Peter Smirnov is the vodka king of the Russian Empire. Literary and historical notes of a young technician Nephew of the most honest rules

Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov(1831-1898) - Russian entrepreneur, “vodka king” of Russia, founder and director of the Highly approved Partnership of a vodka factory, warehouses of wine, spirits and Russian and foreign grape wines of P. A. Smirnov in Moscow, supplier of the Court of His Imperial Majesty, supplier of yards King Oscar II of Sweden and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. The progenitor of the Smirnoff trademark, actually created by his son Vladimir.

Biography

Born into a family of serfs in the Myshkinsky district of the Yaroslavl province.

Having received his freedom, he moved to Moscow, where in 1860 he opened a small wine shop with 9 employees.

Three years later, in 1863, he built a small vodka factory in Moscow on Ovchinnikovskaya Embankment, near the Chugunny Bridge, which in 1864 employed no more than 25 people. The plant immediately began to produce high-quality goods and its products found rapid and widespread distribution.

The principle of the plant is “to give the best, to produce products from first-class Russian materials and to spare no expense and expense on the most advanced production equipment.”

In 1873, the product was awarded at the World Exhibition in Vienna.

In 1882, at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, for the excellent quality of purified wine, as well as excellent vodkas, liqueurs and liqueurs, for the development of production, with 250 workers, and for the improvement of production, the vodka factory of P. A. Smirnov, in Moscow, was awarded the right to use the image of the State Emblem.

By 1896, the number of workers, only at the plant itself, had increased to 1,500 people; 120 carts a day transported products. The total number of people working in one way or another for the Partnership of Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov reached 5,000 people.

List of awards awarded to the products of the plant of Peter Arsenievich Smirnov: 1873 - Honorary diploma in Vienna. 1876 - Medal of the highest award in Philadelphia. 1877 - State emblem. 1878 - Two gold medals in Paris. 1882 - The State Emblem at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow. 1886 - Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty and the State Emblem. 1888 - Spanish Order of St. Isabella and gold medal in Barcelona. 1889 - Great gold medal in Paris. 1893 - Great gold medal in Chicago. 1896 - Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich. 1896 - Reiteration of the right to use the image of the State Emblem at the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod. 1897 - Gold medal at the Industrial and Art Exhibition in Stockholm.

P. A. Smirnov’s fortune at the time of his death was estimated at 8.7 million rubles.

He was buried at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery, the grave has not survived.

There is a museum of Peter Smirnov in the city of Myshkin.

Smirnov Petr Arsenievich

(b. 1831 - d. 1898)

Russian entrepreneur, owner of the largest distillery in Russia and a network of retail establishments selling alcoholic beverages. Creator of the famous Smirnov vodka and many other popular liquors. Supplier of alcohol to the court of the Russian Emperor, as well as the monarchs of Spain, Sweden and Norway.

During his lifetime he was called the “king of Russian vodka.” He was honored, was awarded high ranks and orders from many countries, had a prestigious house in the center of Moscow, a rich crew and a large family: five sons and eight daughters. Former peasant Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov began as a clerk in a wine cellar, and for a long time his name did not mean anything to the average person. No one knew then that this name would become known to the whole world. Smirnov managed not only to become one of the people, but became the richest man in Russia, a commercial adviser and a hereditary honorary citizen of Moscow.

The future famous entrepreneur was born on January 9, 1831 in the village of Kayurovo, Myshkinsky district, Yaroslavl province, into the family of serfs Arseny Alekseevich and Matryona Grigorievna Alekseev. Since the war with Napoleon, their large family has been engaged in the business of “healthing” Kizlyar and “Rhine” (Rhine) wines, which allowed them to save money, buy their freedom and move to live in Moscow. Having become free people, the Alekseevs received permission to bear the surname Smirnov, one of the most common in the Upper Volga.

Little Petya began his working career at the age of 10. He was given by his father “in service” to his brother, Ivan Alekseevich, who was engaged in the sale of vodka, liqueurs and tinctures. When Arseny Smirnov opened his own wine cellar in Zamoskvorechye in 1860, Peter began working as a clerk for his father. There were a dime a dozen competitors in this sector of the market - there were more than 200 taverns in Moscow alone. Nevertheless, the Smirnovs managed to stay afloat. Soon Arseny realized that at 60 years old he could not manage affairs with the same energy, and transferred the powers of the manager to his son.

