View source for Kompromat

{{short description|Russian phrase for compromising information}}
{{for|the 2022 film|Kompromat (film){{!}}''Kompromat'' (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox Russian term
| russian              = компромат
| rusr                 = kompromat
| native pronunciation = {{IPA|ru|kəmprɐˈmat|}}
| literal meaning      = compromising material
}}
'''Kompromat''' ({{lang-rus|компромат|p=kəmprɐˈmat|a=Ru-компрома́т.ogg}}, short for "compromising material") is damaging information about a politician, a businessperson, or other public figure, which may be used to [[negative campaigning|create negative publicity]], as well as for [[blackmail]], often to exert influence rather than monetary gain, and [[extortion]]. Kompromat may be acquired from various [[Security agency|security services]], or outright forged, and then publicized by use of a [[public relations]] official.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hoffman |first=David |authorlink=David M. Hoffman |title=The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia |publisher=[[PublicAffairs]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |year=2003 |page=272 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFh8kqMt2YoC&pg=PA272 |isbn=1-586-48202-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Koltsova |first=Olessia |title=News Media and Power in Russia |series=BASEES/Routledge series on Russian and East European Studies |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2006 |page=108 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RykxGY1KmFYC&pg=PA108 |isbn=0-415-34515-4}}</ref>

The word ''kompromat'' comes from {{lang|ru|компромат}}, short for {{lang|ru|компрометирующий материал}} ({{transliteration|ru|komprometiruyushchy material}}) "compromising material". Widespread use of {{lang|ru|kompromat}} has been one of the characteristic features of the [[politics of Russia]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=White |first1=Stephen |authorlink1=Stephen White (political scientist) |last2=McAllister |first2=Ian |authorlink2=Ian McAllister (political scientist) |year=2006 |contribution=Politics and the Media in Post-Communist Russia |editor-last=Voltmer |editor-first=Katrin |title=Mass Media and Political Communication in New Democracies |series=Routledge/ECPR studies in European political science |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames]] |pages=225–226 |contribution-url=http://polsc.anu.edu.au/staff/mcallister/pubs/Russiamedia.pdf | access-date=2018-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819190823/http://polsc.anu.edu.au/staff/mcallister/pubs/Russiamedia.pdf |archive-date=2006-08-19 |isbn=0-415-33779-8 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> as well as of other [[post-Soviet states]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wheatley |first=Jonathan |title=Georgia from National Awakening to Rose Revolution: Delayed Transition in the Former Soviet Union |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] |year=2005 |pages=104–105 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=80T4YjHFxycC&pg=PA105 |isbn=0-754-64503-7}}</ref><ref>[http://ukrainianweek.com/Politics/88989 Operation Smear Campaign], [[The Ukrainian Week]] (10 September 2013)</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=How kompromat on a close Macron ally went viral |last=Braun |first=Elisa |work=POLITICO |date=14 February 2020 |url= https://www.politico.eu/article/how-kompromat-on-a-close-macron-ally-went-viral/}} An example of the use of "kompromat"</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Choy|first1=James P.|title=Kompromat: A theory of blackmail as a system of governance|journal=Journal of Development Economics|volume=147|year=2020|pages=102535|issn=0304-3878|doi=10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102535|s2cid=225375805}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The term {{tlit|ru|kompromat}} is a borrowing of the Russian [[NKVD]] slang term {{lang|ru|компромат}} from the [[Stalin era]], which is short for "compromising material" ({{transliteration|ru|komprometiruyushchy material}}). It refers to disparaging information that can be collected, stored, traded, or used strategically across all domains: political, electoral, legal, professional, judicial, media, and business. The origins of the term in Russian trace back to 1930s secret police jargon.<ref name="Ledeneva">{{cite book|last1=Ledeneva|first1=Alena V.|authorlink = Alena V. Ledeneva|title=How Russia Really Works: The Informal Practices That Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business|date=30 September 2013|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |isbn=9780801470059 |pages=288 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bf7PAQAAQBAJ|access-date=12 January 2017}}</ref>

