Compromat operation

Extracted Attributes

Kompromat

Kompromat (Russian: компромат, IPA: [kəmprɐˈmat] , short for компрометирующий материал, variously translated as "compromising material", "discrediting material", or "incriminating material"), is damaging information about a person or a group, commonly a politician, businessperson, or other public figure, which may be used for negative campaigning or smear campaigning to discredit the person or group. It can also be used for blackmail purposes, often to exert influence over a person rather than for monetary gain, and extortion. In English it is also called "dark PR" or "black PR". Kompromat may be acquired from security agencies or intelligence agencies, or outright forged, and then publicized, e.g., via a public relations official.

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• [PDF] Kompromat* - Andrew T. Little

  Kompromat Ryan Hübert† Andrew T. Little‡ January 22, 2020 Abstract Political leaders face many agency problems, such as managing subordinates who may not honestly report information. One potential solution to these problems is kompromat: the threat to release compromising information. Using a cheap talk model, we demonstrate how kompromat can improve communication, mak-ing both principal and agent better off. However, using kompromat to solve an agency problem generates two costs. First, its mere existence means it may leak inadvertently. Second, since kompromat works by threatening the reputation of subordinates, common knowledge that an organization uses kompromat might be costly even if it is never leaked. These possibilities may foreclose all communication from an unbiased subordinate [...] First, many accounts of kompromat or blackmail implicitly assume that a relationship has al-ready commenced. Consider the canonical example from Schelling (1956) in which a kidnapped person provides his kidnapper with some kompromat that allows the kidnapper to release the pris-oner without fear that the prisoner will go to the police. In this example, the prisoner has no choice about whether to be in the relationship with the kidnapper; he has already been kidnapped. How-ever, in many situations, such as the bureaucratic employment context we study here, the compro-mised party must first choose whether to engage with someone who could potentially blackmail them. Our model shows that it matters whether the compromised party has this choice. Specif-ically, if participation in a [...] (or steal) are high, these levers may not be enough to keep subordinates in line. Particularly in more autocratic contexts, political leaders can resort to another extreme by arresting or even executing agents they believe to have crossed them. And, of course, Stalin and other dictators frequently go in this direction, as V.M. Molotov’s wife Polina Zhemchuzhina (arrested) and Yezhov (executed) learned all too well.

• Kompromat

  13. ^ Maher, Richard (12 January 2017). "What is 'kompromat' and how does it work?". New Statesman. London: GlobalData. ISSN "ISSN (identifier)") 1364-7431. Retrieved 12 January 2017. 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. [...] 9. ^ Milan, Lielich (10 September 2013). "Operation Smear Campaign". The Ukrainian Week. Retrieved 5 February 2026. 10. ^ Choy, James P. (2020). "Kompromat: A theory of blackmail as a system of governance". Journal of Development Economics. 147 102535. doi "Doi (identifier)"):10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102535. ISSN "ISSN (identifier)") 0304-3878. S2CID "S2CID (identifier)") 225375805. 11. ^ a b c d Higgins, Andrew (9 December 2016). "Foes of Russia Say Child Pornography Is Planted to Ruin Them". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2017. 12. ^ Waxman, Olivia B. (12 January 2017). "Document Claims Russia Has Donald Trump 'Kompromat.' What Is That?". Time "Time (magazine)"). New York. Retrieved 12 January 2017. [...] Kompromat (Russian: компромат, IPA: (/wiki/Help:IPA/Russian "Help:IPA/Russian") ⓘ, short for компрометирующий материал, variously translated as "compromising material", "discrediting material", or "incriminating material"), is damaging information about a person or a group, commonly a politician, businessperson, or other public figure, which may be used for negative campaigning or smear campaigning to discredit the person or group. It can also be used for blackmail purposes, often to exert influence over a person rather than for monetary gain, and extortion. In English it is also called "dark PR" or "black PR". Kompromat may be acquired from security agencies or intelligence agencies, or outright forged, and then publicized, e.g., via a public relations official. ## Etymology [edit]

