A True Story of One Man's Search for a Russian Lady

[TigerPaws]

A few years ago a man who is as close to a brother to me as a person could be became seriously interested in marrying a Lady from Russia. Tom was at our first wedding in the Bahamas, he was there when our daughter was born, our home is and always has been his home.

He knew Viktoria very well and even learned a bit of Russian from her. Now Tom is what some would call eccentric, he is brilliant, a true genius and it takes a bit of time to get used to him but he is both kind and generous.

About 14 years ago while we were having a couple of beers at a BBQ he announced that he was going to go gold prospecting in Nevada, he had spent several months researching the geological surveys and was convinced that he could strike Gold.

He did find a massive gold field, he spent several years developing the open pit mine well south of Carson City Nevada. 8 years ago he was offered $350 Million Dollars in cash for his claim which he accepted, so from working man to Gold miner to wealthy SOB in a short span of time. Tom is who he is and the money did not change him, yes he drove a nicer car and he purchased a chunk of land with a beautiful home but he was not extravagant or flashy with his wealth.Over dinner on evening Tom asked Viktoria if she thought that he could find a Lady like her is Russia. After thinking him for the complement she said certainly but that he would need to keep his net worth secret at least a first. Well Tom agreed and the search was on.

As most of the married men here know, Russian women are highly networked and it did not take long for Viktoria to speak with by phone and Skype to vet several Ladies for Tom to consider. As always I added my 2 cents suggesting to him that he needs to define as closely as possible exactly what he wants, needs and desires in a Lady. It took some time and a bit of coaching but he found 4 Ladies that he wanted to communicate with and Viktoria made all of the arrangements from Airlines, transportation and hotels. Tom flew all of us over but it was Viktoria who did all of the work, she handled the introductions and translations when necessary.

Both Viktoria and I counseled Tom to simply introduce himself as a Mining Engineer and an entrepreneur, he seemed to hit it off with 2 of the Ladies and divided the balance of his time with them. This was the start of an almost year long process in which he traveled alone back and forth to Russia and even invited the Ladies on a 2 trips out of the country (not at the same time mind you). It was on one of these trips to Egypt that 1 of the girls showed him her true self, suffice to say she was too demanding that she wanted things.

So he concentrated his efforts on the other Lady, he spent several weeks with her in Russia meeting her family and friends before returning home to think. He told us that he really liked the one Lady, she was 27, well educated, seemed to be very family oriented, kind, exceptionally bright, divorced but no children and exceptionally attractive (gentlemen I mean WoW!). It was Viktoria that asked the million dollar question; was he in Love with her? For Tom this was a difficult question because at 48 he had been in very few relationships because most American women could not relate to his quirky personality, but this girl seemed to understand him and seemed to genuinely enjoy his uniqueness.

A bottle of wine later he admitted that he truly believed that she was the girl for him, he slept as usual in the guest room that night because all of had a bit too much that night. The next morning he said that he was going to head back to propose to her, but Viktoria suggested that he call her and ask her to go to Paris for a few days and that once there he find the appropriate time and place to pop the question. He agreed and set about to make the trip happen.

We did not hear from Tom for a couple of weeks when a Skype call came in and it was Tom and his lovely bride to be, letting us know that we were expected to be at the wedding as soon as they figured out when that would be. Now for all of you naysayers yes Tom had a Prenuptial agreement drawn up actually by the very same law firm that had produced the one I had prior to marrying and yes she fully understood what it was and what it meant and Tom insisted that she consult with an attorney which he would pay for without knowing who it was. (She later confided to Victoria she was a bit taken back by this but the attorney she consulted with fully explained what it was and what it meant as well as that it contained a date when the agreement would be null and void. But she understood and accepted it)

Another couple of weeks went by when Tom came to a BBQ and he was both excited and a nervous wreck, he did not know how to go about setting up a wedding and as he had no other family except us he was looking for ideas and help. We talked off and on for several hours and he though that it would be fun for her and her family to have the wedding in the Bahamas as we did. So it was decided and over the next few weeks all of the arrangements were in place. He told his bride to be that he would take care of all the arrangements and expenses for her family, she was terrified of the expense but he assured her that he had saved up enough and could afford it. You see per his agreement with Viktoria he would not reveal his actual net worth until they were married. He had done an exceptional job of keeping his expenses in line with a well paid engineer and not someone who is independently wealthy.

