My boyfriend, who is French (but been living in the uk for 6 years) and I (non-eu, Russian), would like to get married because unfortunately there is no other way of staying in this country unless of course you have tons of money which we don't.

As far as I know, we can't get married in the UK because a Marriage Visitor Visa implies that you don't intend on settling in the country and it's crystal clear that I do. Correct me if I'm wrong, though? So our other option is to get married in Russia.
And then apply for an EEA family visa, stay there for 6 months and then finally apply for that 5 year visa...

My question is, does he have to apply for an indefinite leave to remain living and working in the UK for more than 6 years?
And also did anybody have a similar kind of experience and how did it go?!

Many many thanks!!

Anastasia