Unfortunately, bribery and other types of extortionist behavior are common in many parts of the world. This is an example of it. You should always try to pay anything questionable with a credit card, so that it can be "charged back" by the issuing bank later. But in a cash-oriented society like Russia, these types of charges are more or less the costs of doing business. (Perhaps this is why there is less business going on in these places....)