It was Russian Silver Age philosopher Berdyaev who said that Russian women love Russian men out of pity. National archetypes are best represented in folklore. The Russian fairy tale Vasilissa the Wise is one where the stereotype of Russian male-female relationship is expressed in an allegorical form.
There Vasilissa is a frog who turns into a beautiful and wise woman at night, unbeknownst to everyone but her husband Ivanushka. Under the frog's skin lives a beautiful princess capable of most amazing wizardry.
Her husband keeps getting various impossible tasks from the Tsar. Every time Ivanushka come back home lost at how to cater to yet another royal whim, his frog-wife reassures him she will take care of it. Whilst he is asleep, she turns into a witch lady and gets down to business of accomplishing all kinds of impossible feats such as baking a pie enough to feed a thousand or weave a silk carpet overnight. In the morning she turns back into a frog and creeps back into the padded box where she is kept while Ivanushka takes off to the court for another string of praise and accolades from the Tsar. When royal favour runs out, Ivanushka gets another task and the circle repeats.
Many Russian women bear their husband like a cross, as if a repentance for the sins of their past lives. Burdened with the double task of earning a living and running a household they are also expected to look sexy and sophisticated at all times.
The situation is not helped by the centuries-old reality of constant warfare and social cataclysms that has resulted in a female-to-male ratio of 13 to 10. With the average lifespan of 54 years for men and 72 years for women, perspectives of a happy family life for Russian women are, mildly put, bleak. Russian men are spoilt for choice and have no incentive to perform. Gender emancipation of the Soviet times also ensured a nearly equal female participation in the work force as well as easier sexual accessibility than in other traditional societies. The perceived social value of women is thus rather low.
Not surprisingly, Russia’s biggest export commodity after oil and arms are women. Educated, good-looking and demure, ready for hard work and sacrifices, modern-time Vasilissas depart in droves in quest for a husband.
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