Getting to Da

"There are no universally applicable instructions about what should be given as a bribe."

"There is a certain amount of know-how involved in giving a bribe. The situation is usually such that one doesn’t have an appropriate gift in one’s suitcase right then and there."

"There is always the risk in giving a bribe that competitors or the mafia will find out about it and use this knowledge to their advantage. One should give a bribe delicately, absolutely without witnesses, preferably using a Russian go-between. Whatever the situation, it must never be done with a grimace, however annoying or morally repulsive you find it. You can’t offend the recipient if you want the bribe to be effective. In some situations it may even be appropriate to give the bribe in an overdramatic manner, with speeches, as a gift to a “dear friend.”"

Corruzione in Russia, come è vista in un manuale della camera di commercio Finno-Russa. Ritirato in seguito a proteste.

Getting to Da, Harper's Magazine, maggio 2005