I have done this on occasion in Russia too but I dont like to do it, am not proud of doing it and I dont agree with it on principle.

I think if you break the rules, and the police catch you breaking the rules, then you are due to pay a penalty - anywhere in the world.

Being dishonest and pretending not to understand what they are saying, or dishonestly pretending you didn't know you did something wrong when you know you did, is hardly principled behaviour either.

The reality is Police there get pretty low wages, and the state de facto recognises that they get much of their income via "tips". If you get pulled over for something you plainly didnt do, and the offence is made up, then thats one thing. But if you have broken the road laws, and you know it, and they catch you out ... then you owe someone a fine. Whether its the state (who would then pay it back to the Police via higher wages) or you pay it directly to the Police ... i.e. whether you pay the police indirectly (like in the west) or directly (like in Russia) ... I dont see a big difference.

The difference to me is did you commit the offence or not - not whether you pay the police directly or indirectly. If you are 100% sure that you did not commit an offence, then by all means stand your ground, refuse to pay, act ignorant etc. But if you know you have broken the traffic laws ... then you have broken the traffic laws. You have to shrug your shoulders and say "he got me - he won that round"

Dont get me wrong, I am no goody two shoes on Russian roads ... sometimes I dont feel like taking the risk and sit on 95 km/h by my GPS. Sometimes I feel like blasting along ... but if I blast along the road, I know I am gambling 500 rubles and have it ready in my pocket in case I do get caught.

As for crossing white lines ... Its obviously been targetted by the Russian authorities as a high risk activity, presumably because many accidents have resulted from it. The police have a perfectly legitimate interest therefore in trying to enforce that rule. As in any country, the means of enforcement is by penalising drivers who break the rule. You may not like who you pay the penalty to, but the job of enforcing the road rules is a perfectly legitimate one, as is the practise of extracting financial penalties from those caught breaking the rules.

Financial penalties for breaking road rules is pretty standard global practise as a deterrent to stop people breaking those road rules in future.

I dont feel that westerners should think they can ride through Russia with some sort of immunity from road rules (especially on the grounds that they dont like the payment system) - or with the belief that ignorance of the local road rules is some form of defence. As in any country in the world, its theoretically the responsibility of the visiting driver / rider to make himself aware of the local road rules and penalties.

If you do the crime, you have to be prepared to do the time.

I dont think Russian drivers in Finland can break the road rules and expect extra leniency from the Finnish police compared to Finnish drivers. Similarly I dont think Finnish drivers should expect to be treated any differently to Russian drivers in Russia. And a Russian driver, in your case, would have been required to "pay the penalty".

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