Altogether up to 350 000 people die in Russia each year due to smoking related illnesses. The cost of smoking to the economy of Russia certainly runs into billions of dollars annually. Research across the world has shown that people who smoke have a high rate of absenteeism. This steals prime productivity time away from the economy which is equivalent to billions of dollars.

The cost of smoking to a country such as Russia will also be linked to the cost of looking after those who fall ill due to smoking. Smoking diseases such as cancers and respiratory infections severely eats into national health budgets of countries with millions of smokers such as Russia.

At least for Russia, the leaders have come out condemning smoking calling it a tragedy for the nation. This is hardly the case in developing countries where leaders can not openly shame smoking due to fears of revenues drying up. This is particularly the case in China where 350million smokers contributes up to 8% in tax income to national coffers.

In June 2010 it was reported that Russia was introducing compulsory “Smoking Kills” signs on cigarette packaging. In addition packaging will also indicate the dangers of smoking such as cancers, wrinkles and impotence amongst men. The government of Russia through the ministry of finance is also aiming to increase tobacco taxes fully by 2011 as a way of discouraging smoking. Tobacco taxes have been shown to be very effective in reducing the numbers of people who smoke.

In fact there are two leading reasons why people who smoke stop smoking namely the fear of diseases associated with smoking and the financial burden of continued smoking. In Japan in particular the government there has evidently been able to cut back on smoking by simply increasing taxes. Smoking in Russia is so serious it is predicted should the trend continue the population will shrink from 142 million in 2010 to about 116 million in 2050.

As is the case in many other countries, the tragedy in Russia is that the government is still putting a lot more emphasis on reducing smoking cigarettes. Big tobacco appears to have since devised new strategies to get many more people hooked on smoking especially the young people. The new frontiers of the tobacco fight are now smokeless tobacco which is mostly chewing tobacco.

Getting a Russian bride in marriage seems to be the most fantastic thing to happen with most men of the world. But one important thing that needs to be remembered here is that Russian women are very closely attached to their families. So, even after the marriage, there is every chance that they will talk a lot about their families back home in Russia. Hence, it is a good idea for you to know your wife’s family well, if you have a Russian bride.

The many political upheavals in Russia have contributed largely to knitting their families closely. Added to that, there have been economic problems and unhealthy social conditions in the country since the Second World War. In the early nineties, Russia was almost ruined, and it is only now that things are beginning to look up there. But the strong family values ingrained at that time still persist.

During Russia’s bad times, the conditions there were so bleak that people had to even share bread with their neighbors. It was the women of the house then that helped Russian families to sail through. The pretty young Russian women of today have seen their mothers scrounging for their family’s well-being, and it is only natural that these values have rubbed off on them.

That is also the reason why Russian brides even as they are going through marriage would want their husbands to be their strong emotional and financial support. At the same time, they will not be able to easily let go of their families who they have grown up through so many problematic times. Even their aunts and grandmothers are important to them. Russian women will not hesitate in supporting the old people of their family when they retire, even if they are countries apart.

However, there is a very fortunate side to this. Due to the terrible poverty-ridden conditions that Russia has gone through, the women there have become very money conscious. They will be very sensitive to expenses, and will manage their household in a very capable manner.

If you have reservations about how your Russian bride will be after marriage, in regards to her relationship with her family, then you must certainly open up this topic before marriage. Get to know how her family conditions are, and what will happen to her mother and father when they are old and not working any more. Also, try to assess future situations such as when her parents are old and there is no one to look after them. Ask her what she will do at such times.

The common idea in people’s minds whenever a Russian woman marries a foreign husband is that she is after the man’s money and a better
lifestyle. But this is not necessarily true. Though living in a western country will give the Russian bride a good life after marriage, they are not always looking for such improvements in lifestyle. If Russian woman love someone, it is to death, and the same is true, whether the man is from her own country, or foreign.

But Russian brides will not let go of their old country traditions and customs even if they are living in the heart of New York City. At the same time, they will respect their husbands and even his family to the hilt. They will be able homemakers, and will manage the budget quite capably. Being brought up in traditional Russian society, Russian women will not want a career to equal her husband’s, but will manage his finances in a very expert manner. All in all, marriage to a Russian bride is a very winning situation, if you make some adjustments with the cultural differences that might creep in.