The day came when it was time to leave and her family loaded up into 2 mini vans and headed off to the airport, her father knew something was up when the driver missed the turn to the passenger terminal and instead went to the new Executive Air Terminal which by-the-way is very security conscious (lots of mean looking guys with AK’s). I was there to meet them as Tom had asked me to Co-Pilot (yes I am certified and type rated) their trip to Nassau. After the introductions to her family we headed out to the bird which was a fairly new Gulfstream V Executive jet Tom had chartered. The trip was uneventful and long but at the same time exciting for everyone.

Once everyone cleared immigration and customs (such as it is in the Bahamas, very laid back) Tom was waiting for his fiancée with several bouquets of flowers for his bride to be, her mother, grandmother and sister. After checking everyone into their own suites at the Atlantis Resort and after Tom’s fiancée cleaned up she almost immediately cornered Viktoria because she was terrified that Tom was spending so much money on an extravent wedding, it took some time without revealing the truth for Viktoria to assure her that her soon to be husband was not spending his life savings just to impress her. I am not sure she believed Viktoria or me for that matter.

The wedding was beautiful, the bride blushing, the groom beaming and the family seemed genuinely happy. The reception was small but fun, Tom’s new father-in-law proposed so many toasts I lost count, I am pretty sure he was hammered by the time the reception broke up.

It was not until well after lunch did we see the new couple and Tom’s new bride immediately cornered Viktoria in what seemed like a very serious conversation. I found out a bit later that Tom had tried to explain his true net worth but she was either a little to drunk to understand or she simply did not believe him. Honestly she was not upset at him for keeping this from her, she really did understand but she was having a very hard time understanding what it all meant.

We left after a couple of days, Tom would see that everyone got home ok and he started the paperwork in order to bring his new bride to America.

To wrap up a very long winded story, they are very happy together, they have 2 healthy and busy children with a 3rd on the way, we talk often and visit each other every few months. During their last visit they each brought their copies of the Prenup and they burned them together. We had quite a party that night even though Tom’s wife could not drink anything besides fruit juice.

Gentlemen, please keep in mind finding, courting, marrying and raising a family with a Russian Lady is not something to be done on the cheap and while you may not be worth millions expect to spend time a lot of it in your search and your selection process. Be prepared to spend a lot more than you anticipated and once you find, court and marry that special Lady, please remember that you are going to be her world for quite some time. She will require your complete  attention and all of your affection, nights out with your buddies should be a thing of the past as will fishing and hunting trips.

If you are unwilling to give some if not all of these thing up for her than you are looking in the wrong place for a Lady.

[dragonkid]

Really good read, especially at the end when they burnt their prenups. Amazing journey, really is. What is your opinion on a prenup after the date expires? Renew it or let it expire?

[TigerPaws]

Really good read, especially at the end when they burnt their prenups. Amazing journey, really is. What is your opinion on a prenup after the date expires? Renew it or let it expire?

Personally we burnt ours just before it expired, we had been married almost 10 years at that time and know each other for 12. We were and are happy in an ever evolving and growing relationship which works well for us.

Your experience will likely be different.

[BillyB]

Thank you for taking the time to write that story TigerPaws. You and Viktoria helped guide Tom on the right path. Instead of him chasing the first pretty face, Tom, with your and Viktoria's help, filtered out of bunch of ladies to find his gem.

[krimster2]

>About 14 years ago while we were having a couple of beers at a BBQ he announced that he was going to go gold >prospecting in Nevada, he had spent several months researching the geological surveys and was convinced that he could >strike Gold.

>He did find a massive gold field, he spent several years developing the open pit mine well south of Carson City Nevada. 8 >years ago he was offered $350 Million Dollars in cash for his claim which he accepted,

what next, after reading a few articles on wikipedia, he traveled to the middle east and dug up the holy grail?
no,no wait, after reading a couple of articles in Popular Mechanics he went on to invent the first practical fusion reactor?

sorry, there are no large open pit mines in Ormsby County, NV, no major ever paid 350 million for anything, your story is nice though...

[TigerPaws]

You might be surprised what you find 8 an 8 hour drive south west of Carson City. 

[krimster2]

8 hour drive south west of Carson City?  I think it goes by the name of California, still no open pit gold mines though...
is the fusion drive working yet?

[BillyB]

Nevada produces around 75% of America's gold and 6% of the world's gold. Anything is possible there. Attached is a photo of gold mining districts in NV. Wiki points out the active open pits in the link below. Don't know if TP's friends mine he sold is active or inactive at this time but there are some active ones Southeast of Carson City.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_gold_mines_in_Nevada

[krimster2]

well the OP did specifically say 8 hour drive SW of Carson City, I did drive to LA from Reno once took me a bit longer than 8 hours, but 8 hour drive SW from Carson City will put you in Southern California!

