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Home > Why Choose Us > Dating Blog > Slavic Facial Appearance and Features - Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian Appearance

  It is widely known that Ukrainian, Russian, and Belorussian peoples are closely related. Nevertheless, these nations have been influenced by many factors that determined their appearance greatly. 

Slavic Type of Appearance

   With such a variety of types, what does "Slavic appearance" mean? As we have already said, speaking of the Slavic type of appearance, they usually mean the appearance of the East Slavic or close to it. People of Slavic appearance come in very different shapes. It mainly depends on what peoples their ancestors mixed with during the next resettlement of peoples, of which the Slavs, starting from the Neolithic era, had a lot. Many anthropologists and ethnographers have adopted a map of the types of Slavs, according to which the features of Slavic appearance vary significantly from north to south. 
Distinctive features of this type: a rounded wide soft face, wide-set large eyes, and a straight or snub nose — this is what a beautiful girl of Slavic appearance looks like in the general sense. Let me introduce you to the most common features so highly estimated by foreign men.

In the Article "Slavic Facial Appearance and Features — Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian Appearance" 

Slavic Facial Features

Russian Facial Features — Typical Appearance of Russians

    The beauty of a Russian woman tends more towards the northern, Finnish-Baltic type. A common feature is blond hair (light blond, fair hair, dark blond) and light eyes (blue, gray, green). They have proper but in relation to the type of southern beauties, smaller, refined facial features. Their appearance is cold, light, and tender. Smooth features of oval and round faces give Ukrainian ladies a truly feminine look.

Blonde Russian brides have become a prototype for many national fairy tales. They all say that a girl with white skin, fair hair, rosy cheeks, and red lips are the most beautiful in the world. Doesn’t it seem similar to the Sleeping Beauty image?)

   There are many opinions about the external features characteristic of the Russian people. They all differ in criteria and morphological characteristics, but, nevertheless, they have several common indicators. After analyzing each type, many of us will find similarities with our appearance and, perhaps, will learn something new about ourselves. For decades, scientists have been arguing about what a Russian person looks like. They study genetic types, external traits, papillary patterns, and even hematological characteristics of blood groups. Some conclude that the ancestors of the Russians are Slavs, while others argue that the Finns are closest to Russians in genotype and phenotype.

Russian Facial Features - Typical Appearance of Russian Ladies

Entertaining Anthropology of Russians

    Over the course of several decades of intense research, anthropologists have managed to reveal the appearance of a typical Russian person. To do this, they had to translate into a single scale all the photographs from the photo library of the Museum of Anthropology with full-face and profile images of typical representatives of the population of the Russian regions of the country and, combine them according to the pupils of the eyes, superimposed on each other. The final photographs turned out, of course, blurry, but gave an idea of ​​the appearance of the reference Russian people. This was the first truly sensational discovery.
    Unfortunately, most black-and-white old archive photos of the faces of Russian people do not allow to convey the height, physique, color of the skin, hair, and eyes of a Russian person. However, anthropologists have created a verbal portrait of Russian men and women. They are of medium build and medium height, light brown-haired with light eyes — gray or blue.
 

Distinctive Features of the Appearance of Russians

Feature Description
Height Russians are known for their relatively tall height, with an average of 5 feet 10 inches for men and 5 feet 5 inches for women.
Facial Features Russian facial features are often characterized by sharp and angular features, high cheekbones, and a straight or slightly curved nose.
Skin Tone Most Russians have fair skin, ranging from pale to slightly tanned, with a pink or yellow undertone.
Hair Color Russian hair colors vary from light blonde to dark brown, with some red and black hair as well.
Eye Color Blue is the most common eye color among Russians, followed by green and brown.

Russian Facial Feature - Anthropology

Generalized Anthropological Russian Portrait

  • Characteristic features of Russians

In the 19th century, the famous scientist Anatoly Bogdanov created a theory about the characteristic features of the Russian person. He said that everyone has a clear idea of ​​the appearance of a Russian. In support of his words, the scientist cited stable verbal expressions from the everyday life of people - “pure Russian beauty”, “typical Russian face”.

The master of Russian anthropology Vasily Deryabin proved that by their characteristics Russians are typical Europeans. By pigmentation, they are average Europeans — Russians often have light eyes and hair.

  • The Russian population is quite homogeneous in anthropological terms

In terms of three anthropological characteristics (head width, nose width, lip thickness), Russian populations do not differ significantly from Western European ones. In terms of the rest of the head and face dimensions, they are close to the central European version, which is characterized by average dimensions. 