== Techniques and use ==
In the early days, {{tlit|ru|kompromat}} featured doctored photographs, planted drugs, grainy videos of liaisons with prostitutes hired by the [[KGB]], and a wide range of other primitive entrapment techniques. More contemporary forms of {{tlit|ru|kompromat}} appear as a form of [[cybercrime]].<ref name="NYT"/> One aspect of {{tlit|ru|kompromat}} that stands the test of time is that the compromising information is often sexual in nature.<ref name="TIME">{{cite magazine |last1=Waxman|first1=Olivia B.|title=Document Claims Russia Has Donald Trump 'Kompromat.' What Is That?|url=https://time.com/4632111/kompromat-history-donald-trump/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |access-date=2017-01-12 |date=2017-01-12 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The use of {{tlit|ru|kompromat}} is part of the political culture in Russia, with many members of the business and political elite having collected and stored potentially compromising material on their political opponents.<ref name="NS">{{cite magazine |last1=Maher |first1=Richard |title=What is 'kompromat' and how does it work? |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/world/north-america/2017/01/what-kompromat-and-how-does-it-work |magazine=[[New Statesman]] |issn=	1364-7431 |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[GlobalData]] |access-date=12 January 2017|date=12 January 2017 |quote=Kompromat has become a part of the political culture in Russia. Nearly everyone within Russia’s business and political elite has at one time or another collected and stored potentially compromising material on their political opponents for future use. Kompromat can be real or fabricated, and generally involves drugs, prostitutes, sexual escapades, sleazy business deals, illicit financial schemes, or embezzlement.}}</ref> {{tlit|ru|Kompromat}} does not necessarily target individuals or groups, but rather collects information that could be useful at a later time.<ref name="PRI">{{cite web |last=Woolf |first=Christopher |title=Moscow's long history of gathering 'kompromat' |url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2017-01-11/moscow-s-long-history-gathering-kompromat |publisher=[[Public Radio International]] |location=[[Minneapolis]] |access-date=12 January 2017 |date=11 January 2017 |quote='Kompromat,' says David Filipov, 'means "compromising material" that can be used down the road as leverage over somebody. [...] 'This was something former KGB officers were telling us here,' adds Filipov, 'they're not necessarily targeting you. You show up and they say, let’s just see what this guy does. So they’ll record you, they’ll do surveillance, see what you’re up to. Some stuff gets in a file and maybe they can use it, maybe they can’t use it.}}</ref> Compromising videos are often produced long in advance of when leverage over people is needed.<ref name="Atlantic">{{cite magazine |last1=Ioffe |first1=Julia |title=How Blackmail Works in Russia |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/01/kompromat-trump-dossier/512891/ |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |access-date=11 January 2017|date=11 January 2017}}</ref>

[[Opposition research]] is conducted in the U.S. to find compromising material on political opponents so that such material may be released to weaken those opponents. Some contend that {{tlit|ru|Kompromat}} differs from opposition research, in that such information is used to exert influence over people rather than to simply win elections.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tucker |first=Joshua |title=Everything you need to know about the Russian art of 'kompromat' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/01/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-russian-art-of-kompromat/ |url-access=limited |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=12 January 2017 |date=12 January 2017 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Nevertheless, compromising material uncovered by opposition research need not be used in only legal or ethical ways. It can be used to exert influence over Western leaders just as surely as it can be used to exert influence over Russian leaders.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/swamp-chronicles/a-theory-of-trump-kompromat|title=A Theory of Trump Kompromat|last=Davidson|first=Adam|magazine=The New Yorker|date=2018-07-19|access-date=2019-08-01|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/2263d995e4fa49d7acc917c604ea2ec5|title=Settlements prompt review of New Mexico's settlement system|date=2019-05-23|website=AP NEWS|access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref>

