Something similar happened to me. I was a citizen of Uzbekistan at the time. I was about to fly out of Almaty. When the lady at the checkpoint saw my passport, she asked where my exit visa was. I never knew all the Uzbek citizens needed one to leave the post Soviet territory. So, I was denied my seat on the plane. Had to renew my ticket for $50. Come next day, another lady at the checkpoint says the same thing - without the exit visa I am not going anywhere. The plane was already boarding and I was about to miss it again. She saw me getting agitated and says "why don't you talk to this man here?". He said everything could be arranged for mere $300. Even though I was an actual student and poor as a church mouse, I had to pay it. I was let out.