Its a seduction. A gradual series of minor incidents. They don’t show up at your office with a big sack of greasy rubles and say “Here is much money for you, betray country and is yours!”
You meet an utterly not-government guy, a professor, for instance. He is impressed with the depth of your analysis and understanding, even though your analysis has no more depth than a story in People magazine. (You don’t realize this because you are, well, kinda stupid.) Perhaps you will come to Moscow, and share your insights and probity with a scholarly meeting? (This works even better if you have some pretensions to academic standing.)
You go, you stay at a nice but modest Moscow hotel but later realize that you weren’t billed. If you’re smart, maybe you go “Hey, wait a minute, where’s my bill?” Maybe you got to your professor friend and say “I am constrained by ethics, here, I can’t benefit like this!” Well, your professor friend isn’t an official, doesn’t have any power to amend things like that, and its only a few rubles, don’t worry about it, nobody cares…
Maybe come to this next symposium, perhaps while your there, you can speak with the hotel staff, sort things out. Does this give you the first inkling that there’s something kind of shiny and metallic gleaming from that tasty worm dangling on a string? Not if you’re stupid, not if you are willing to believe that they merely respect and admire your insight and probity.
You attend, and once again, you are surrounded by impressed and enthusiastic scholars. Not spies, Heaven forfend! Just highly respected academics, like yourself. And while thumping you on the shoulders in congratulation, a small wad of money drops into your pocket. Upon discovery, you run back to your friends and say “Hey, can’t have this sort of thing!” And they say “Money, what money? Maybe is honorarium, you keep, yes? But we did not give you money, we are only academic teachers, wearing Goodwillski suits!” How do you give it back if you don’t know who to give it back to? So, maybe after making a good faith effort, you keep it, what’s the harm?
Do you even feel the smooth velvet as the iron fist closes on your nuts? Done right, you won’t. Not even when asked for a small favor, a minor thing, really. By the way, here is a receipt from the hotel saying you paid for your stay. You didn’t? Sorry, little misunderstanding, you just keep the receipt in case you need it while we try and sort things out. And that charge for watching Teenage Lesbian Vampire Sluts from Outer Space, obviously a mistake, we’ll take care of that as well. Money? What money, nobody says they gave you money, who do you give it back to?
Congratulations, you are an asset. Funny thing, in Russian, its spelled “asshat”.