Blat (favors)

In Russian culture, blat (Russian: блат) is the system of informal agreements, exchanges of services, connections, Party contacts, or black market deals to achieve results or get ahead. The system of blat can be seen as an example of social networks 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, or guanxi in China. Accordingly, blatnoy means a man who obtains a job or gets into a university using connections, or sometimes bribes. In the Soviet republics, blatnye were very much in demand as it was difficult to gain a post or enroll in some prestigious majors in universities without proper connections.

Usage

The word was primarily used to describe networks, when people made each a favour in exchange for another favour.

According to Max Vasmer, the origin of the word blat is the Yiddish blatt, meaning a "blank note" or a "list". However, according to both Vasmer and N. M. Shansky, blat may also have entered into Russian as the Polish loanword blat, a noun signifying "someone who provides an umbrella" or a "cover". The word became part of Imperial Russian criminal slang in the early 20th century, where it signified relatively minor criminal activity such as petty theft.