The salacious allegations about President-elect Donald Trump made in a dossier authored by an ex-British intelligence officer have brought the old Soviet practice of 'kompromat'—the gathering of compromising material—to the forefront.
Gennady Gudkov, a former deputy in Russia's parliament, is known for his vocal criticism of President Putin and his party United Russia. He's also a former KGB and FSB colonel. VICE News spoke with Gudkov about kompromat's long history and its continued use in modern Russia.
What is 'kompromat' and how does it work?
Kompromat has existed as long as mankind. It's a practice of gathering information about somebody that they would never want disclosed. Kompromat is a means of leverage, to the extent that it can make a person commit a crime or do horrible things out of fear of being exposed. In those cases, it amounts to blackmail, which is a crime.
But besides blackmail, there are many other ways one can use kompromat—such as influencing a person's positions or politics with the help of embarrassing information.
Does the Kremlin gather kompromat, and what do they use it for?
Kompromat has been a favorite occupation of Russian elites throughout the last several centuries. They don't just gather kompromat, they regularly use it and actively leak it to the media. There is an ongoing war between political parties, with setups, fake news, lies and rumors. And Kompromat is the king in this war, especially when there is no democracy and transparency.
We live in the kingdom of lies, and the kingdom of kompromat.
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