Dating in Moscow

Looking for love in Moscow is a serious undertaking. Be prepared for a city with a very hectic lifestyle - crowded streets, overloaded transport, everybody rushing to and fro... and everything is expensive!

Don't let that put you off. Muscovites are a hardy people with a tough outer facade, but this is reserved for strangers. When you get to know them, the facade is dropped to reveal some of the warmest people imaginable. Here's a hint - the facade stays up until a person is comfortable with you.

Travelling to Moscow requires some forethought and planning. Uncle Pasha's webpages and his services are very useful for planning trips to Moscow, but bear in mind that he is wary of the typical Western 'bride hunter'. But since you're on this site, you're not like that, are you?!

Moscow's vast urban sprawl almost takes in Kolomenskaya, a beautiful estate largely untouched from the time of the Czars. An ideal place for a romantic afternoon, and only a few minutes out of the centre by metro (the metro leaves its underground warren outside the city centre and comes to the surface to act as an ordinary elektrichka).

Romance in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is Russia's cultural capital. Awash with museums, theatres and cathedrals, it's the perfect place for a blossoming romance. The white nights are truly stunning, and watching the bridges opening is said to be one of the city's most romantic sights (unless of course you need to be on the other side of them at that point).

People in Saint Petersburg are generally calmer than their Muscovite comrades, hardly surprising since they have less traffic, terrorism and pollution to deal with. A romantic evening in Saint Petersburg could be a stroll down the Fontanka embankment followed by a drink in an outdoor cafe, then off to see the Palace Bridge opening to let ships navigate the Neva.

Meeting singles in Saint Petersburg is possibly easier than anywhere else. Most young Petersburgers have a fair grasp of English, some also know German or French. If you're interested in art or literature, this is the place for you. Home to Pushkin, Gogol and other great Russian writers, Saint Petersburg's literary tradition still flows in the veins of its people.