HEre's my list of pros and cons of an agency.
Pro
Large selection.
Translators available.
Easy access.
Local contacts for travel arrangements.
Advice on selecting a suitable lady.

Con
Expensive services.
Possiblity of them hijacking your communications.
Possibility that ladies aren't real.
Possibility that the info is out of date.
Very difficult to have a meaningful relationship when going through a third party.
They are a business. Money comes first over the clients.

Now with a good agency most of the cons are not a problem. A good agency can be your best friend. A bad one your worst enemy.

Now the thing is how can a do it yourself person cut the agency out of the picture? If it's your first trip over I think you should have an agency to help. For those who have never been there it isn't like driving to the next city over from home. You will need an incredible amount of support. Where do you sleep? Where do you eat? How do you hire a taxi if you don't speak the language? It may cost more but the agency will find these things for you. I took two trips without any agencies. But I was able to do that because I had a great family who did all the local support work for me. I was never more than a few blocks away from home without adult supervision. And I definitely wasn't trying to travel around a strange city all alone.

Meeting the ladies. Honestly how many guys would go if they didn't have at least one very interesting girl to meet? The wander around until you meet somebody on the street theory isn't good. How well does it work in North America? Don't expect it to go better in Russia. Success using that is very dependant on luck and personal charm.

I've tried to get around agencies for initial contacts. But many of the so called "free sites" are really just free advertising for the agencies. I speak some Russian but I'm not comfortable trying to use the entirely free Russian websites. My grasp of the language isn't good enough to write decent letters entirely in Russian. And the ladies quite often over inflate their own level of skill in English. I found that basic English meant equivalent to my knowledge of French. I can count to twenty, say a half a dozen phrases and understand many words. A two year old native speaker could have better conversations.

If anybody can tell me a method to provide all the support that an agency does without the costs I'd like to hear it. The only way I know is to have a support network of friends in the city like I had in Volgograd. But it took me months and a trip with an agency to develop a very small network. And my network has crumbled because my main contact moved and didn't give me his new adress.

So my advice for people planning first trips is stick with an agency or a recognised tour group for arrangements. It may be expensive but it is less risky than being on your own in a strange country.

-blm

I used a translator, and chose a big city ( Moscow )for the begining of my trip, but ended up staying there and not traveling to meet the women I met for free over the internet. Sure it was possible some of those girls could have been scammers ?? I never went to find out. If I had to do it over I would make them come to Moscow to meet me, and thus weed out the scammers.

I have heard of guys going into Russian chat rooms or other places and use this translation link ( copy,and paste )http//:translation2.paralink.com and make contacts, and basically doing some networking, make friends,get info,meet girls, and so on as a way to cut out the middle man. It is possible to take this link and look into Russian personal adds on Russian web sights and take a few shots in the dark.

If you take the time to make plans and do research, and be a little creative it is not such a big thing to fear. All you need is a little effort and time, and always have a back up plan. I know by doing this you will most likely spend much less, and I personally would rather meet a small time girl then one using an agency. My wife says they make jokes about those girls in Russia. Sure some are honest and really good girls, but to Russians they are usually girls with some problems ?? ( I really don't mean this as an insult )

Mike

I've learned a lot in the last 2 years. The only bad part is now I'm even more choosy on the women than before. When I started I was kind of overwhelmed that these women would be interested in me. I would have settled for anyone who gave me some attention. I had some success with an incredibly pretty, very amazing woman. I don't want to settle for less than she was. If anything I want even more than she was. This isn't going to be easy. The ladies have more than a little say in the matching. And it'll take a special woman to put up with me on a daily basis.

I am very independant. I like to do my own thing. But I am smart enough to know when I'm out of my league. Finding somebody that you like and can work closely with would be good. The old fashioned Yenta maybe? The most personalized agencies are by far the most expensive. But if you're serious maybe they'd be worth it. But right now I'm enjoying trying to do it myself.

She also did a couple of things that finally drove it home that she didn't want me. Before this I thought it was outside problems causing the tension between us. But it was us. I tried to get her to tell me why she was even with me if she didn't like me. She kept putting off the answer. I ended up leaving Russia never knowing exactly what went wrong or what I did right to keep her attention for so long.

We decided to stay friends and kept in contact until Christmas. After that she missed our scheduled contact times. I haven't heard from her since. I wanted to ask my friends about her but they moved and I don't have their adress.

So that's the end of a 19 month long love affair for me.