InRussian culture,blat (Russian:блат) is a form ofcorruption comprising a system of informal agreements, exchanges of services, connections,Party contacts, orblack market deals to achieve results or get ahead.[1]
In the context ofcorruption in the Soviet Union,blat was widespread because of thepermanent shortage ofconsumer goods and services. This was due to theadministrative-command economy and coexistentmaladministration. Networks ofblat made it easier for the general public to gain access to much-coveted goods and services.[2][3]Blat also took place at the enterprise-level in the form oftolkachs, employees whose explicit role was to exploit their networks to secure positive outcomes for their employers.[4]
The system ofblat can be seen as an example of asocial network with some similarities tonetworking (especially "good ol' boy" networks) in theUnited States,old boy networks in theUnited Kingdom and the formerBritish Empire,[5] andguanxi inChina.[6]
While certain official privileges would be provided to citizens depending on status (as a party official, member of the intelligentsia, factory worker, or toiling peasant (Russian:трудящийся крестьянин)), access was by no means guaranteed even for the upper echelon, as "commodities likedachas and housing in a ministerial apartment block were in extremely short supply, and mere membership in the eligible group was not enough to secure the prize. To get privileges, [one] needed contacts with somebody higher up; in short, [one] needed a patron."[7]
Another notable operation ofblat system was the institution oftolkachs. In the Soviet Union, theGosplan was not able to calculate efficient or even feasible plans, so enterprises often had to rely on people with connections, who could then useblat to help fulfill quotas. Eventually most enterprises came to have a dedicated supply specialist – atolkach (literally "pusher") – to perform this task.[4]
Blat was primarily used to describe networks in which people made favors in exchange for other favors. Itsadverbial usage ispo blatu (по блату), meaning "by or viablat".[8]
According toMax Vasmer, the origin of the wordblat is theYiddishblatt, meaning a "blank note" or a "list".[8] However, according to both Vasmer and N. M. Shansky,blat may also have entered into Russian as thePolishloanwordblat, a noun signifying "someone who provides an umbrella" or a "cover".[8] The word became part ofImperial Russian criminal slang in the early 20th century, where it signified relatively minor criminal activity such as petty theft.[8]
A similar term,protektsiya, literally means "protection", but with more emphasis on patronage. Another semantically related term,krysha, is derived from the criminal environment and literally means "a roof".
The nounblatnoy (блатной) has an explicitly criminal meaning in Russian. It usually refers to a member of a thief gang –blatnoy itself means "professional criminal". The term originally meant "one possessing the correct paperwork", which, in the corrupt officialdom of Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, indicated that theblatnoy was well connected. It later came to indicate career criminals because they had ablatnoy, or special status, in the Russian criminal underworld. The word is used to indicate association with the criminal underworld (e.g. "blatnoy language"/Fenya, "blatnoy behavior", "blatnoy outlook").[9]
Inblat, there is a 'personal basis for expecting a proposal to be listened to,' while bribery is conceived of as a relationship linked only by material interest and characterized direct and immediate payment. In the Chinese cultural discourse, there is on the one hand often a fine line between the art ofguanxi and bribery (xinghui).