Can agree. Gaming the system was the norm in Russia. E.g. you couldn't buy or sell apartments. If you wanted one, you had to "move in" with someone and the other person would then "move out" later. Payment was handled under the radar.

Hearing the stories from my parents, just getting furniture for a new apartment was already hard, since sometimes it just was not available.

This mentality now still lives on in a lot of us.