By the end of 1861, Pyotr Smirnov became a merchant of the third guild. And after some time, he decided not only to trade, but also to start his own “wine factory.” For the rest of his life he remembered the words his father once said about poor quality vodka: “It’s time to make our own, Smirnov’s!” In addition, at this time the necessary legal prerequisites for a new business were created in the country. Everyone was allowed to engage not only in aging and selling Rhine wines, but also in preparing “higher drinks” from alcohol. The production activity of the young merchant began in 1864 in a small Moscow house “near the Cast Iron Bridge.” There was the main office, a small vodka distillery, which employed only 9 hired workers, and a store - the “Rensky cellar”.

At first, all the products of the new enterprise could easily fit into several barrels. But, thanks to the hard work of the company’s founder, his conscientious attitude to business and attention to the interests of the consumer, the business made significant progress in a short time. Over time, it became possible to expand the range of products and increase the number of workers to 25 people.

Gradually production became more complex and expanded. By the beginning of the 1870s. The plant already employed about seventy workers, and production was doubling annually. Not the least role in such a rapid rise was played by the unique approach of the owner of the company to marketing.

The artist Nikolai Zhukov wrote in his diary: “Smirnov hired agents and sent them around the city so that everywhere in taverns they demanded only Smirnov vodka and scolded the owners: why don’t you have such a respectful drink?”

In 1871, Pyotr Arsenievich joined the first guild. He was rich, belonged to the elite of the Moscow merchant class, had a beautiful house, a promising factory, huge warehouses and trade connections with many cities of the country. But the competitors were not asleep. They also tried to make their drinks better to win over the market and were a real threat. There is an urgent need to confirm its primacy with the recognition of not only ordinary consumers, but also specialists. Therefore, in 1873, the products of the Smirnov plant went to the International Industrial Exhibition in Vienna. By the decision of the arbitrators, she was awarded an Honorary Diploma and a medal for participating in the competition. This was the first official recognition of professionals. Since then, almost every year the company has received the highest global and domestic awards.

The international jury recognized the “white wine”, which had pristine purity and uniqueness, as the best “work” of Smirnov. Before the revolution, white table wine was the name for the drink that is now called vodka. And the term “vodka” was then applied to colored bitters: pepper, juniper, lemon, etc. The success of the original Smirnovka technology lay in the careful selection of the best raw materials and a strictly controlled filtration process.

Already in 1876, Smirnov vodka received a Grand Medal at the World Industrial Exhibition in Philadelphia. As a result of this competition, the Ministry of Finance in St. Petersburg awarded Pyotr Smirnov the right to depict the coat of arms of the Russian Empire on his products. This sign of guaranteed quality immediately distinguished his company from its competitors and made it a leader in the vodka industry and wine trade.

Two years later, at the World Exhibition in Paris, Smirnov’s plant was awarded two gold medals: for “table refined wine,” liqueurs, liqueurs, and also for aging grape wines. In 1882, at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition, the company received the right to secondary image the State Emblem of Russia on its products, and the owner himself was awarded the gold medal “For Diligence” on the ribbon of St. Andrew the First-Called. At the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, held in 1886, Smirnov vodka greeted visitors with dancing bears, unobtrusively inviting everyone to try it. Everything was very impressive, and the culmination of the fair was the appearance of Emperor Alexander III, with a glass of excellent Smirnovka in his hands.

Soon, by the highest command, Pyotr Arsenievich was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav III degree, and his company was declared the official and only supplier of vodka to the table of the Russian monarch: “The Moscow merchant Pyotr Smirnov was most graciously granted the title of Supplier of the Highest Court. Gatchina, November 22, 1886." This was the moment of greatest happiness; the merchant had been working towards this cherished goal for many years. In this regard, a few days later, an appeal from the main office of the wine trade, P. A. Smirnov, was published in all Moscow newspapers: “I have the honor to inform my customers that I have been honored to be a supplier to the Supreme Court, which is why I have begun to make some changes to the existing labels of my companies." Following this, an image of the third State Emblem of the Russian Empire appeared on the corks and seals closing the bottles with the best Smirnov “works”.

