A Russian prostitution ring arranged the marriage through bribery to provide her with instant Turkish citizenship--a shield against deportation if she is ever caught. Prostitution has become more visible in Turkey since the collapse of the Soviet Union led to an influx of tens of thousands of women working for sex gangs.
The government, which is trying to crack down, characterizes prostitutes as disease spreaders and spies. Prostitution is legal here only at government-controlled brothels housing Turkish women, and foreigners are subject to deportation if caught. Olga said she married and divorced her Turkish husband without seeing him. She did not know how much he was paid. Newspapers have reported cases of Turks with mental illness being used as marriage partners without their knowledge.
As part of its crackdown, the government wants to make it harder to become a citizen. Legislation before parliament would require married couples to live together for three years and to undergo a security investigation before citizenship could be granted. Recently, police have intensified raids on seedy hotels around the country, deporting hundreds of women.
Police closed three hotels in the eastern city of Kars for 80 days for allowing prostitutes to solicit customers. A United States human rights report for said many women come to Turkey expecting to work as models, waitresses or dancers but find themselves forced into prostitution.
Olga, who said she is an economics student in Moscow, sports a quality black blazer and a golden blouse, matching her hair. She wears almost no makeup. Olga said she came voluntarily after learning how much she could make as a prostitute. The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. De Los. Times Everywhere.
