War and alcoholism have taken their toll on Russia's male population, and women are turning their gaze to the eligible bachelors of the UK, finds Richard Spillett
Are British men on the run from Britain's pint-downing, liberated women? Photograph: Getty
While in the realm of political rhetoric Britain and Russia seem to be renewing old rivalries, relations on the ground have never been better. The global market is finally coming to Moscow, and when it comes to husbands, Russian women have started buying British.
Sitting with Yorkshireman Jonathan and his newly-wedded Muscovite wife, Alexandra, I begin to understand why. Over borscht and fish and chips, she explains: "In Britain, all the blokes are gorgeous and the girls are ugly. Here all the women are beautiful and the men are useless." Though I’m not sure it is quite that straightforward, there may be an element of truth in it.
The second world war’s removal of a generation of men meant that boys were treated like kings in the Soviet
clipped from: www.guardianweekly.co.uk 
