Worldwide it is impolite to ask a woman's age, but up to a certain year, somewhere in the 40's, a woman will reveal her age to friends without shame. In Russia, a woman's age is a state secret, unknown to anyone but her husband and her closest female friends. Maybe it is because I am an American, or because women feel comfortable around me, but I am asked to guess a woman's age with startling regularity. See, Russian women age differently than Western women.
Life is hard here, and it requires maturity that is acquired quite young.
The few women who's ages I know surprise me in their youth. When I first started at PW, I had a team of three working on an important project. All three women were very competent, professional, and mature in their actions and thoughts. I think of myself at 21, at 25, and I am amazed at how childish I am in comparison. This maturity also accelerates the life cycle for women, they are usually married and expecting children by their early 20's, much younger than Western women.