The ONLY major open pit mine in the South EAST of Carson City is the Betze-Post open pit mine which began operation by a company called PanCana Minerals Ltd, in 1976.

http://www.infomine.com/library/publications/docs/Mining.com/Sep2008i.pdf

Here is a list of operating mines in Nevada, I don't find anything more like that in the South East
http://minerals.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/mineralsnvgov/content/Programs/Mining/Forms_Publications/mm2012.pdf

Keep in mind, that after 1979, Nevada was full of Geologists working for the "majors" or working for smaller independent "locators" with drill rigs and assay labs galore!  For someone to "read a couple of books" and locate a gold mine worth 350 million and sell it to a major for that amount, is quite a "story" indeed!

Next time 'ya tell it, make it part of the "Carlin-Trend", make it for 3 million and a percentage, and he went out and bought Apple stock with it!  More believable, just tryin' to help...

[TigerPaws]

Thank you BillyB, some people want to argue with everything simply because they can.

While the story of my friend is true it was compressed a bit in order to keep it as short as possible without compromising what happened. I was not trying to write a book here but to tell how one gentleman found happiness and success with a Russian Lady. Additionally certain facts were intentionally left out in order to protect their privacy and at the request of Tom's lovely wife her name and the city/area near Moscow was never mentioned. 

[krimster2]

>Thank you BillyB, some people want to argue with everything simply because they can.


No, some people just want to point out the obvious when someone tells a "story", that's all...

[TigerPaws]

>Thank you BillyB, some people want to argue with everything simply because they can.


No, some people just want to point out the obvious when someone tells a "story", that's all...

As in everything in life believe in something or do not, it is not another person to say. You are entitled to you opinion, right, wrong or indifferent.

[krimster2]

it's not my OPINION that you made up this story, the FACTS I presented with sources, say that your story is a fabrication, OK?

if you still want to cling to this story being true, at least learn a little about the subject so that you can make the story more believable, what you wrote is based on total ignorance of the subject, and that's why the details are far off from what would be even remotely possible...

don't argue about something you and I both KNOW is total BS, OK?

[ML]

Hey folks . . . where is King Solomon's mine . . . and what about buried Aztec and Inca treasures, etc.

Maybe there is buried money from winnings at Reno to think about also.

When we dig in our garden; all we find are rocks . . . haven't even spotted any fool's gold.

[krimster2]

>Hey folks . . . where is King Solomon's mine . . . and what about buried Aztec and Inca treasures, etc.


I'm sure "Tom" could read a few articles about them and then locate them with ease and then sell it all for Billion$!!
That'll probably be the next story...

[Turboguy]

Cool story TigerPaws.  Thanks for sharing it.  It is nice to see you posting again.  It is always nice to read success stories and sad when we read the other kind.  I don't doubt the story but some here would doubt someone if they said the sky was blue or water was wet.


As a kid I was always fascinated with gold mines and lost treasures.  The lost Dutchman mine was one that really interested me.  My grandfather had a friend who told us about a lost Indian treasure the Indians had shown to his dad who had been blindfolded when they took him to see it. Putting together the sounds and other clues he thought he knew where it was and showed us.  As a teen I went down and dug out where he felt the cave was.  The last day we dug it seemed like we were breaking through to an open area but we never made it back to dig again.  I have always wondered if there really was a treasure and if it was where we had dug.  I am sure I would never go back and dig again and the only treasure I will end up having found is my wife. 

[jone]

Hey,

People win the lottery.  (Yes, there really are winners.)  Some start companies and make tons.  (Look at Face Book.)

This guy found gold.  Is that so hard to believe?  Just this week 19 amphorae were discovered filled with coins from the 3rd and 4th century.  They were buried.  It is believed that the coins were Roman taxes being delivered to the authorities that were taken by someone and buried for later retrieval. 

The jars had a tremendous number of coins in them.  It is worth the look.  Some Spanish construction workers are going to be very rich, if the current laws of discovery hold up.

Here's the article:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/29/europe/spain-roman-coins-found/index.html

On another and less fortunate note:  The ultimate bombshell was dropped on one of the prospective NFL players yesterday when a famiy member or former friend uploaded a picture of the guy with a gas mask on attached to a bong.  That picture ruined the guy's credibility and he went from the third pick in the NFL draft to the thirteenth pick.  It cost him around 9 million dollars in signing bonus. 

