An article by Shaun Walker in The Guardian takes a look at Ukraine’s thriving internet romance trade, and meets the men who travel there in search of love.
Walker spends a week in Odessa, Ukraine, visiting Anastasia International, a company with a revenue of $140m that is “attempting to rebrand what was once called the “mail-order bride” industry as something modern and progressive.”
He talks to lovelorn men like 43-year-old Tom from Delaware, who travel to Ukraine in search of a beautiful wife, and end up falling victim to scams – spending a huge amount of money, and leaving alone.
Walker also has a chance encounter with one of the women involved, Alina, who admitted to feeling guilty about her part in what she describes as “emotional prostitution”.
And while Walker says Anastasia International do not collude in the sophisticated scams, they do run a highly profitable business model which allow them to flourish.
Read the article here.