  • The Russian population is characterized by the absence of epicanthus.

Epicanthus is also rare among the population of Central Europe. The prevalence of a straight nose profile in Russians is 75%, which is higher than the European average (70%). The incidence of the concave nose profile in Russians is 9%, which is close to the average values ​​for Western and Central Europe (10%).

    Research carried out by scientists using various scientific methods has made it possible to compose a generalized portrait of the average Russian person. It is characterized by the absence of epicanthus — a fold in the inner eye, which covers the lacrimal tubercle. The list of characteristic features included medium height, stocky build, broad chest and shoulders, massive skeleton, and well-developed musculature.

Russian Facial Features

East Nordic type

  • This type has a heavy, wide jaw, wide cheekbones, and low orbits, but a high skull and definite megacephaly. Similar massive skulls were found throughout the steppes from southeastern Ukraine to Altai. Another characteristic feature of the classic Nordids is the change in the shape of the forehead — the almost complete absence of brow ridges and a vertical (rather than sloping) forehead relative to the plane of the face.

Baltic type

  • It includes Poles, Belarusians, and the population of the north of Russia. The signs of this group are similar to the signs of the Scandinavian type of appearance: light skin, light hair, and graceful regular facial features. Differences from the Scandinavian-Nordic type are also obvious: a slightly wider face, a slightly less prominent and slightly less clearly defined nose, as well as an upper eyelid that swells with age — hello from the Mongoloid race, mixing with which took place in the Neolithic era.

Eastern Baltic type 

  • That is the most known type. It is her differences that are perceived by most of us as features of a typical Slavic appearance. The hair of the Eastern Slavs is usually light brown, the eyes are gray or blue. The face is soft, sometimes wide, and rounded. Rounded cheeks are common.

North Pontic type

  • Its name comes from the ancient Greek name of the Black Sea — Pontus Euxinsky, and mainly the inhabitants of Bulgaria refer to it. This type is characterized, more than that of the Eastern Slavs, by a narrow face and a high level of pigmentation: the hair and eyes of the Pontians are usually dark.

Typical Russian Appearance Include:

  • ✅   the proportional oval face;
  • ✅   moderate face width;
  • ✅   relatively light pigmentation;
  • ✅   mainly light shades of eyes and hair;
  • ✅   blonde hair 33%, medium hair 53.2%, dark 13.8%; 
  • ✅   average eyebrow and beard height, 
  • ✅   light eyes 45%, lightly mixed 49.9%, dark 5.1%. 

  In typical appearances, the horizontal profile and the bridge of the nose of medium height prevail, while the forehead is slightly sloping and not too wide, and the brow is poorly developed. Russians are characterized by a nose with a straight profile (it is found in 75% of cases). The skin is predominantly light or even white, which is partly due to low sun rays.

Russian Facial Feature - Generalized Anthropological Russian Portrait

The First Descriptions of the Appearance of Russians

    Since ancient times, people have been interested in the origin of the human race, and attempts to explore this area have been made repeatedly. Ancient records of travelers and scientists have been preserved, who took notes of their observations in detail. There are records in the archives about Russian people, their external and behavioral characteristics. The statements of foreigners are especially interesting. In 992, Ibn Fadlan, a traveler from Arab countries, described the perfect body and attractive appearance of the Russians. In his opinion, the Russians are "... blond, red in the face and white in the body."

    According to the assumption of geneticists, in the central and southern parts of European Russia, Russians are provided by the genetic descendants of the Slavs, in the northern part, the Russian ethnos was formed by mixing the Slavs and the pre-Slavic Finno-speaking and Baltic-speaking population.
Genetics explains the different geographical distribution of mtDNA and Y-chromosome lines in Russian populations by different types of activities of men and women in developing Eastern European territories. The initial stage of colonization by both men and women was a result of the advancement of the Slavic tribes to the east and north. In a later period, the assimilation of the local population took place mainly through men who live with aboriginal women. 

Another clarification: DNA is inherited through the maternal line, and the "genetic contribution of the conquerors" could be more likely on the paternal side. The results of studying the haplogroups of the Y chromosome ("male" line of inheritance) also do not show a significant proportion of "steppe" genes in the Russian gene pool.

    Curious is the data on epicanthus, a typical feature of the Mongoloid race, especially characteristic of the steppe population of Central Asia. An anthropological study carried out on a huge sample of Russians (several tens of thousands of people) practically did not reveal cases of the pronounced epicanthus.

