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I have been looking at all the agencies.  I have time this month and am thinking of going to Ukraine with Mordinson.  They have alot of hot young girls on their site. Does anyone have experience going to Kharkov with them?  Any recommendations?

... in response to Mordinson Marriage Agency, posted by hockeybrain on Nov 16, 2001

Kharkiv has a well-earned reputation for being one of the scam capitals of Ukraine (the other is Chernivtsy), and a quick review of the site and I recognized a couple of the girls in the "New" section that have had their photos plastered across the internet for more than a couple of years. One such gal is # 202 - Vera. I recall seeing her on a site well more than a year ago (it has been that long since I was scanning the sites). Wish I could recall which one. Maybe it was this Mordinson site - and maybe she is on the up-and-up - and maybe frogs really can fly --smile--.

FWIW

- Dan

... in response to I Suppose One Should Never Say "Nev..., posted by Dan on Nov 16, 2001

I've been to Kharkiv three times and I wouldn't go so far as saying that it is one of the scam capitals in Ukraine.  I definately believe that if you are going to use the agencies, use them only for meeting women.  Kharkiv is the second largest city so there are many women there.  It is also significantly (1/3 of the cost)cheaper to rent an apartment, entertain, etc. than Kiev.  Unfortunately, it is not as scenic as Kiev (tourist attractions).  Austrian Airlines flies directly into Kharkov or it can be reached from Kiev either by train or bus (cheap).  There are now many restruants that have English menus.  The trick is to have a contact to make the arrangements.  There are about 10 agencies in the town.  Two quite large and the others very small.

I have a contact there (Irina) that Quasamoto can attest to that is cheap and very capable.  She has worked with myself and several others lurking on the board.  Speaks excellent English and will not do you wrong.  She also will do translations of letters reasonably priced.  She does attend college so sometimes during the day she is not available.  But she will miss a day of school to meet you at the airport and get you to Kharkov and set up.  Let me know if you would like further info and I'd be happy to give you more info via e-mail.

... in response to Re: I Suppose One Should Never Say "..., posted by DE on Nov 16, 2001

The greatest concentration of universities in any one city of the FSU - so logic suggests it would be a good destination for people looking for younger (co-ed age) ladies.

I suspect I know of at least one of the agencies you are referring to in Kharkiv, since I am somewhat familiar with Steve's (Quasimoto's) travels around Ukraine. Unfortunately, Dmitri also has a pretty strong following of people that cite specific examples of fraud and misleading behavior on his part. Having said that - it is only second-hand information and since I do not like speaking without personal experience, I'll just leave it at that. I do understand that Steve had good experiences with him.

The reason for citing Kharkiv as a "scam capital" is that it is one of 2 centers of scam activity in Ukraine. As I understand the genesis of it, someone (I wish I knew who it was) became active in the MOB business quite a few years ago - probably just after independence in 1991. They quickly discovered how lucrative it can be, and the word of what they were doing spread around the city. My guess is the university system contributed to the rapid spread. Unfortunately, what it evolved into is a priority on revenue-generation - with a much lower priority on responding to the interests of the ladies and their gentlemen suitors.

The infamous Baranova centers her activities out of the Chernivtsy region (western Ukraine) - the other scam center of Ukraine. Unfortunately, I do not know who it may have been that started and perpetuated the scam activity in Kharkiv - though some would point to Dmitri as being heavily-involved in it.

Dmitri (of KharkivGirls) - if you are reading - I don't mean to condemn you. I am simply passing along information I have heard that came from credible sources (people whom I know and trust) - and I acknowledge the folly of passing along hearsay remarks. Please feel free to correct me if I have mis-stated something.

Returning to the point of the original post - I counsel EXTREME caution when dealing with any of the agencies in Kharkiv. In a VERY quick review of the Mordinson site, I came across several ladies that I know have been in the internet scene for a long time - and they were in the "New" section of Mordinson. Is that, in itself, condemning? No - not really - but it points to a suspicious behavior, from an agency doing business in a city that is renowned for it's scam agencies. CAVEAT EMPTOR.

