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Pay the piper! (and everyone else.)
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Posted by: Cheburashka

If you have ever been to Russia, chances are good that you had to pay a bribe to someone against your will. Some took the moral high ground. Others just paid and went along their merry way. How bad is the problem in Russia? How about 1/3 of the national budget.

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/25862

Posted by: freebird

Oh don't even start with that! my last trip was one big "bribe-fest"

I had to spend a couple thousand to fly back to Kiev and get a document done - she can't do it without me. Cost to get a replacement document - $3. But of course as I was told, since we are doing this document at short notice a "bonus" must be paid. $50 to one place, $100 at another.....

Posted by: Raspberry

I ended up having to pay a bribe at Kiev airport. Earlier, I had missed a flight from Munich to Donetsk, and needed to get to the southeast. Six planes were on the ground at the same time, and this mass of people were in customs.

Some security guy offered to move me to the front of the line for $100 USD.
I hesitated at first, but decided to go for it. This was my last chance to get on something(plane, train, or bus)until the next day.

Hated to do this, but had I needed to overnight in Kiev at the last minute, it ultimately would have cost $50 for a cab and $220 for a hotel. So $100 was not good, but better than the alternatives.

Posted by: blucatz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspberry

I ended up having to pay a bribe at Kiev airport. Earlier, I had missed a flight from Munich to Donetsk, and needed to get to the southeast. Six planes were on the ground at the same time, and this mass of people were in customs.

Some security guy offered to move me to the front of the line for $100 USD.
I hesitated at first, but decided to go for it. This was my last chance to get on something(plane, train, or bus)until the next day.

Hated to do this, but had I needed to overnight in Kiev at the last minute, it ultimately would have cost $50 for a cab and $220 for a hotel. So $100 was not good, but better than the alternatives.

That wasn't a bribe, that was a tip, like one you would give a waiter for a good table. What did your trip end up costing you Rasp? I know it was one big headache after another, how did it end up hurting your wallet?

Posted by: Raspberry

Quote:

Originally Posted by blucatz

That was from the first trip. But on the most recent trip, I probably spent over $1200(not including airfare).....but there were some weak moments and I spent foolishly, to try to cheer myself up. Like buying the "lux"(First Class)
on the train from Zap to Kiev. Or spending all day buying gifts for friends. Or making a visit to the strip bar in Zap, when I couldn't get to sleep. Or clothes shopping.

But then again, if I had to give a cab ride for the girl, from Gluhkov to Sumy, it would have been spent anyway. This is not to mention dinner and gifts for the no-show ladies in Sumy and in Zap. And I didn't have to overnight in Europe since I took the first flight out of Kiev

So it was a wash....sort of.....well, at least in the money department.

Posted by: AkMike

So far I've only paid $100 'gift' to "The Fixer" to got to the head of the line to get hitched. In Cherkassy he appears to be the guy who knows how to make things happen. I figured it was cheap. So far no shakedowns for anything else..
But I try to not stand out in the crowd and appear as a local. My typical response to anyone I don't know is :ne, ne, ne. ( Short for Nyet!) So far it's worked like a champ on push cabbies and beggars.

Posted by: Spakoyna

The only bribes I recall paying were to register my visa because I wasn't staying in a hotel and didn't have a homestay visa.

Posted by: Big wheel

When I flew into Kiev I got lucky, real lucky. When they check everyone visas and passports I was held up. When i got to custom's everyone was done working and BSing except for this one lovely little old lady who was sitting by her self she when she found out i was from the U.S she look at the guys and said ok go under her breath. She knew why i was there.

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkMike

So far I've only paid $100 'gift' to "The Fixer" to got to the head of the line to get hitched. In Cherkassy he appears to be the guy who knows how to make things happen. I figured it was cheap. So far no shakedowns for anything else..
But I try to not stand out in the crowd and appear as a local. My typical response to anyone I don't know is :ne, ne, ne. ( Short for Nyet!) So far it's worked like a champ on push cabbies and beggars.

It could also be because Ni is NO in Ukrainian, so Ne and Ni are virtually the same Mike

Posted by: AkMike

Maybe the ne is my western accent way of saying ni? At least on the `puter.. LOL

Posted by: Texas Proud

One trip to Ukraine and two to Russia.... never once a bribe to anyone...

My gal did take drivers lessons and was talking to me about how she was going to have to pay a bribe to pass.... I said 'how good are you doing'... she said excellent.... so I said don't pay the bribe and see what happens.... she passed... the people who could NOT drive had to pay the bribe to pass...

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkMike

Maybe the ne is my western accent way of saying ni? At least on the `puter.. LOL

So you type with an accent also then

Posted by: AkMike

But IMO it's your limey accented eass that need the tune up..

Everyone else speaks english..

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkMike

But IMO it's your limey accented eass that need the tune up..

Everyone else speaks english..