Since that time, the surname “Smirnov” has become a universal trademark, personifying guaranteed quality. Soon, vodka from the Moscow distillery “At the Pig Iron Bridge” became the favorite drink of the King of Sweden and Norway, Oscar II. And in 1888, the products of the Smirnov enterprise were so liked at the World Exhibition in Barcelona that the King of Spain awarded the owner of the plant the Order of St. Isabella. In his homeland, Smirnov, already sufficiently favored by fate and power, was awarded the title of Commerce Advisor by a personal imperial decree “signed by His Majesty’s own hand.” The following year, at the World Exhibition in Paris, he demonstrated the Nizhyn Rowan tincture to the European public for the first time and received a Grand Gold Medal for it.

The opening of its wine trading branches in Paris, London, Harbin, Shanghai and other major cities in the world contributed to the even greater fame of P. A. Smirnov’s enterprise.

Already by the beginning of the 1890s. Smirnov's distillery was equipped with steam engines and had electric lighting. It employed up to 1.5 thousand people. The scale of this production is evidenced by the following figures: its main turnover was 17 million rubles, of which 9 million rubles of excise duty were paid to the state for refined table wine and alcohol. The plant annually produced up to 45 million “wares” (bottles). To purify table wine, up to 180 thousand pounds of charcoal were used per year. Smirnov’s company rented 7 glass factories, producing up to 7 million bottles of various shapes and sizes annually. Four printing houses, commissioned by her, printed over 60 million labels and labels, and more than 120 thousand rubles a year were spent on the purchase of corks. Just to transport the products of the vodka factory within Moscow, 120 carts were hired daily.

By this time, Pyotr Smirnov had long surpassed his main and most powerful competitors - the Beckmann and Stritter factories in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Along with the systematic increase in production, the range of manufactured products also expanded. The sale of cheap grape wine in wooden barrels, which was in great demand among peasants, increased sharply. They refused to take bottled alcohol for fear of breaking them along the way. Here is how the activity of the enterprise was characterized in the “History of Russian Winemaking”: “The largest wine trade in Moscow was conducted by the company of Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov. More than half a million buckets of wine were stored in its cellars, and due to lack of space in the cellars in the yard, there were another 3,000 forty-bucket barrels of Kizlyar wine.”

The stunning success of the business was ensured not so much by increasing the scale of production and sales, but rather by the tireless improvement of products. After all, the main principle of Pyotr Arsenievich, in his own words, was “to give the best, to produce products from first-class Russian materials and not to spare money and expenses on the most advanced production equipment.”

Possessing a special commercial flair and the gift of foresight, constantly studying forgotten recipes of Russian antiquity and the latest achievements of European winemakers, Smirnov created his own original wine and vodka products. He boldly introduced into factory production various sweet liqueurs and homemade liqueurs: raspberry, chocolate, nut, etc., the best of which was still “Nezhinskaya Rowan”.

Year after year, the company's popularity grew. Smirnov never tired of surprising the public with his new products, which newspapers reported under the heading “Wonderful News.” So, on its shelves appeared “Zubrovka”, “Travnichek”, “Suharnichek”, “Limonnichek”, “English bitter”, “Little Russian casserole”, “Spotykach”, “Fresh cherry” (“tincture of outstanding value”), “Leaflet” ", "Mamura" (liquor made from berries of northern Russia), "Erofeich" (with twenty herbs), etc.

But “Table Wine No. 21” was in particular demand at 40 kopecks per bottle. This drink (belonging to the cheapest 4th grade) “received the right of citizenship everywhere: in officers’ canteens, soldiers’ tea rooms, as well as in the Russian fleet and in special “ladies’ buffets”, at funerals and weddings, and even at celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna in 1896 in Moscow. Thanks to the “drinkability” of this type of table wine and its affordable price, it has essentially become a “folk” strong drink.”

In the 1890s. the assortment of Smirnovsky stores consisted of more than four hundred items, not counting hundreds of foreign ones from the best trading houses around the world. Smirnov ordered competitors’ products from abroad on principle, giving the buyer the opportunity to compare whose wines and liqueurs were better. Now its reserves were located in 15 huge warehouses, and the number of people employed in the production and trade of alcoholic beverages reached 25 thousand people.

Peter Arsenievich received his last gold medal, as World Illustration reported, at the 1897 exhibition in Stockholm for the high quality of refined table wine, berry liqueurs and liqueurs. The Smirnov plant exhibited almost its entire assortment there. The pavilion was designed as a spacious wine cellar, which Oscar II personally visited with Crown Prince Gustav and Prince Charles. Three representatives of the royal dynasty were satisfied with Smirnov’s drinks, which they tasted themselves, not entrusting such an important event to their retinue.