== Notable cases ==
In the 1950s, [[Civil Service (United Kingdom)|British civil servant]] [[John Vassall]] was a victim of a gay [[Honey trapping|honey trap]] operation, producing {{tlit|ru|kompromat}} which could be used against him since [[LGBT rights in the United Kingdom#Homosexuality as an offence|homosexuality was illegal]] in Britain at the time.<ref name="CNN">{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Bryony |last2=Mackintosh |first2=Eliza |title=What is Kompromat?|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/11/politics/what-is-kompromat/|website=[[CNN]]|access-date=12 January 2017|date=12 January 2017}}</ref> During a 1957 visit to Moscow, American journalist [[Joseph Alsop]] also fell victim to a gay honey trap operation conducted by the [[KGB]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Higgins |first1=Andrew |last2=Kramer |first2=Andrew |title=Sexual blackmail, Russia style: a history of 'kompromat' |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/sexual-blackmail-russia-style-a-history-of-kompromat-1.2934451 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |location=[[Dublin]] |access-date=12 January 2017|date=12 January 2017}}</ref>

In 1997, [[Valentin Kovalyov]] was removed as the [[Ministry of Justice (Russia)|Russian Minister of Justice]] after photographs of him with prostitutes in a sauna controlled by the [[Solntsevskaya Bratva]] [[Organized crime|crime organization]] were published in a newspaper.<ref name="Ledeneva"/> In 1999, a video aired with a man resembling [[Yury Skuratov]] in bed with two women that later would lead to his dismissal as [[Prosecutor General of Russia]]. It was released after he began looking into charges of corruption by President [[Boris Yeltsin]] and his associates.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news |last1=Hodge |first1=Nathan |last2=Grove |first2=Thomas |title=Trump Dossier Spotlights Russian History of 'Kompromat' |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-dossier-spotlights-russian-history-of-kompromat-1484171169 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |access-date=2017-01-11 |date=2017-01-11 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In April 2010, politician [[Ilya Yashin]] and comedian [[Victor Shenderovich]] were involved in a sex scandal with a woman claimed to have acted as a Kremlin honey trap to discredit opposition figures.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Osborn |first1=Andrew |title=Amateur model known as 'Katya' revealed as Russian honey trap bait |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7639592/Amateur-model-known-as-Katya-revealed-as-Russian-honeytrap-bait.html |newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph]] |location=[[London]] |date= 2010-04-28 |access-date=2017-01-11 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The video was released only two days before the wedding of Shenderovich's daughter.<ref name="Atlantic"/>

In cases of {{tlit|ru|kompromat}} during the early 21st century, Russian operatives have been suspected or accused of placing [[child pornography]] on the personal computers of individuals they were attempting to discredit.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Higgins |first1=Andrew |title=Foes of Russia Say Child Pornography Is Planted to Ruin Them |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/world/europe/vladimir-putin-russia-fake-news-hacking-cybersecurity.html?_r=0 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2017-01-26 |date=2016-12-09 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="NPR">{{cite episode |last=Myre |first=Greg |authorlink=Greg Myre |series=[[All Things Considered]] |title=A Russian Word Americans Need To Know: 'Kompromat' |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/01/11/509305088/a-russian-word-americans-need-to-know-kompromat |transcript-url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/01/11/509305088/a-russian-word-americans-need-to-know-kompromat |transcript=A Russian Word Americans Need To Know: 'Kompromat' |network=[[National Public Radio]] |location=[[Washington D.C.]] |access-date=2019-01-29 |date=2017-01-11 |df=dmy-all |quote=In other recent cases, Russian operatives have been suspected or accused of placing child pornography on the personal computers of individuals they were attempting to discredit. Russian Vladimir Bukovsky, 73, a longtime critic of Soviet and Russian leaders, now lives in Britain, where he faces charges related to child pornography. But the case was delayed while investigators checked to see whether the images on Bukovsky's computer were placed there by an outside party, ''The New York Times'' reported last month, citing other similar cases.}}</ref> In 2015, the UK's [[Crown Prosecution Service]] announced that it would prosecute [[Vladimir Bukovsky]] for "prohibited images" found on his computer;<ref>{{cite web |title=Vladimir Bukovsky to be prosecuted over indecent images of children |url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/vladimir_bukovsky_to_be_prosecuted_over_indecent_images_of_children/ |publisher=[[Crown Prosecution Service]] |access-date=2017-01-11 |date=2015-04-27 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118121119/http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/vladimir_bukovsky_to_be_prosecuted_over_indecent_images_of_children/ |archive-date=18 November 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> however, the case against Bukovsky was put on hold as investigators tried to determine whether the pornographic images were planted.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=Higgins |first1=Andrew |title=Foes of Russia Say Child Pornography Is Planted to Ruin Them |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/world/europe/vladimir-putin-russia-fake-news-hacking-cybersecurity.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2017-01-11 |date=2016-12-09 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Bukovsky died in October 2019.<ref>Higgins, Andrew. "[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/world/europe/Vladimir-Bukovsky-dead.html Vladimir Bukovsky, Revered Soviet Dissident and Putin Critic, Dies at 76]." ''[[New York Times]]'', 28 October 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2020</ref>

