I would add that after the rapid introduction of consumer loans by Russian banks to a local market, people more or less became aware of the fact that receiving the salary "under the table" will block them from the opportunity to get such loans. Banks require an NDFL-2 form (Form that shows your payments of the personal income tax) The sums in this form are either confirmed by your local tax inspection or not. So fraud is not an option. If you pay 13 roubles as your income tax, that would mean your proven income is 100 roubles per month (the tax rate is fixed at 13% for all categories of population) while your real income may be several tens of thousands. In this case you'll be granted to borrow from bank only about 200-300 roubles max. If you want to get more - urge your employer to pay you your full salary officially.