Here's that article:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000657567/article/laremy-tunsil-thrust-into-nfl-draft-spotlight-for-wrong-reasons

Such is life.

[krimster2]

if you guys don’t understand WHY this is a purely BS story, then I feel sorry for you...  if there are those who want to pretend that it’s true, that’s 100% OK with me, enjoy it, I have no doubt there will be more forthcoming ones, I just hope that for the next fairy tale, the OP does a little more research than he did on this one, so that it has at least some small possibility of being true, unlike this story... 

[chooter]

Gold can be found anywhere in the world. I found the most priceless gold in the world to me on a Delta flight from Moscow to Atlanta when a lady, I had never met or laid eyes on before in my life, sat down next to me and buckled her seat belt and smiled at me....my now Russian wife.

I thought I had already found gold two times in Russia and had made up my mind, I needed to rethink this marring a Russian woman thing. After meeting this lady on the flight to Atlanta I found out later the other two failures in Russia were only "fool's goal".

The Russian lady that is my wife now is "100% of the purest gold in the world", and I found that priceless gold on a Boeing 767 headed to Atlanta sitting right next to me.

[SANDRO43]

Just this week 19 amphorae were discovered filled with coins from the 3rd and 4th century.  They were buried.  It is believed that the coins were Roman taxes being delivered to the authorities that were taken by someone and buried for later retrieval.  The jars had a tremendous number of coins in them.  It is worth the look.  Some Spanish construction workers are going to be very rich, if the current laws of discovery hold up.

Interesting find. However:

More than 1,300 pounds (590kg) of bronze Roman coins dating to the 3rd century A.D.

The As (Aes in Latin, simply meaning bronze) is the oldest Roman coin. It was worth 1/4 of the later silver Sestertius (211 BC), 1/16 of the silver Denarius (281 BC) and 1/60 of the rare gold Aureus.

Bronze Aes - Silver Sestertius - Silver Denarius

Its low monetary value makes it unlikely that the found hoard was for paying taxes - more probably, it was soldiers' pay. Anyway, the abundance of existing coins of this type means that those now found in Spain - in such a large quantity - are not going to make anyone rich . 

[BillyB]

if you guys don’t understand WHY this is a purely BS story, then I feel sorry for you...  if there are those who want to pretend that it’s true, that’s 100% OK with me, enjoy it, I have no doubt there will be more forthcoming ones, I just hope that for the next fairy tale, the OP does a little more research than he did on this one, so that it has at least some small possibility of being true, unlike this story...

I've accused a few people here of playing games and the burden of proof is on the one who accuses.

 What I do know about TigerPaws is he participated here off and on for 11 years and he has never played games. He posts photos of himself and his family and doesn't seem to hide anything. Even if TigerPaws friend didn't disclose the exact location of the gold mine which few people would do, I don't blame TigerPaws for not knowing the exact location but if TigerPaws said he helped somebody who's into big money, I believe him.

[SANDRO43]

BTW, here are 2 Roman Aeris in my possession. Anyone interested in making an offer ?

[BillyB]

BTW, here are 2 Roman Aeris in my possession. Anyone interesting in making an offer ?

Cool story bro.

About 20 years ago I won a Michael Jordan rookie card cheap on Ebay from a person who has little feedback. I live in Washington State and he lived in California. I insisted I drive 20 hours to pick up the card but he reassured me the card is real. We traded emails for awhile until I gave in and let him send it to me. When the mail came, in it was a piece of paper with the rookie card printed on it. I sent him a short email saying "I'm coming to your house to put you out of business permanently." I got a refund to my PayPal account in less than an hour. Are you sure you want to sell those Roman coins to me?

[krimster2]

>I've accused a few people here of playing games and the burden of proof is on the one who accuses.

Seriously?
OK then, here's my "story"
I read a few books on "Roswell" and I figured out where a crashed alien space ship might be hiding, sure enough after a few months of searching I found an invisible alien space ship that was hidden using "cloaking technology"
I was able to enter the ship and reverse engineer all the alien technology, which I have recently sold for billions to Chinese electronic companies.

If you say my story isn't true, I'm afraid the burden of proof IS ON YOU!!

[BillyB]

If you say my story isn't true, I'm afraid the burden of proof IS ON YOU!!

You don't have a reputation for playing games. We know you didn't find an alien ship although the alien ship may have found you like it did me in 1986. I was abducted and experimented on physically and sexually.