Ahead of the [[2016 Russian legislative election]], a [[sex tape]] of [[Mikhail Kasyanov]] emerged on [[NTV (Russia)|NTV]].<ref name="WSJ"/><ref name="NPR"/>

During the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 U.S. presidential election]], U.S. intelligence agencies were investigating possibly [[Steele dossier|compromising personal and financial information]] on President-elect [[Donald Trump]], leading to allegations that he and members of his administration might be vulnerable to manipulation by the Russian government.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nelson |first1=Eliot |last2=Young |first2=Jeffrey |title=Kompromat? More Like KomproMAGA! |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/huffpost-hill-kompromat-more-like-kompromaga_us_5875640fe4b05b7a465c3854 |access-date=2017-01-11|website=[[The Huffington Post]] |publisher=[[Oath Inc.|Oath]] |date=2017-01-10 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Trump says Russian 'kompromat' claims are fake |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2584ebdc-d796-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Nikkei Inc.|Nikkei]] |date=2017-01-11 |access-date=2017-01-11 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] MP [[Chris Bryant]], an ex-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Russia, who claims that the Russian government orchestrated a [[homophobic]] campaign to remove him from this position, has claimed that the Russian government has acquired {{tlit|ru|kompromat}} on high-profile [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] MPs. This includes [[Boris Johnson]], [[Liam Fox]], [[Alan Duncan]], and [[David Davis (British politician)|David Davis]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Townsend |first1=Mark |last2=Smith |first2=David |title=Senior British politicians 'targeted by Kremlin' for smear campaigns |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/14/russia-blackmail-chris-bryant-donald-trump-boris-johnson-liam-fox |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=[[London]] |date=2017-01-14 |access-date=2018-09-16 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Following a 2016 phone call between incoming-U.S. National Security Adviser [[Michael Flynn]] and Russian ambassador [[Sergey Kislyak]], Flynn allegedly lied to the [[White House]] on the extent of those contacts placing him in a position vulnerable to blackmail. According to congressional testimony delivered by former Acting [[United States Attorney General|U.S. Attorney General]] [[Sally Yates]], the [[Department of Justice]] believed that "General Flynn was compromised," and placed Flynn in "a situation where the national-security adviser essentially could be blackmailed by the Russians".<ref name="Wright 2017">{{cite web | last=Wright | first=Austin | title=Sally Yates: 'We believed that Gen. Flynn was compromised' |website=[[Politico]] | date=2017-05-08 | url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/08/sally-yates-testimony-michael-flynn-238043 |publisher=[[Capitol News Company]] |location=[[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington]] |access-date=2018-02-24}}</ref><ref name="The New Yorker 2017">{{cite magazine |last1=Lizza|first1=Ryan|title=Michael Flynn's Questionable Conduct, and Trump's | magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=2017-05-09 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizza/michael-flynns-questionable-conduct-and-trumps | access-date=2018-02-24 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Active measures]]
* [[Character assassination]]
* [[Cyberwarfare]]
* [[Defamation]]
* [[Discrediting tactic]]
* [[False evidence]]
* [[Ibiza affair]]
* [[Jeffrey Epstein#Video recordings|Jeffrey Epstein]]
* [[Negative campaigning]]
* [[Opposition research]]
* [[Smear campaign]]
* [[Steele dossier]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://compromat.hk/ Компромат.Ru] (English website)

[[Category:Public relations]]
[[Category:Politics of Russia]]
[[Category:Political controversies in Russia]]
[[Category:Politics of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Political controversies in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Election campaigning]]
[[Category:Blackmail]]
[[Category:Surveillance]]
[[Category:Defamation]]