When placing a newspaper ad in local Russian newspapers.......many men have had gook luck in getting many "responses". Unfortunately you will still attract the agency pro-daters, regular agency girls, scammers......and alot of women you will not be interested in. It is why I have always advocated using a (good/legit) local agency to make initial contacts.......not as cheap as some methods.......but more efficient in setting-up meetings with women who meet "your" criteria. Looking outside the agency (on the street, cafes, stores, museums, clubs etc)......"after" you arrive......and using an interpreter to help communicate......might be a good idea. Anything that puts "you" in control of meetings.....and managing your time.
Anytime you set-up a situation where the woman "contact you".......is probably going to involve alot of "sifting".
I found my wife on a website (Trueloves.com) that was started by a very nice guy who was........himself........looking for an RW. When he found an RW he and his RW wife continued to run and expend the sight. Reasonable price ($19.95 for three months)....not many "pro" photos.....and diligence in having his membership report improper actions by any RW that they contacted via their website (weeding out scammers). No postings by agencies were allowed. Any profiles with e-mails leading back to agencies were removed.
After a first contact/reply you communicated directly with each other......no continuation through a middleman. Nice people, great idea......great website.......which......unfortunately no longer exists. They had the most detailed search engine I have ever seen. Most of these small, legit sites have been bought-up by the "big" guys.
Capt B