A quick search in Google for an honest dating site for meeting Slavic women is likely to leave you skeptical if not frustrated. There's a plethora of sketchy datings sites that are so glitzy and even sleazy that it all feels too good to be true (and it almost always is).

But I'm excited today, because in this review we feature one of the few honest and reputable dating sites for meeting Russian speaking women overseas: Elena's models. The site is unique among its competitors because of its commitment to its users and its passion for honesty in the international dating world. But most importantly, it's a great site to meet real and genuine women.

In 1999 founder Elena Petrova, herself a Russian woman, began to blog about her experience being married to a foreigner. The Russian language website grew in popularity to the point that Elena decided to write and self-publish a book for Russian women about how to marry a foreigner.

 The book was picked up and reviewed by Russian Cosmopolitan, and in a short time both the book and blog became immensely popular among Russian women interested in marrying abroad.  

Knowing the interest of foreign men in dating  Russian women, and seeing the popularity of her work in her own country, Elena connected the dots and Elena's Models was born.  

Elena's Models is an ideal dating site for a man seriously considering meeting a woman from the FSU. The majority of women on the site come from Russia and Ukraine, but there are also significant amounts of profiles from other countries such as Belarus, Moldova, and Kazakstan. 

The site takes a lot of the guesswork out of connecting with women in Russia and many neighboring republics. Ultimately though it's squarely up to you to arrange the travel and actually meet a woman. While EM will provide a means to connect online, and give you plenty of valuable advice on how to date overseas; they are through and through a dating site. They aren't in the business of romance tours or personal introductions.

*Sounds like my kind of site 🙂

At it's heart EM functions like the majority of online dating sites. With a free account you can create a profile and browse through the listings of other members. With a premium membership you can contact other members via messages or video/text chat. 

Note that the following features are only available at various levels of paid membership on EM. 

In site translator

The  general English levels in  FSU nations are typically on the low end of the spectrum, so unless you speak Russian it's possible that you could hit a bit of a language barrier while talking to ladies (though foreign minded women are more likely to know some English). 

EM provides an in site translator at no extra fee. This is in contrast to many PPL sites that charge hefty translation fees for every message you send and receive. 

Depending on your membership level you have the option to hide when you look at someone else's profile on the site. Otherwise a lady will be notified when you look at her profile. 

The two highest levels of paid membership allow you to instantly download a woman's phone number and or email address, assuming of course that she has volunteered it (women don't have to post their contact info on the site). 

Note: If you don't use this feature you can still ask a lady via message or chat for her contact information (EM doesn't interfere with that). The instant download option simply lets you get another member's contact information..well....instantly.

Paid members can access another member's video on their profile. Not all women post videos but some do. A premium account will allow you to watch them.

The highest level of paid membership will allow you to use 5 profile verifications. EM staff will personally contact and verify the information and interest of a woman you choose. 

The highest level of premium membership includes a VIP-coaching package which includes a 8 hour mp3 audio coaching program as well as a manual and two workbooks. All coaching materials have been personally designed by Elena Petrova herself.  

The material is centered around understanding the culture of a Slavic women and how to date successfully overseas.

Each successive membership level is listed on the site in priority over the lower membership levels. In other words a platinum level member is listed in priority over a gold member, and an unlimited member is listed in priority over both gold and platinum members. 

Like most dating sites Elena's Models has a  mobile app for Apple and Android users. Unlike many dating sites EM's app is designed to be a communication app and does not offer full website functionality. The app will only work for members with a paid premium membership. You can't access the app with a free account. 

Elena's mobile app works essentially as a video/text messenger app

The app is designed around text and video chat. If a paid member has existing contacts or a communication history on the site, the app will actually sync them to the mobile platform. 

EM chose to design their app this way in order to encourage real and accepted communications between members, and to discourage unsolicited requests.  

Elena Petrova personally oversees and maintains the English language blog on EM. The blog features articles that inform men on topics centered around dating and marrying women from Eastern Europe. 

You can find articles on culture/traditions, dating advice, and even info on the dating industry (in fact her blog has been a major resource for me while creating FWHL). You don't need a membership to read the blog.

One thing I love about EM is the way they attract women to join their site. Elena's Models doesn't use a single agency to populate their site. Every female profile you see is of a woman who came to the site on her own and decided to join.