Possessing a huge fortune of 15 million at that time, Pyotr Arsenievich never forgot about the needs of society. Beginning in April 1870, he was an “agent of the Committee on Begging for Alms in the Pyatnitskaya District” of the city of Moscow, taking personal part in the destinies of disadvantaged people. Having been an honorary member of the Council of Orphanages under the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria Feodorovna since 1873, he made his “special personal contribution to the charity of street and homeless children.” At his own expense, he built one of the buildings of the Alexander-Mariinsky Women's School and repeatedly allocated money for its needs.

His constant charitable activities included the Moscow Eye and Alekseevsk Psychiatric Hospitals; The Moscow Department of Guardianship for the Blind and the Society of Military Doctors with its free hospital; Iveron Community of Sisters of Mercy and the Society for Benefiting Needy Siberians and Siberian Women Studying in Educational Institutions; elementary school of the Moscow Palace Office and Guardianship of insufficient students of the Elizabethan Girls' Gymnasium.

But Pyotr Arsenievich showed special love and participation in the matter of “beautification” of churches. He made large personal contributions to the arrangement and restoration of the Moscow Kremlin cathedrals. And in the Annunciation and Verkhospassky Cathedrals he even served as headman and psalm-reader. About the parish church built at the expense of P. A. Smirnov in the Yaroslavl province, in the “small homeland” of his ancestors, Archbishop John of Yaroslavl and Rostov said: “The sacrifice for the church is enormous.” Indeed, this five-domed stone temple could become an adornment of any large city.

Anticipating a family split and division of property after his death, trying to somehow protect the business into which he had invested his whole life from collapse, Pyotr Arsenievich submitted a petition to the office of the Moscow Governor-General to approve the Charter of the new enterprise. Thus, at the beginning of 1894, the “Partnership of a vodka distillery, warehouses of wine, spirits and Russian and foreign wines of P. A. Smirnov in Moscow” was founded. At first, the sons of the founder took an active part in the activities of the new company: Peter (1868–1910), Vladimir (1875–1934) and Nikolai (1873–1937). The authorized capital of the Partnership amounted to 3 million rubles.

However, a year later the government decided to introduce a vodka monopoly. Its objectives were to transfer the production and trade of vodka in the country from private to state hands, while achieving the elimination of underground moonshine, to instill in the people a culture of vodka consumption, and to raise the quality standard of the Russian alcoholic drink. Vodka could now only be produced at state-owned factories and sold in state-owned shops. Thus, Smirnov’s enterprise lost its main trump card - “Table Wine No. 21”. At first, an experienced entrepreneur found a way out of the situation. He began to expand the production of wine, liqueur and other drinks, but they could no longer compare in popularity with vodka. The Partnership's production volumes fell 15 times.

In 1898, Pyotr Arsenievich fell ill. According to relatives, for about six months he mostly lay on the sofa and did not talk to anyone. Unable to withstand the blow dealt to his empire by the introduction of a state alcohol monopoly, the “king of Russian vodka” died on December 12, 1898, bequeathing to his relatives not only the largest fortune in Russia, but also a mandate: never put personal interests above the interests of family and business.

After Smirnov’s death, the heirs of the business remained his widow Maria Nikolaevna (Peter Arsenievich’s first wife died a year after the next birth, and after some time he married a second time) and five sons from both marriages. According to the will, the shares of the inheritance allocated to them were to be in the cash register of the Partnership until the sons reached the age of 35, and for now they could only receive dividends on them. In the name of each of the eight daughters, 30 thousand rubles were deposited in the State and Moscow merchant banks, the interest on which they could use for life, and these amounts themselves were assigned to their children.

A competently drawn up will reliably protected P. A. Smirnov’s capital from fragmentation for several years, which largely determined the stable operation of the plant. However, in 1899, Maria Nikolaevna suddenly died. There were rumors that her death was violent, and her stepdaughters were suspected of this. The widow's share of the inheritance passed to her younger sons - Vladimir, Sergei and Alexei. The balance provided for by the will was upset, which created a situation in the family business in which joint ownership became impossible. The situation was also aggravated by the fact that the older and younger Smirnov brothers were half-brothers. It got to the point that the guardians of the younger brothers Sergei and Alexei, the children of Maria Nikolaevna, hid them from their elders by changing addresses.

