It also really depends on what your objective is. If you like the idea of a romance social, then pay close attention to what Jetmba says. I think he's spot on. As for me, I had no interest in meeting lots of women. I spent a long time finding the one woman that I wanted to spend my time in Russia with, but when I found her I had no worries about traveling to her country by myself. And whereas with a romance social you have no idea if you're going to meet "the one" when you get there, I had already fallen head over heels before I stepped foot on the plane. On the other hand, if my girl had turned out to be other than advertised, I would have been left holding the bag. There are trade-offs.
Do the romance social if you don't want to put a lot of time and patience into it up front. You will most likely have a great time, but you may come back empty handed. Do it my way if you have a *ton* of patience and time to put into it up front. You will spend a lot of time before you ever set foot in the FSU, but you stand a very good chance of it all paying off when you decide to make the trip.