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"The system of bribe payments is becoming more organized," and the comment about the expense category – that's great! I'll add it to my collection of quotes.

Well, businessmen are generally more cynical, pragmatic, and selfish than officials. If it's more profitable to pay, they will pay. If it's more profitable to sue or assert their rights through various channels, they will do that. If the amount of bribes makes the business unprofitable, they will leave the business. Moreover, officials also understand this psychology of businessmen, so they take exactly as much as they are willing to give; ruining a businessman is not in their interests. It's a perfectly market-based relationship – if the flow of businessmen to an official decreases, the official lowers the prices for their services. At the same time, a particular businessman may suffer, but as a class, they are in a symbiotic relationship with officials. For a normal business, the most important thing is stability, the ability to plan future income and expenses, whatever they may be. And the main problem for business is a decrease in demand. If there is demand, there will be something to share with the officials.