As with many of the “Russian” dating sites, Anastasia International is a comprehensive dating site that not only displays profiles of women from all over the Former Soviet Union (FSU), but also offers some additional services. These services include video chats with the ladies, international 3-way calling, gifts and flowers, and a fairly robust tour service.
Cost of Basic Services
Each of the services that Anastasia offers comes with a price, of course. After all, it is a business that has to make money. With Anastasia one buys “credits” to use in order to open or send letters to the ladies. Opening a letter or sending a letter costs one credit. Their best deal is to buy 100 credits at a time, which will cost you $399.00 US. This can add up very quickly if you are in contact with a lot of different ladies. If each letter costs you $4 to read and $4 to send, and you write one letter a day, you are looking at spending $56 each week. Great for Anastasia. As for you, well, it depends on your budget and finances. For some people this might be completely worth it. For most it is likely too costly.
Other Services
Other services, such as video conferencing and three-way calls are on a per use basis. With these you have to pay for the service up front by credit card. You may, at least with international calls, authorize Anastasia to go over your initial time and continue a call, but it will cost you on a per minute basis. The cost is fairly high; however, if your lady does not speak English well, then there is a translator on-line available for you at no extra cost. This is very useful! And definitely worth it.
The disadvantage to this site is that you cannot obtain the ladies’ direct e-mails or phone numbers through the site. You may, according to Anastasia’s rules, ask for these in a phone call or ask for your lady’s mailing address, through which you will have to obtain any additional contact information. This can draw out the process a little bit, but it also makes certain that you are really sure that you are serious about that lady!
Anastasia is a large enough agency that they offer full internet access to the ladies free of charge. The women are actually able to go into the agency and use the agency’s computers to read and write their letters to you at no charge to the ladies. All costs for the agency are borne by the men.
The Russian Ladies
The ladies that you will find on Anastasia tend to be from a more professional group of women and for some reason are, on average, better looking than you will find on most of the other sites. You will find on other places on the web that men are claiming there are no average or “unattractive” women on the site. I disagree, as I’ve looked through hundreds of profiles on this site, and they are certainly there. But those pictures aren’t on Anastasia’s advertising. There are some “average” looking women (see picture to the right), as with any dating site. Hey, we can’t all date supermodels, and we don’t all want to!
The age range of the ladies is quite broad, from 18 to late forties, but with the majority of the women seeming to be under 30. Naturally this age group has more single women, but there is a slightly higher demographic of women in this age range than is found on most other sites.
Another thing about Anastasia is that there tend to be more women from Ukraine. This tells me that their agency there is more active and more focused in that country. Anastasia also has more tours in Ukraine, so that also shows that this country is a major focus for them. This may be a good thing, because it shows that they are more specialized in one geographic region and can therefore help you out better if you use their tours in that area.
The Men (Your Competition)
As Anastasia is probably one of the most expensive sites on the web, it naturally attracts a certain kind of man (those who can afford it most), and the women seem to know that. They are looking for financially strong, independent men, who will also be their true loves. Most of these women really are looking for their soul-mate and it shows in their profiles as well as their letters. While there is the occasional gold-digger, at least on Anastasia the gold-diggers are more obvious about it than elsewhere. And that can be a good thing, since you then have a clear choice as to whether to correspond with these women.
Recommendation
Overall I do recommend Anastasia, because the women are truly sincere, they are forthright in what they want, and they are screened by the agency reasonably well. Anastasia’s customer service is excellent, as I know from first hand experience, which is nice. This is an excellent site, if a little pricey.
Disclaimer
As with any internet dating site, be aware of what you are doing and try to check out who you are writing! AnastasiaWeb and its various sites have in the past (although I have not seen any proof of this since 2005) been accused of taking women’s profiles form other sites and faked letters to men. Be aware of this and have your lady checked out as soon as possible. I have never experienced this with any of the ladies I have written, and I have had a few checked by independent detective agencies. This can save both of you some grief and a lot of expense. On a personal note, I think that most of the accusations are coming from men who are disgruntled with the high expenses involved with using this agency.
site. I disagree, as I’ve looked through hundreds of profiles on this site, and they are certainly there. But those pictures aren’t on Anastasia’s advertising. There are some “average” looking women (see picture to the right), as with any dating site. Hey, we can’t all date supermodels, and we don’t all want to!