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  • The Atlantic

    What to Do When the Russian Government Wants to Blackmail You

    Russian officials have a long history of using compromising material, or <em>kompromat</em>, as a weapon against political opponents.
    by Anna Nemtsova Mar 27, 2019 3 minutes
    Source: Mikhail Voskresenskiy / Reuters

    MOSCOW—From Jeff Bezos’s allegations of extortion and blackmail by the National Enquirer, a publication with links to President Donald Trump, to Trump’s relations with the Kremlin, one particular word has gained prominence, and it’s not even an English one.

    Opponents of the government here in Moscow are well versed in the risk of their foibles and vices—from hidden-camera footage of them in bed with lovers to secretly recorded conversations—being used as compromising material, a practice better known by the Russian portmanteau kompromat.

    is a weapon often aimed at public

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