They are able to this in part because of the popularity of Elena Petrova's blog. Her Russian language blog has well over 100,000 readers per month. Given that it's a blog about marrying foreign men, women who sign up to the site through the blog often know very well what they're looking for. 

Many international dating sites (especially PPL ones) use agencies who provide them with profiles of women to fill out their site. Assuming the profiles are real, the women behind them can vary widely in their intentions. Most women are recruited off the street, or (in the cause of scam sites) answer a job ad. 

Because EM attracts ladies in a much more natural way, the odds that the women on the site are not only real, but also serious about meeting a man from abroad  go way up.

Over the years the ratio of total male to female profiles has hovered at or close to 50/50 on Elena's Models (give or take). However if you plan on using the site to contact and connect with women the ratio becomes a lot more favorable. The 50/50 ratio includes non-paying male members, who aren't able to actually connect with women (you need a premium membership to do that). 

If you only include men with a paid membership and ladies with active profiles the ratio is 1 to 12. That means for each man able to contact women there are approximately 12 active women profiles. That's a  huge swing in favor of the guys. 

I'll admit that while browsing the site for this review I caught myself looking at more than a few of the ladies' profiles (to be honest it's hard not to). I had perused the site a few days prior when I came back to check up on some of the profiles that caught my attention. To my surprise one of the profiles I saw before was gone, and in the place of the lady I found this:

Evidently there is an issue on EM: women actually meet men and then take their profile down. That's a good problem to have if you ask me. 

Unlike many dating sites EM doesn't offer any single month subscriptions. Subscriptions are available in 3, 6, or 12 month subscriptions. All subscriptions are paid in an upfront one time fee (ie no monthly payment option). While you can cancel your membership anytime, membership do auto renew (although renewal subscriptions are cheaper).  

Below is a summary of price points and features for each membership level on Elena's Models:

If you follow the advice of FWHL then you know that we encourage guys to meet women in the real world as soon as possible. We don't think it's a good idea to carry long drawn out virtual romances when you haven't met someone face to face. 

That being said I personally think the 3 month gold level is the optimal choice. I wouldn't recommend communicating with ladies 6 or 12 months before a trip. Also the higher premium features aren't all that necessary. If you start messaging a woman and you hit it off, you can exchange Skype names and start video chatting and getting to know each other independent of the site (and without the more expensive membership fees). 

Security is one aspect in which Elena's Models really shines. Their system of security against fakes and scammers has multiple layers. All profiles are moderated before they are approved. After that manual checks are done by administrators by internet, Skype calls, or other means. 

On top of manual checks and reviews, EM also uses an automated system which monitors profile behavior through tracking information such as keywords, time of day the site is used, frequency of use, duplicate messages, and more. If the system picks up something suspicious it flags the profile and the site administrators receive a notification.

Members also alert EM to profiles with suspicious behavior. In EM's own words, "Our experience is you must mix both technology and hands on human review to build a safe environment for online dating".    

As with any dating site you'll want to follow the four commandments of international dating and watch out for red flags. No security process, no matter how thorough, is 100% foolproof.  Always exercise common sense when dating online.

EM has a dedicated help desk where users can send messages or call the company directly by phone. Paid members are given top priority over free ones when in need of assistance. I was in contact with the help desk while writing this review and for my part I can say that they quickly and thoroughly answered all of my questions. 

Normally at this stage in a site review I give practical tips on how to use the site to connect with and meet women. Since Elena Petrova runs her own advice blog for men using her site I thought I'd share some of her advice for using Elena's Models. 

Here's an 7 step process Elena lines out on her blog (I'm paraphrasing here) 

It seems like a pretty solid plan of action. The only thing I might add is a timeline for deciding when and where you'll travel. Here on FWHL we encourage men to meet women in person versus having online relationships. It's better for your heart and your wallet if meet women face to face in order to see if you share any chemistry. 

I'd recommend taking Elena's advice while following the timeline below.

In terms of quality and security, Elena's Models helps set the bar for international dating sites.  If you want to meet and connect with Russian speaking women this should be your go to site. A membership with EM does cost more than many of their competitors, but rest assured you get what you pay for with EM.

The site's real strength rests in its quality of profiles and its high level of security.

If you're on the fence about the site I recommend creating a free account and having a look around!