Surely you don't now seriously try to imply that you Yanks now speak English

Posted by: blucatz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrismc

Surely you don't now seriously try to imply that you Yanks now speak English

English? oh no, we speak American, we gave up speaking English when we decided to drive on the right side of the roads.....LOL

Posted by: Raspberry

I can understand "Geordie" talk better than most Yanks........but probably understand Russian better......

Posted by: gino

I had to bribe the Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs to get my paper work done the following day It cost me I recall about $300 dollars So I could get Married. When I had a business set up at the Konkovo market the orange line we had to bribe the tax assessor aka Mafia every week. Put me out of business over a period of time. My wife had to blackmail the director of the phone company. In order to get a telephone within a reasonable time. Two weeks instead of a 1 year wait. We have to give a gift of around 500 ruble's a month to the elementary school director just because that is how it is. Last summer we made a train trip from Moscow To Kazan. We were overweight on luggage by about 100 kg Wife wanted to bring 1 months worth of clothes for 1 week visit. We had to bribe the luggage attendant $50 Bucks he than in return gave i think $25 to the cops that were standing in front of the train before you loaded on. Furthermore, the woman train attendant hit us up for $10 bucks because of the extra luggage. My Personal opinion is that you can get anything done in Russia and I mean anything as long as you have the cash.
Gino

Geat Topic

Posted by: goforit

I have no problem with bribing/tipping, as long as it is not involved in the administration of justice (courts)/marketplace standards (like thinking a house meets a certain code when it doesn't, that's fraud). Then instead of getting things we want with faster/better service, we find the very civility of life being broken down. No thanks.

Posted by: gino

I can go on and on about bribes in Russia. Goforit, you make a real good point about housing in Moscow. All the time people take out main load bearing walls
In the high rises. Just because they wish to expand a room.They wont pull permits because they for one don't wish to pay for them the other is they don't wish to have to pay off there local housing association money. (bribes) My point that i was trying to make is that if you want to have anything done in a timely manner you must pay some cash that is how the system works. Even working there you will receive an official check of only half your pay the rest comes in an envelope as cash. Just so the business dose not have to pay taxes to the government. I'm sure in time all this will change. But Russia and all Eastern Europe is a dog eat dog society. The U.S. is the same way it's just all at the government level. Don't kid yourself.

Posted by: goforit

Quote:

Originally Posted by gino

Even working there you will receive an official check of only half your pay the rest comes in an envelope as cash. Just so the business dose not have to pay taxes to the government.

There was a company in the US that decided to pay their employees with gold coins. It was a stroke of genius. Why? Because American gold coins are recognized as legal tender but only at the value printed on the coin. So you earn $1000 for the week, your employer pays you with a gold coin whose fair market value is $1000, but for legal tender, i.e. tax purposes, it is only worth $20!

So you get full value and avoid any taxation requirements. Well of course the gov't wasn't going to stand for that, even though their own court cases said this was perfectly legit. Anyway, I think the company may have won a few points along the way, but I seem to recall the owner being put in jail. Memory is kind of hazy on the whole deal.

Posted by: EasyTarget

He would have been paying his employees less then minimum wage, and that would be illegal.

Posted by: goforit

If I remember correctly that never even came up. Everybody knew what the employees were being paid, the question was the tax consequences of how he paid them. If allowed to stand as legal tender, as the law indicates, then the gov't loses tax revenue both from the employer and the employee.

Posted by: freebird

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud

One trip to Ukraine and two to Russia.... never once a bribe to anyone....

Amazing!

It's sometimes worse when they won't take a bribe!

My friend got married at the ZAGS on a saturday, they wanted the 35 Hrv {$7} fee paid only by bank draft, and the banks were already closed {at noon}.
He offered the woman $50 cash but she wouldn't take it. So he had to pospone the honeymoon at the Black Sea for 3 days to wait to pay the fee & get documents.

Losing 3 days at the beach to stay to pay a lousy $7 fee!

And my case was even worse than that!

Posted by: Sparky114

Hi

Ok so I have been to the FSU 15 times soon to be 16 and only have used the pay the piper system once, LOL I get the feeling I will have to continue to run fast

Ohhhhhh my apoligies, I forgot !!! had to Bribe the my future step daughter to keep my intentions of asking her mother to marry me a secret with an Apple Ipod

But she was so great in organising so many things for me it was a small price to pay.........lol

Mark

Posted by: gino

Visiting Russia is one thing living there with a family is a totally different story.
But in any case 15 visits and no real bribes I'm impressed.

Posted by: Sparky114

Quote:

Originally Posted by gino

Visiting Russia is one thing living there with a family is a totally different story.
But in any case 15 visits and no real bribes I'm impressed.

Yes But 15 visits equals nearly 14 months of living and working in the country

Posted by: Texas Proud

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird

Actually.... it never came up for anything....

When I was in Egypt.... EVERYBODY was holding out their hand..... and it pissed me off.... I do not recommend going there to anyone except to see the Pyramids and some of the other ruins...