Blat (favors)

In Russian, blat (Russian: блат) is a form of corruption comprising a system of informal agreements, exchanges of services, connections, Party contacts, or black market deals to achieve results or get ahead.^[1]

In the context of corruption in the Soviet Union, blat was widespread because of the permanent shortage of consumer goods and services. This was due to the price of consumer goods being dictated by the state rather than set by the free market. Networks of blat 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 of tolkachs, employees whose explicit role was to exploit their networks to secure positive outcomes for their employers.^[4]

The system of blat can be seen as an example of a social network with some similarities to networking (especially "good ol' boy" networks) in the United States, old boy networks in the United Kingdom and the former British Empire,^[5] and guanxi in China.^[6]

^ Ledeneva, Alena V. (1998). Russia's Economy of Favors: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-521-62743-5.
^ Žiliukaitė, Rūta (2014). "Analysis of Blat Relations During the Late Soviet Period in Lithuania". Sociology. Thought and Action. 35: 252–270.
^ Ledeneva, Alena V. (1998). Russia's Economy of Favours: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
^ Ledeneva, Alena V. (1998). Russia's Economy of Favors: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 25. ISBN 0-521-62743-5.
^ Ledeneva, Alena V. (1998). Russia's Economy of Favors: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-521-62743-5.
^ Yang, Mayfair Mei-Hui (January 1989). "The Gift Economy and State Power in China". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 31 (1). Cambridge University Press: 47–48. JSTOR 178793. In blat, 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 of guanxi and bribery (xinghui).

[1] Ledeneva, Alena V. (1998). Russia's Economy of Favors: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-521-62743-5.

[2] Žiliukaitė, Rūta (2014). "Analysis of Blat Relations During the Late Soviet Period in Lithuania". Sociology. Thought and Action. 35: 252–270.

[3] Ledeneva, Alena V. (1998). Russia's Economy of Favours: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[:0-4] Ledeneva, Alena V. (1998). Russia's Economy of Favors: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 25. ISBN 0-521-62743-5.

[5] Ledeneva, Alena V. (1998). Russia's Economy of Favors: Blat, Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-521-62743-5.

[6] Yang, Mayfair Mei-Hui (January 1989). "The Gift Economy and State Power in China". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 31 (1). Cambridge University Press: 47–48. JSTOR 178793. In blat, 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 of guanxi and bribery (xinghui).

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