FWIW

- Dan

... in response to Kharkiv Also Has . . ., posted by Dan on Nov 17, 2001

One needs to exercise good judgement when dealing with the agancies.  Money is of course their sole reason for existence and the success of your relationship is secondary at best.  This does not however negate the fact that there are many, many sincere women that belong to these agencies.  Let's face it, it is extremely difficult for many of these ladies to meet foriegn men in any way other than through the agencies.  Many may argue that of course if they sincerely want to meet foriegn men, they should just go to an internet cafe and join up with some on-line introduction or dating service.  But unfortunately, its no different than telling Americans that if you want to make a fortune, it is as easy as trading commodities over the internet.  Well, that doesn't really help.  The fear of the unknown, the overwhelming thoughts of how do I start, etc. prevent many from even considering or attempting to do such.  The same is true for U/W about just walking into their nearest internet cafe and "wha la", prince charming is just a few key strokes away.  There are many fine and wonderful women that have little to no experience with computers let alone the internet.  Also, there are numerous who are unemployed and live with their families that just don't have the few Grivena it requires to use such a internet cafe.  Although this is improving, there are still many that prefer to use agencies.  And why not, the foriegn man typically foots the entire bill.  So despite the motives (MONEY) of the agency owners, there are many good ladies that belong to these agencies in addition to the scamming ones.

As to Dmitry's agency, although I did not specifically refer to him, he does own one of the bigger ones.  I have had several dealings with him, some good, some not so good.

The good: His agency has hundreds and hundreds of ladies to meet.  For $200, and given enough trip time, you could be introduced to everyone of them that would like to meet you.  Some will be very sincere, some will meet you for a free dinner.  He does have resources available to get you out of a pinch should you find yourself needing last minute transportation or accomodations.

The bad:  You will definately PAY for those last minute problems to be resolved.  His primary interest is money.  Of course anything he arranges in prepration for your trip like transportation, apartments, etc. he makes his commission on (that means you'll pay about double than what you could get it for having a contact there not associated with an agency).  As a very close friend of mine quoted to me after informing him of my pending return last September, "I don't care about Dwayne, he has Inna, I can't make anymore money off him".  Well, after all, business is business so I can't fault him for this attitude.  But one would hope that this whole idea of associating with the agency would be to ensure the client is successful as well as harboring continued positive relationships if for nothing else, public relations, referrals, repeat business, etc.

My advice, it doesn't matter which city you go to (unless tourist attractions are important), make your arrangements through a contact not associated with an agency (having dealt also with Jack and his associates, I would say he is the only exception to this), use non agency interpreters, and when using agencies to meet women, remember that they are in business primarily to make money!

The reason I did exclude Jack is, 1) he has given me more advice and time free of charge and without expectation of being paid than any other person in this whole arena, and 2) although using his service and never so much as once writing to any of his ladies, he still has the interest in you and your success and is willing to continue helping you achieve it.  Now that speaks a whole lot about his character.  A lesson that many agency owners just don't get.  A little compassion, understanding, and maintaining a positive relationship is an investment worth more in the future than trying to turn a few hundred bucks today!

My last $.02 worth

... in response to Mordinson Marriage Agency, posted by hockeybrain on Nov 16, 2001

I don't have any first hand experience...but it looks like a photographer runs the site...too too much eye candy.  I think the reality will be quite different,  just my hunch.  Tim

... in response to Mordinson Marriage Agency, posted by hockeybrain on Nov 16, 2001

i have a little experience. almost everyone of the ladies on the site were posing for photos thinking they were posing to make some model photos as most these ladies dreamed to be a model.

a great many of these ladies have no interest in marrying a foreign man. check the archives from rwl-st.johns and i think there was some recent talk about this on the rwlguide. where there is smoke there is usually fire.