He is using you, without a marriage certificate he is nobody to you! In Russia, this conservative view of romantic relationships is still very common. Yekaterina and Yevgeny have been dating for three and a half years. She is a demure petite woman with chestnut hair and a charming smile, he is a fair-haired tall guy, who looks more like a Russian superhero, always ready to protect her. They were introduced to each other by their parents.
It is also their parents who have, for the past two years, been urging them to get married. Whereas for Yekaterina and Yevgeny, wedding dresses and registry offices have, for the past two years, been the stuff of nightmares. Whereas, I believe that one should get married not under compulsion, but when both partners are ready for it. What difference does it make to parents? According to a study by the Levada Center, Yekaterina and Yevgeny are among the 47 percent of Russians who prefer cohabitation to official marriage.
At the same time, the Russian state - through various initiatives โ seeks to emphasize the importance of marriage. In addition to declarations, the state supports young Russian families with money. In the early s, Russia launched a state program whereby young families could receive subsidies to buy housing.
The program will remain in force until and is open to married couples aged under 35, who have a stable income but no housing of their own. The state undertakes to pay them from 30 to 35 percent of the value of a house or apartment bought with their own money or with a mortgage.
In addition, both spouses can receive an income tax refund on the purchase of real estate and interest on a mortgage. Thus, they can get 13 percent of their salaries which have been previously paid as a tax back. There is a cap on the amount from which a tax refund can be claimed: it is set at 2 million rubles approx.
