[Ads-l] _kompromat_

[David Barnhart]

_Kompromat_ and many like it are, or shortly will be, entries in
_Barnhart's Never-finished Political Dictionary of the 21st Century_.

See a sample of this brand-new dictionary:
http://secure.combinedbook.com/barnharts-never-finished-political-dictionary-of-the-21st-century_167926.html



*kompromat*, kom proh MAHT /kom prou'mat/, *n*. {w}  subversive or
otherwise negative documents, such as fake news, designed to compromise the
integrity of a politician or the like.  *Nonstandard* (used in contexts
dealing especially with Russian espionage; common)



In real life, U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating Trump’s ties to
Vladimir Putin and the possibility that a dossier of secret information—
*kompromat*—gives Russia leverage with his [Trump’s] regime.  Judith
Thurman, “What-If Dept.; Roth On Trump,” *The New Yorker*, Jan. 30, 2017, p
18



Terry Gross: And that would fit a Russian pattern. They blackmail people
all the time. They destroy opponents with embarrassing information or
videotapes. They even plant false information. The word is kompromat. The
New York Times did an excellent story a week or two ago about a—I believe
he was, like, a Russian political dissident living outside of the country
who had child pornography found on his computer by the authorities. And
there seems to be compelling evidence that it was planted on him.  Terry
Gross, “Journalist: Trump Seems ‘Willfully Blind’ To Putin’s Real
Goals,” *Fresh
Air *on NPR (Google News), Dec. 21, 2016,
http://www.npr.org/2016/12/21/506302106/journalist-trump-seems-willfully-blind-to-putin-s-real-goals



But fiscal problems have taken a back seat to a Soviet-style Kremlin
struggle, making many skeptical that the authorities care about their
problems or are capable of solving them.

The kompromat, or compromising evidence drama, reached its peak when
Yeltsin fired his bare-knuckled Security Council chief Alexander Lebed
after he was accused of plotting a coup. Olivia Ward, “Yeltsin threatens to
sack more top Kremlin officials ‘It’s time to stop fighting for influence.
It’s time to work’,” *The Toronto Star* (Nexis), Oct. 26, 1996, p A11



1996.  Loan word (borrowing): from a Russian word popular in the KGB
meaning “compromising material” [ultimately from *компро*(метирующий
)*мат*(ериал)
transliterated as *compromising material*].


Regards,
David K. Barnhart

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