The phrase once said by Lenin, "every kitchen maid will be able to govern the country”, is now particularly opportune. And that’s not because the head of state is a mediocrity. No! Quoting Lenin, the emphasis has always been placed on the word "kitchen maid". It is widely believed that the leader of the proletariat commented negatively on women whom he never imagined in the role of rulers and saw no future prospects to change his views anyway. It might be symbolic, however, that his words were precisely about ‘kitchen maids’, not ‘janitors’...

Since the day the phrase was said, a lot of water has passed under the bridges. But no Russian woman has yet been in control of the state and will never be. This is an old tradition in Russia: all leaders are men. At least a significant part of top executives belongs primarily to the stronger sex.

And women’s salary, by the way, is by an order of magnitude lower ... Now in Russia the salary of professional ladies will make an average of 64% of the salary of men in a similar position. It is discrimination, no doubt about it! Experts note that at present, the infringement of the ladies’ rights in the labor market has reached its highest level in 50 years. See for yourself: the salary is lower, as a rule; when hiring, preference is given to men, and by dismissal – to women… And only in the distant future, according to the website gazeta.ru with reference to the Guardian, there may be changes. Thus, according to experts' forecasts, women will start to earn equal with men amounts of pay only in 2057.

Generally speaking, such discrimination is observed in other countries, too, but here it is progressing. It is believed that the stronger sex has a different temperament: they are more structured in their decisions, may show greater objectivity, while women are giddy-brained and too often on maternity leave. However, this view is erroneous. Career ladies, who have experience of office work and are established in the professional sense, can have children, hire a nanny, and go back to work. In this case, the employer does not lose anything. Meanwhile, men, in contrast to the ladies, do not take maternity leave, but instead they demand more pay and do not plan to temper their ambitions.

She's one of the most photographed women in the world. And as odd as it may sound the thing Maria Sharapova is most grateful for on her first visit to Auckland is: "no one has tried to take a picture of me eating a bowl of bolognese pasta with meat sauce all over my face".

That and other little gems is what an expectant press pack found out when the tennis beauty queen, the top seed at this year's ASB Classic, was paraded in front of us yesterday. Apparently, well-meaning fans have a habit of snapping her when she has "meat sauce" on her face, a habit she's not that fond of.

She is after all supposed to be a glamour-puss.

Call me crazy but Maria, as her meat sauce story would seem to suggest, seemed pretty damn unpretentious, dare we say ordinary. Just ask James McOnie.

The likeable larrikin, he of The Crowd Goes Wild fame, specialises in embarrassing sports stars and himself with zany questions. However, poor old James met his match yesterday. As well as the nice meat sauce line we learnt Maria likes to shop but hasn't had time to since here arrival here a few days ago.

McOnie offered to show her the ropes to which she inquired: "How's your taste? Is it good? I see you don't know too many hairdressers around here".

Nice serve that and ASB Classic organisers will be hoping we see plenty more of those when the tennis megastar graces ASB Tennis Centre this week.

Marriage is a beautiful relationship. Unfortunately, during the current years, more marriages are getting broken than ever. People are not able to co exist together in marriage. What are the possible reasons? Why marriages are breaking faster, why are we not getting what we want from marriage? Are our expectations wrong? Or our choice of partner is faulty? Let us find out.

The major factors that contribute to success in marriage are - Knowing what we desire in the marriage, selecting the right partner for fulfilling those desires, defining marriage goals and getting approval about them from the partner, discussing all the issues that hurt the relationship, changing your own style of relating so that marriage becomes stronger and not giving up so easily if cracks develop and try to save the marriage. A broken marriage is not pleasant for any one and hurts.

Sex is a physical activity so naturally getting and keeping fit will greatly improve your love-making skills. Here are some exercises for better sex.

The pubococcygeal (PC) muscles

The muscles you use to stop urinating midstream are called the pubococcygeal (PC) muscles. If you're male they’re also the muscles that contract when you ejaculate. You can learn to build control over them and prolong ejaculation by doing an exercise called a Kegel. Start by doing a short clench of your PC muscles, relax, and then try to do a longer clench for about 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat ten times, at least three times a day. The more you do the better control you will have.

Kegel exercises are good for women to do as well. By practicing them you will have more control over your vaginal muscles. You'll get more sexual satisfaction and a reduced chance of vaginal infections.

Russia is one of the few countries in the world where the number of abortions more than the number of live births.

For example, in 2001, 1.32 million children were born in Russia and 1.8 million abortions were performed.

These figures are especially tragic, given that Russia is facing a disastrous demographic crisis with the United Nations estimates that Russia could lose more than half of its population by 2050.

One oddity of the United States and living in Russia is a full day and night difference in attitudes toward abortion. In the United States seems to have real political militancy on both sides of the issue.

But in Russia there is ZERO public debate on this issue.

Well my friend Snejana on a roll, how her friends are worried.

Meet Jack ..

Jack, a student of civil engineering who hails from the wind swept the Stepps of Central Kazakhstan.

She has a natural love of symmetry, balance and architectural perfection, clearly defined image of the beautiful, which she likes to project onto the world.

Patriarch Cyril piviotal religious figure in Russia, because it is one of the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church.

His words carry great weight, and I believe he is trying to approve a further important role that Russian women play in maintaining social and cultural life of this country without any changes.

I have been to different villages in Russian as he is, and I can also check the strength and resilience of these women in maintaining their households and communities together, despite the often overwhelming struggle and hardship.

I am very glad that he made the following statements and brought more attention to these everyday heroines.

I just came across an interesting article from the UK Telegraph, that something was said that most of us already know.

Men lose their minds talking to pretty women.

I'm hoping that this study was not too much, because I could give them the same information about the cost of iced tea. (In fact, I probably would have given it for free.)

In any case, I certainly do not need fancy laboratory tests to detect it. I know that this is simply because I see it all the time with different men, who travel to this part of the world in search of true love.

Now as fun as it may seem to you gentlemen to take spur of the moment trip to Cloud 9 road without your trusty little GPS in hand, there is a serious side to this that you should pay close attention.