So, no matter what feature we take, we see: Russians are typical Europeans, and the Asiatic conquest left a mark on their history, but not in the gene pool.

Russian Facial Features - Typical Appearance of Russian Ladies

​Historical Background of Ukrainian Beauty and Ukrainian Facial Features

   The main differences in appearance arose due to genetic mixing with people living in the neighborhood. "Being at the junction of Europe and Asia, Ukraine was subjected to captures by various nations. Here the blood of Slavic peoples, Persians, Mongols, Turks, and many others is present. As a result of a blood intermixture, for example, during the Turkish conquests, a unique beauty was born," — explained one make-up artist.

   Bright contrasts predominate in the shades of the eyes, skin, and hair of Ukrainian girls. Typical are chestnut or burning-black hair. Thick black eyebrows stunningly combine with pale skin and black, brown, or deep green eyes. An iridescent cornea is common among Ukrainian women. Believe me, you may not resist looking at those eyes for hours!)

Foreigners say that Ukrainian women are overall very bright. Although Ukrainian women like to wear make-up, they look great without it.

Traveling across Ukraine from West to Center, East, and South, you can notice differences in the appearance and behavior of Ukrainian women and men. Girls from Kyiv (the capital of Ukraine) will look diverse, as many girls have come to live and work from all over the country.

Chat with girls and find your match on our dating site Slavic Girl

Ukrainian Facial Features

Classic Belorussian Beauty

   The ladies from Belorussia are known to be very attractive and tall. Their ancestry is a controversial one, but most likely they also refer to the Finnish-Baltic type. They have bigger facial features than the Russian ladies. Their distinctive traits are chubby lips (which win so many hearts!), a snub nose, long blond or dark blond hair, and beautiful eyebrows. As well as Russian ladies often have big blue eyes which create a wonderful image together with fair hair. These ladies prefer to wear minimal make-up. Bright and tender Belorussian women attract men from different countries very much.

Classic Belorussian Beauty

Who is More Beautiful?

    If a Russian woman can be compared to a crystal-cold winter or a shy early spring, then the beauty of a Ukrainian woman is undoubtedly the sunny August heat. Each of the Slavic types is good in its own way) Every man should choose by his personal preferences. Regarding the answer to the question, which is better, as they say, so many people so many tastes!)

A wonderful thing is that you may find beautiful women from Ukraine having Russian and Belorussian roots right here on our site. So, just give a chance to your eyes to make a choice and start an unforgettable journey of getting to know a Slavic lady who will become your wife!

Do you know any other national features of Slavic ladies? Feel free to share your experience with us in the comments on the post! :)

Read more about the outstanding traits of Slavic women

Frequently Asked Questions about Slavic and Russian Facial Features

❤️  What are the typical Russian Facial Features?

Slavic peoples are united into six anthropological types - Eastern Slavs: Eastern European, Dnieper-Carpathian, Pontic, Dinaric, White Sea-Baltic, and Atlantico-Baltic. Eastern European type (Belarusians and most of the Russians, except for the northern regions) — mostly fair-haired and fair-skinned Meso- or brachycephalics with medium-sized faces, фтв slightly darker eye color in comparison with the White Sea-Baltic group.

❤️  Do Slavs Have High Cheekbones?

Not really. When analyzing the data of the Russian Anthropological Expedition, the Ilmen-Belozersk anthropological type was identified. Visually manifests itself in a decrease in body length, greater brachycephaly, widening of the cheekbones in relation to the size of the forehead and lower jaw, in an even more significant lightening of the pigmentation of the hair and eyes, and an increase in the occurrence of the concave profile of the nasal dorsum.

❤️  What are the Ukrainian Facial Features?

Ukrainians belong to the Dnieper-Carpathian group. Here there is a combination of tall stature, a relatively narrow forehead, and an extended face, a low and wide nose. Small values of the first canonical variable are located mainly in the Carpathians and Transcarpathia, where the complex is characterized by a decrease in body length, an increase in brachycephaly, combined with a narrow face, and a high nose. The population of the rest of Ukraine has some intermediate anthropological status.

❤️  What Does a Ukrainian Woman Look Like?

In Western Ukraine, Ukrainian women predominantly have narrow faces and high noses. They also have brown eyes and brown hair. In the south of Ukraine and the center, women have a mixed appearance — skin tone from light to dark, eye color can also be varied and blue and green and brown.

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