In 1902, the “Partnership of P. A. Smirnov” was liquidated and with the funds received as a result of this operation, the older brothers “bought at a discount” all the movable and immovable property of the company. It was transferred to the immediately established new Trading House “Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir Petrovich Smirnov, trading under the company of P. A. Smirnov in Moscow.” However, soon Nikolai, who led a lavish lifestyle, and Vladimir, who was only interested in horse breeding, left the family business, selling their shares to their brother.

Until his sudden death in 1910, Pyotr Petrovich Smirnov remained the sole legal owner of the enterprise and trademark. Then management of the famous company passed to his widow, Evgenia Ilyinichna (née Morozova). But she was of little interest to the state of wine and vodka production. She spent a lot of time abroad, and in 1917 she stayed there forever, marrying the Italian consul De La Valle-Rici. During its “management”, Smirnov’s company began to lose its creditworthiness, and it no longer had the title of Supplier of the Highest Court. After the revolution, the plant operated for no more than a year and was forced to stop production.

Then the company was nationalized, and one of the Smirnov brothers, Vladimir Petrovich, ended up abroad. There he managed to sell his rights to the famous trademark for the second time to Russian emigrant Rudolf Kunett, who planned to organize the sale of vodka in America and Canada. This entrepreneur clearly foresaw the consequences of the abolition of Prohibition in the United States and, having calculated the rise in alcohol consumption, was already counting the profits. However, after the liberalization of the alcohol trade, Americans rushed to drink whiskey, cocktails and gin. They simply knew nothing about vodka. As a result, the company was on the verge of collapse.

Kunett turned to the president of Hublein Inc. for help. John Martin. He also had no idea what vodka was, but Smirnoff bought the license for production and sale, for which the board of directors almost fired him from his job. And then the company decided on a kind of experiment. 2 thousand boxes of vodka were produced with a stamp on the cork “Smirnoff Whiskey”. This product was marketed in South Carolina as “flavorless white whiskey” and quickly gained the liking of local consumers.

So, since 1939, Smirnovskaya vodka received American citizenship, and since the late 1940s. It has already taken root so much that it has begun to replace gin in the most popular cocktail recipes. Today the whole world recognizes Smirnoff, not only by its taste, but also by its memorable bottle and label. More than 500 thousand bottles of this drink are sold daily in 140 countries, including Russia and Ukraine.

In February 1991, the great-grandson of the famous Russian entrepreneur Boris Alekseevich Smirnov and his father registered the small enterprise “P. A. Smirnov and descendants in Moscow.” The revival of the company began with him. The heirs not only restored the family house near the Chugunny Bridge, but also resumed trading in alcoholic beverages, both home-made and foreign, under the family brand “Smirnov”.

Now, slowly but surely, the same surname is dividing the world in half for itself. And each of the participants in the competition considers himself the sole copyright holder of the famous name. Litigation on this issue has not subsided for many years. True, they only affect the marketing side of the business, and as for technology, the Americans remain silent. The fact that “Smirnoff” has nothing in common with “Smirnov” has been proven as a result of numerous laboratory studies. And it doesn’t even matter whether Boris Smirnov actually has the recipe secrets of his eminent ancestor, which he inherited. The consumer “feels the difference”, he can no longer be deceived by a beautiful sticker, and he will make his own choice.

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Merchant of the 1st guild, hereditary honorary citizen of the Russian Empire, major benefactor, commercial adviser, “vodka king” of Russia Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov was born on January 21, 1831 (January 9, old style) in the village of Kayurovo in the parish of the village of Potapova, Myshkinsky district, Yaroslavl province in to the family of serf peasants Arseny Alekseevich and Matryona Grigorievna.

In 1857, father Arseny and sons Yakov and Peter received “freedom”, and in the spring of 1858 they left their native village for Moscow forever, intending to join the merchant class and open what had long been a family business - wine trading.

In 1860, a new wine trading establishment of Arseny and Pyotr Smirnov was registered - the Rhine cellar (from a distorted name for Rhine wines). Pyotr Arsenievich serves as his father’s clerk, and after a few months he buys another Rensk cellar, becomes a Moscow merchant of the third guild and the owner of two wine establishments. But for the young merchant, trade was not the main thing. The words his father once said about poor quality vodka stuck with him: “It’s time to make our own, Smirnov’s!”

