ending up in a bad situation.
I've also heard the line you said about the attitudes of Russian men. Seen some of it too, and it's to some extent true, but I think like a lot of stereotypes, it breaks down. I know a lot of Russian men who aren't bad that way. But a lot do drink way too much...the national disease there. In addition to the culture, I think that's a big part of the problem.
Anyway, a lot of guys I know still end up going to Night Flight and other places like that. It's fun maybe the first 1 or 2 times, but I didn't like it. It bothers me that Russian or Ukrainian or Moldovan or whatever kind of girl ends up there.
Maybe it will end, but it seems to me that Communism ripped away the moral fabric of the people. If these girls were raised Orthodox, would they be there? Don't think so. Maybe you could tell me.
I can only hope that the economics of oil and other resources results in some economic stability for Russia. If Russia can hold out for a generation, things will probably work out. The kids I met were smart and understood what was happening to them and around them. They had hope for the future. I can only hope they are right.