This article examines international marriage migration and the marriage market. Special attention is paid to Russian -speaking immigrant women in Chile, who are defined as "Russian wives." The data presented here is based on ethnographic research of female migration from three countries of the former Soviet Union (Belarus, Ukraine and Russia): focusing on historical stages of migration from Russia to Chile; the influence of the media and the main reasons for the emergence of a phenomenon such as "Russian wives", the adaptation characteristics of migrant women in Chile.