Russia
Igor Sutyagin, senior research fellow at London's Royal United Services Institute, says that to understand kompromat, you must first understand Russia's political culture. "It's standard for Russian politicians to gather kompromat on all members of their inner circle, it's a matter of survival," says Sutyagin. "It's not only possible, it is absolutely normal. Putin grew up in this environment, so it's absolutely natural for him to operate in this way, to gather kompromat."