And now, three years later, Pyotr Arsenievich opens his own vodka factory, which still employs 9 hired workers and all the products fit into several barrels. Thanks to the tireless work of the founder of the company, his conscientious attitude to the business and attention to the interests of the consumer, the business in a short time progressed so much that it became possible to set up his own factory for the production of various kinds of tips, liqueurs, liqueurs, etc., where employees together with There were already 25 workers.

Gradually production became more complex and expanded. In addition to the rented premises of the plant, Smirnov acquired his own house (on Pyatnitskaya Street), which he had dreamed of for so long - near the Chugunny Bridge, which corners from Pyatnitskaya to Ovchinnikovskaya Embankment. This house subsequently appeared on labels and became a trademark. By it, any illiterate man could recognize Smirnovskaya among other bottles. The house on Pyatnitskaya became the ancestral castle of the Smirnov family, a reliable support in the expanding business. It was spacious, with an extensive courtyard and outbuildings, with deep vaulted cellars in which it was possible to keep barrels of wine or keep a Rensk cellar. On the ground floor there was a store and office space. Having bought up neighboring buildings along the embankment and Ovchinnikovsky lanes, Pyotr Smirnov created his own bridgehead for a large plant and warehouses attached to it, where the “Smirnov island” was formed. By the early seventies, the plant already employed seventy workers, and annual production had doubled.

In 1871, Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov joined the first guild. He was rich, belonged to the elite of the Moscow merchant class, had a beautiful house, a promising factory, huge warehouses and connections with many cities of the country. But the wine trade grew. Competitors, following Smirnov’s example, tried to make drinks purer in order to conquer the market with quality, and stepped on the heels. He needed to confirm his primacy, now with the recognition of specialists and experts. Therefore, in 1873, he decided to send his drinks to the International Industrial Exhibition in Vienna, at which the verdict was unanimous: the quality is excellent, the drinks are worthy of European attention - that is, an Honorary Diploma and an exhibition participant medal. This was the first official recognition of professionals. From that Vienna debut, the triumphant march of “Smirnovskaya” through the world's capitals began.

In 1876, they learned about “Smirnovskaya” in the New World at the World Industrial Exhibition in Philadelphia. After lengthy tastings by an international jury, Peter Smirnov’s strong drinks were recognized as among the best and awarded a medal of the highest award for the “high quality of products.” It was a louder success than Vienna! From now on, the Great Philadelphia Medal, as a sign of the winner, will adorn the labels of all Smirnov bottles. As a result of the exhibition, the Ministry of Finance of Russia in 1877 awarded the company of Peter Smirnov a high distinction, awarding it with the State Emblem, which gave the right from now on to place the Russian coat of arms on labels as a sign of achievements in national industry. This was a sign of guaranteed quality and opened up new opportunities for expanding the business. That coat of arms was worth a lot - it immediately put Smirnov’s company in first place among its rivals. Now he was becoming a recognized leader in the vodka industry and wine trade.

A year later - a new victory at the International Exhibition in Paris! Two gold medals - for vodka and for wine - in France, the country of winemaking! Now three medals and one State Emblem adorned the Smirnovskaya labels.

The success in Paris finally cemented Peter Smirnov's leadership among alcohol producers. This was also expressed in the scale of the business - 280 workers and products produced for more than three million rubles. Before the revolution, no one caught up with P.A. Smirnov’s plant in Moscow.

In 1882, for the first time in the years of its existence, Peter Smirnov’s company took part in the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition. The exposition of P.A. Smirnov’s plant was small, but the range of liqueurs, tinctures, and vodkas on display was amazing. But the experts, who met for a whole week, paid attention primarily to taste and laboratory research data, from which it was very clearly visible which of the winemakers thought about the health of consumers, and which only about their own income. In all respects, Petr Smirnov turned out to be the best.

Following the exhibition, the Ministry of Finance awarded the second State Emblem to P.A. Smirnov’s plant. This was the most respectable and coveted award - higher than it in the domestic industry was only the title of Supplier of the Imperial Court. The second eagle opened the way to this Olympus.

