Service of tourists will not pay as well as prostitution and it's harder work, though safer. If a woman doesn't care about selling her body for financial gain then prostitution is a better profession. Monetary gain by working on a shoulder highway is probably minimal, but as a real escort you can earn thousands of dollars a day (at least in America). One of my friends did it during university to pay for school. I thought about it frequently when we passed the women on the shoulders. I wonder how many tricks they turn in a day and for how much money?

I know all the bureaucratic hurdles of doing business in Russia. But your government also is greedy, like all others. It can take simple steps to make travel in the country more comfortable for foreigners. Russians are always boasting about the vast beauty of their country. Don't you want others to share the joy?

Half-assed work ethic, this is not the American way. :)