4 ms·

concept of блат Can you explain that?

• anatoly 9y ago
  блат (blaht) means "nepotism", but used in a much more widespread way, to refer not just to jobs obtained through relations and connections, but also buying things you normally can't get in stores, getting invitations to selective summer caps for kids, etc. etc. In the Soviet Union, things were typically inexpensive but unobtainable. So for example if you wanted a fully automatic washing machine that didn't break down after a few months, the problem wasn't that you couldn't afford it, the problem was that too few of them were imported or produced compared to the number of people who wanted them. In theory, these fancy washing machines went straight from producer/importer to distribution centers and then to regular stores to be bought by regular people. In practice, every chain in the distribution link was highly corrupt, and desirable items never reached regular stores (or, in some cases they did, but the knowledge of when exactly and in what store they'll be giving out something "good" was by itself desirable). Everybody worked intensely at cultivating connections with the right kind of people who were gatekeepers in some distribution chains, or officials in charge of those chains. Now repeat that for every kind of expensive item: furniture, cars, good clothes, shoes, some kinds of high-quality food (from caviar down to sausage), getting your kids into a good school, summer camps, vacation packages, a work trip abroad... all could be and were obtained through nepotism.