All Elena Larionova wants is a rich husband. It doesn't matter if he is fat, bald, a drunk or all of the above. Love doesn't interest the striking, blond 24-year-old. Stability does.
If she plays her cards right, she says, she might land herself the biggest Russian catch of all: an oligarch.
That's why she is teetering in her stiletto black boots in a Moscow dance studio on a Wednesday night after work, her ankles bound by an elastic band, ensuring that she can only take baby steps.
Ms. Larionova and 40 other women have shelled out 6,000 rubles ($245) for this six-week night school to learn the fine art of manipulating rich men. The baby-step trot, according to the teacher, makes oligarchs like billionaire Roman Abramovich sit up and take notice.
In her red silk blouse, cascading blond curls, and de rigueur five-inch heels, Ms. Larionova could hold her own in any trendy Moscow nightclub. But she's after a wedding ring. "I want someone who will always be by my side," she said. "A man with money can be relied upon. The more money you have, the more reliable you are."
Thousands of other young Russian women have the same idea.
In a country where the gap between rich and poor is wide, finding, attracting and marrying a wealthy Russian businessman has become a cottage industry.
There are movies, TV shows and bestselling books all based on the Cinderella-themed premise of young girls finding happiness and security in the arms of rich, older men. From Moscow to Siberia, the Internet is filled with schools that teach women how to find, even stalk, wealthy men. Prices range from $200 to $2,000 for top-flight VIP coaching.
The back cover of one tongue-in-cheek self-help manual, co-authored by Russian socialite Ksenia Sobchak, declares: "There are enough oligarchs in Russia to go around. Your equipment: a smile, a sense of humour, optimism and fervour. Marry a prince? It's easy."
The book jacket features its authors in slinky evening wear toting machine guns.
While schools and self-help books make it sound easy, in reality, the odds of an ordinary young woman marrying a rich Russian businessman aren't good.
Competition is fierce for the finite pool of wealthy Russian men. Over the past eight years, President Vladimir Putin has harassed, jailed and chased out some of the richest men in Russia. Still, it's estimated there are about 50 billionaires, 120,000 millionaires and thousands more who are just well off.
It's a tempting aspiration for starry-eyed young women. Russia's moneyed-men set don't shy from spending lavishly. They drop thousands of dollars a night at Moscow's most exclusive nightclubs, like Diaghilev Project, where, until it burned down Thursday afternoon, a VIP booth started at $10,000. They take private jets to vacation spots in the Alps and the south of France. Squiring beautiful women is chief among their pursuits.
Russia even has its own self-appointed guru of high-end matchmaking, Piotr Listerman, a bespectacled, middle-aged playboy who boasts that he has arranged nearly every elite coupling of note in the past 15 years.
When not out scouting bars and ski resorts, Mr. Listerman is host of a reality show called Beauties and the Beast, and manages his matchmaking empire by phone and computer. He said he receives about 200 e-mails a day from women wanting introductions to wealthy men. He also claims to have a database of 500 "very rich men." Mr. Listerman said he meets with every woman who attracts his interest and arranges discreet dates with interested oligarchs.
"The next day, I call her for feedback. I call him for feedback. After, ... I take my cigar, 50 grams of whisky. I feel like a God."
