Kompromat
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Kompromat ( 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 create negative publicity, as well as for
blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...
, often to exert influence rather than monetary gain, and
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
. Kompromat may be acquired from various security services, or outright forged, and then publicized by use of a
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
official. The word ''kompromat'' comes from , short for () "compromising material". Widespread use of has been one of the characteristic features of the
politics of Russia The politics of Russia take place in the framework of the federation, federal semi-presidential republic, semi-presidential republic of Russia. According to the Constitution of Russia, the President of Russia is head of state, and of a multi ...
, as well as of other
post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...
.


Etymology

The term is a borrowing of the Russian
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
slang term from the
Stalin era Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
, which is short for "compromising 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.


Techniques and use

In the early days, featured doctored photographs, planted drugs, grainy videos of liaisons with prostitutes hired by the
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
, and a wide range of other primitive entrapment techniques. More contemporary forms of appear as a form of
cybercrime Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or Computer network, networks. It has been variously defined as "a crime committed on a computer network, especially the Internet"; Cyberc ...
. One aspect of that stands the test of time is that the compromising information is often sexual in nature. The use of 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. does not necessarily target individuals or groups, but rather collects information that could be useful at a later time. Compromising videos are often produced long in advance of when leverage over people is needed.
Opposition research In politics, opposition research (also called oppo research) is the practice of collecting information on a political opponent or other adversary that can be used to discredit or otherwise weaken them. The information can include biographical, l ...
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 differs from opposition research, in that such information is used to exert influence over people rather than to simply win elections. 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.


Notable cases

In the 1950s, British civil servant
John Vassall William John Christopher Vassall (20 September 1924 – 18 November 1996) was a British people, British civil servant who spied for the Soviet Union, allegedly under pressure of blackmail, from 1954 until his arrest in 1962. Although operating o ...
was a victim of a gay honey trap operation, producing which could be used against him since homosexuality was illegal in Britain at the time. During a 1957 visit to Moscow, American journalist
Joseph Alsop Joseph Wright Alsop V (October 10, 1910 – August 28, 1989) was an American journalist and syndicated newspaper columnist from the 1930s through the 1970s. He was an influential journalist and top insider in Washington from 1945 to the late 19 ...
also fell victim to a gay honey trap operation conducted by the
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
. In 1997, Valentin Kovalyov was removed as the Russian Minister of Justice after photographs of him with prostitutes in a sauna controlled by the
Solntsevskaya Bratva The Solntsevskaya Organized Crime Group (), also known as the Solntsevskaya Bratva (), is a Russian crime syndicate group. Other simplified versions of the name are Solntsevskaya Brotherhood and Solntsevskaya gang. Rise to power The Solntsevskay ...
crime organization were published in a newspaper. 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 The Prosecutor General of Russia (also Attorney General of Russia, ) heads the system of official prosecution in courts and heads the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation. The Prosecutor General remains one of the most po ...
. It was released after he began looking into charges of corruption by President
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...
and his associates. 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. The video was released only two days before the wedding of Shenderovich's daughter. In cases of during the early 21st century, Russian operatives have been suspected or accused of placing
child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
on the personal computers of individuals they were attempting to discredit. In 2015, the UK's
Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
announced that it would prosecute
Vladimir Bukovsky Vladimir Konstantinovich Bukovsky (; 30 December 1942 – 27 October 2019) was a Soviet and Russian Human rights activists, human rights activist and writer. From the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, he was a prominent figure in the Soviet dissid ...
for "prohibited images" found on his computer; however, the case against Bukovsky was put on hold as investigators tried to determine whether the pornographic images were planted. Bukovsky died in October 2019. Ahead of the
2016 Russian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Russia on 18 September 2016, having been brought forward from 4 December. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma of the 7th convocation, the lower house of the Federal Assembly. Prior to the election U ...
, a
sex tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is professionally made pornogra ...
of Mikhail Kasyanov emerged on NTV. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, U.S. intelligence agencies were investigating possibly compromising personal and financial information on President-elect
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, leading to allegations that he and members of his administration might be vulnerable to manipulation by the Russian government. British Labour Party MP
Chris Bryant Sir Christopher John Bryant (born 11 January 1962) is a British politician and former Anglican priest who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Rhondda and Ogmore (UK Parliament constituency), Rhondda ...
, an ex-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Russia, who claims that the Russian government orchestrated a
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
campaign to remove him from this position, has claimed that the Russian government has acquired on high-profile Conservative Party MPs. This includes
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
,
Liam Fox Sir Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
,
Alan Duncan Sir Alan James Carter Duncan (born 31 March 1957) is a British former politician who served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014 and Minister of State for Europe and the Americas from 2016 to 2019. A member of ...
, and David Davis. Following a 2016 phone call between incoming-U.S. National Security Adviser
Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born 24 December 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the 24th U.S. national security advisor for the first 22 days of the first Trump administration. He resigned in light of reports tha ...
and Russian ambassador
Sergey Kislyak Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak ( rus, Серге́й Ива́нович Кисля́к, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ kʲɪˈslʲak; born 7 September 1950) is a Russian senior diplomat and politician. Since September 2017, he has represented Mor ...
, Flynn allegedly lied to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
on the extent of those contacts placing him in a position vulnerable to blackmail. According to congressional testimony delivered by former Acting
U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...
Sally Yates, the
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
believed that "General Flynn was compromised," and placed Flynn in "a situation where the national-security adviser essentially could be blackmailed by the Russians".


See also

*
Active measures Active measures () is a term used to describe political warfare conducted by the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. The term, which dates back to the 1920s, includes operations such as espionage, propaganda, sabotage and assassination, b ...
*
Character assassination Character assassination (CA) is a deliberate and sustained effort to damage the reputation or credibility of an individual. The term ''character assassination'' became popular around 1930. This concept, as a subject of scholarly study, was origi ...
*
Cyberwarfare Cyberwarfare is the use of cyberattack, cyber attacks against an enemy State (polity), state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, ...
*
Defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
* Discrediting tactic *
False evidence False evidence, fabricated evidence, forged evidence, fake evidence or tainted evidence is information created or obtained illegally in order to sway the verdict in a court case. Falsified Evidence (law), evidence could be created by either sid ...
* Ibiza affair *
Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( , ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional career as a teacher at the Dalton School, despite lacking a col ...
*
Negative campaigning Negative campaigning is the process of deliberately spreading negative information about someone or something to damage their public image. A colloquial and more derogatory term for the practice is mudslinging. Deliberate spreading of such in ...
*
Opposition research In politics, opposition research (also called oppo research) is the practice of collecting information on a political opponent or other adversary that can be used to discredit or otherwise weaken them. The information can include biographical, l ...
* Smear campaign *
Steele dossier The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, is a controversial political opposition research report on the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump compiled by counterintelligen ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


Компромат.Ru
(English website) Public relations Politics of Russia Political controversies in Russia Politics of Ukraine Political controversies in Ukraine Election campaigning Blackmail Surveillance Defamation