This story is currently circulating only in Russian internet. But it definitely deserves to be translated into English and presented to a broader audience…

Marriage of convenience

In the 90′s I lived in California, in Silicon Valley.

There I met Alyona – a real Russian beauty.

She had a lot of suitors. It was also helped by the fact that at that time there were like 7 guys for 1 girl in Silicon Valley.

Alyona had a very specific outlook on life. She openly wished for the marriage of convenience – anyway, love will fade away after three years, and then the simple calculations will come in account.

Gold diggerThough Alyona was a Russian girl, her calculations had a touch of Western feminism. No, she didn’t want Louis Vuitton bag, silicone breasts, car or apartments; she needed a reliable life partner, who would forever provide her and earn a lot of money so that she wouldn’t have to work.

However, she was ready to marry even a young (but promising) guy. We should pay tribute to Alyona, since she herself worked and received a decent American salary with five zeros.

At some point, Alyona had narrowed her options to 2 suitors. Both of them were young brunettes, both were programmers. They differed in height – one was shorter than Alyona and the other taller.

I preferred the taller one. There was some special sensibility in his glance. Alyona, by the way,  also liked him more.

In that period every programmer in Silicon Valley was the owner of his own start-up and was about to become the next multi-millionaire. Alyona studied the projects of both “competitors”, consulted with friends and contemplated. She was like an inexperienced investor, who was going to invest in shares for the first time.

Eventually, she chose the shorter one. When our mutual friend, also programmer, learned about it, he was banging his head against the wall of Alyona’s apartment. He was shouting that he believed in the other software product. But Alyona made the final decision.

Now Alyona is married to her shorter husband. Probably, happy in her own way. She works and raises a child. She and her husband moved out of the Silicon Valley – life there was too expensive. Her husband continues to work as a programmer and dreams to open a start-up one day. The name of her husband won’t say anything to you.

And the name of the rejected suitor – the taller one – is Sergey Brin, co-owner of Google.

***

In 2004 Google was valued at $ 27 billion after the IPO. Sergey became one of the richest men in the world.

About a week later, I called Alyona. She said at once:

- Before we start talking, I want to warn you that there is one topic that I will not discuss under any circumstances…

By the way, our mutual friend (who was banging his head against the wall) works for Google.

Google company

Let’s see what Russian netizens think about this story.

Comments of Russian netizens

remimemo:  Haha;)))) Probably later she banged her head agains the wall. Well, if money was the main thing for her.хаха ;)))) потом она наверное об стену головой билась. Ну раз для нее главное деньги

onshe33:  That was a cruel mistake)))) Now she would be awash in  money)))Как она жестоко ошиблась)))) Сейчас бы купалась в деньгах)))

Илья Шун (replying to the above):  Not sure. Maybe Brin wouldn’t become who he is, if he had married such one…Не факт. Брин мог бы и не стать тем, кем он стал, если бы женился на такой…

tanik_titanik:  It’s better to marry the less wealthy than by calculation [ed: "marriage by calculation" is the Russian expression for "marriage of convenience"]. No guarantee that in such marriage she wouldn’t be cheated or humiliated. What kind of life is it then?Лучше выйти за менее обеспеченного, чем по расчету. Не факт, что в браке по расчету ей не будут изменять или унижать. А зачем такая жизнь?

baby2revolution (author of the original post, replying to the above):  But she married by calculation. She simply calculated wrongly :-)Так она и вышла по расчету. Просто рассчитала неправильно :-)

long_hairru:  Marriage of convenience? I think that 90% are ready to do the same thing… if not more.Вышла замуж по рассчёту? Думаю 90% готовы поступить точно так же … если не больше.

lechuvnebo:  How is it possible, without being married, to believe that love will fade away in three years? Someone told and she believed?как можно, не будучи замужем, уже верить вто, что любовь пройдет через три года? вот рассказали и поверила?

This is certainly true, but usually people don’t believe it and naively suppose that in their case it will be different …это, конечно, правда, но обычно люди не верят и наивно полагают, что у них будет не так…

baby2revolution (author of the original post, replying to the above):  That’s basing on her life experience. She already had had the prior experience.Это на основании ее жизненного опыта. у нее уже был опыт до этого.

dndetkina:  Never look back, if we made the choice – that’s how it should be. Look only forward! Maybe her husband or she herself still will rise ….. никогда нельзя оборачиваться назад, если выбрала, значит, так написано. Смотреть только вперед! Может ее муж еще поднимется или сама стартанет…..

alco_gourmet:  At least, she doesn’t have the trouble thinking how to spend so much money)Сейчас хоть голова не болит как потратить огромную кучу денег)

nexusr:  Brin got lucky. And the short one is in troubles. This bitch will poison all his life.Брину повезло. А мелкий попал. Эта тварь ему полжизни отравит

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