• A Theory of Trump Kompromat | The New Yorker

  Kompromat can be a single, glaring example of wrongdoing, recorded by someone close to the Kremlin and then used to control the bad actor. It can be proof of an embarrassing sex act. Darden believes it is unlikely that sexual kompromat would be effective on Trump. Allegations of sexual harassment, extramarital affairs, and the payment of hush money to hide indiscretions have failed to significantly diminish the enthusiasm of Trump’s core supporters. But another common form of kompromat—proof of financial crimes—could be more politically and personally damaging. [...] Because the word kompromat is new to most Americans, and has been introduced in the context of a President whose behavior confuses many of us, it is natural to assume that it must be a big, rare, scary thing, used in extraordinary circumstances to force compliance and achieve grand aims. But, Darden explained to me, kompromat is routinely used throughout the former Soviet Union to curry favor, improve negotiated outcomes, and sway opinion. Intelligence services, businesspeople, and political figures everywhere exploit gossip and damaging information. However, Darden argues, kompromat has a uniquely powerful role in the former Soviet Union, where the practice is so pervasive, he coined the term “blackmail state” to describe the way of governance. [...] Ledeneva told me that each actor in sistema faces near-constant uncertainty about his status, aware that others could well destroy him. Each actor also knows how to use kompromat to destroy rivals but fears that using such material might provoke an explosive response. While each person in sistema feels near-constant uncertainty, the over-all sistema is remarkably robust. Kompromat is most powerful when it isn’t used, and when its targets aren’t quite clear about how much destructive information there is out there. If everyone sees potential land mines everywhere, it dramatically increases the price for anybody stepping out of line.

• A Russian Word Americans Need To Know: 'Kompromat' - NPR

  From the Soviet playbook Kompromat is straight from the old Soviet playbook and has often involved photographs and videos — real or fake. Russians often use it for internal battles, though it is also deployed to blackmail foreign diplomats serving in Russia. A diplomat lured into an affair might be willing to quietly cooperate with the Russia government rather than having a career and marriage upended. Now there are unverified claims that Russia may have compromising material on President-elect Donald Trump. NPR and other news organizations have reported on the existence of the allegations since the story broke Tuesday evening. NPR has not reported the details since they are unproven. [...] ### The Two-Way ### Trump Denies Allegations Of Secret Ties, Collusion Between Campaign And Russia Russia even has a website, kompromat.ru, where anyone can pay the site to post embarrassing stories. Many are about alleged corruption and have already been published elsewhere but have not received much attention. The businessman who created the website, Sergey Gorshkov, said he came up with the idea from the Skuratov sex scandal back in 1999. He said his operation was purely business, not politics. In some cases, the site has provided the Russian government a convenient outlet when it wanted to leak material that would undermine a critic. However, the site also published allegations against figures in the Kremlin and the Russian government, angering many powerful officials. [...] Trump denied the reports in a news conference Wednesday. The Kremlin also issued a denial, with Putin spokesman Dmitri Peskov stating flatly: "The Kremlin does not collect compromising materials." While claims and counterclaims are still flying, what's clear is that Russian kompromat does continue to thrive in the post-Soviet era, aided by the march of cyber technology. Kompromat is considered part of the larger Russian espionage arsenal that also includes disinformation, fake news and computer hacking. U.S. intelligence agencies have blamed the Russians for hacking into Democratic Party emails to harm Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign. Russia has denied this. A long history Trump Denies Allegations Of Secret Ties, Collusion Between Campaign And Russia ### The Two-Way

• 'Kompromat' and the Danger of Doubt and Confusion in a ...

  In fact, kompromat is more than an individual piece of damaging information: It is a broader attempt to manufacture public cynicism and confusion in ways that target not just one individual but an entire society. And although this practice tends to be associated with Russia — the word kompromat is a portmanteau of the Russian words for “compromising” and “information” — it is a common feature of authoritarian and semiauthoritarian nations around the world. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT [...] Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Specific leaks may take aim at powerful individuals, but in the longer term, kompromat serves the interests of the powerful, which is why it is often a tool of autocrats. By eroding the very idea of a shared reality, and by spreading apathy and confusion among a public that learns to distrust leaders and institutions alike, kompromat undermines a society’s ability to hold the powerful to account and ensure the proper functioning of government. The fog of disinformation