In the spring of 1885, Pyotr Smirnov submitted a second petition to the Ministry of the Court (the first in 1869 was rejected), which was brief and sincere, and vodka and wine were already known in the Moscow Palace Office. And in 1886, after a long circulation of papers among officials, Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov was awarded the Order of Stanislav, III degree, which gave the right to hereditary honorary citizenship, and after it the long-awaited decision. The Tsar personally wished that Smirnov become the supplier, which State Secretary Petrov noted in the papers: “The Moscow merchant Peter Smirnov was most graciously granted the title of Supplier of the Highest Court. Gatchina, November 22, 1886." It was a moment of greatest happiness; Peter Smirnov had been working towards this cherished goal for many years, defeating competitors, receiving applause and medals, but there was no main prize, which he had dreamed of almost since his youth. The third State Emblem soon followed, as confirmation of the high rank of the Tsar's Supplier.

By this time, the company P.A. Smirnova became the largest in the production of alcoholic beverages: 1.5-2 thousand workers, over 45 million “pots” of various drinks were produced annually, about 60 million labels were used, over 180 thousand pounds of birch charcoal were used to purify vodka. The company spent 120 thousand rubles on traffic jams alone. in year.

Relations with the Ministry of the Imperial Court were developing successfully: his drinks were really good - vodka, liqueurs and tinctures, cognacs and wines. But vodka was in particular demand - table wine No. 21 and table wine No. 20.

Purified No. 21 was indeed the most popular drink in Russia. And cheap - 40 kopecks per bottle. Table wheat No. 40 was a little more expensive - a ruble a bottle. And although it was famous for its purity, the popularly beloved “twenty-first” was not much inferior to it in taste. This was Smirnov’s success - to make only good quality vodka, be it first grade or third. And accessible not only to the Emperor and the Minister of the Court.

The extensive activities of Pyotr Smirnov in those years can be judged by the fact that his factories pay the excise tax treasury about 5,000,000 rubles a year, and during the entire previous period of their existence they contributed over 30 million to the treasury. And, despite such a huge production, which provides a secure income for many hundreds of employees at factories and management, Pyotr Smirnov for almost 30 years was never subjected to the slightest government penalties or even reprimands.

Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov was actively involved in charity work: since 1870 he was “an agent of the Committee on those asking for alms in the Pyatnitskaya part”, since 1873 - an honorary member of the Council of Orphanages of the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria.

He repeatedly donated to the needs of the Alexander-Mariinsky Women's School, and built one of its buildings with his own funds. He took part in the affairs of the Moscow Eye Hospital, Alekseevskaya Psychiatric Hospital, the Moscow Department of Care of the Blind, the Society of Military Doctors, the Iveron Community of Sisters of Mercy, etc. For the workers of his factory, Pyotr Arsenievich built several houses with free apartments, set up a kindergarten for them, laundry, bathhouse, pharmacy, established pensions for workers and employees who worked at the plant for 25 years.

In 1888, Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov, already very favored by fate and power, was awarded the general rank of Commercial Advisor by a personal imperial decree “with His Majesty’s own signature.”

In 1894, a partnership was established for a vodka distillery, warehouses for wine, spirits and Russian and foreign wines P.A. Smirnov in Moscow with a fixed capital of 3 million rubles.

The balance sheet for 1897, last signed by Pyotr Smirnov (a year before his death in 1898), amounted to a fabulous amount for those times: 19 million 713 thousand 955 rubles!

In 1902, due to a conflict between the heirs, the company was liquidated.

SMIRNOV - merchants, industrialists, manufacturers of the famous Smirnov vodka.

The Smirnovs are serf peasants-otkhodniks of the Myshkinsky district, the village of Kayurov, the estate of the steward Skripitsyn (Klimatinskaya vol., now Uglich district). Brothers Arseniy Alekseevich And Ivan Alekseevich Smirnovs since the beginning of the 19th century. were engaged in wine trade in Moscow. In the 50s, the sons of A. A. Smirnov - Yakov Arsenievich(1826 - 1904) and Pyotr Arsenievich(01/09/1831 - 11/29/1898) began to help their father and uncle. In 1857, A. A. Smirnov bought the family out of serfdom and in 1858 they finally moved to Moscow.

Before 1860 Pyotr Arsenievich SMIRNOV served as a clerk in his father’s Rhine cellar, and then decided to start his own business. In 1862, Pyotr Smirnov was already a merchant of the 3rd guild. He buys a house on Pyatnitskaya Street and opens a vodka distillery “At the Chugunny Most”. Production is growing rapidly, the range of products is expanding, in 1869 Pyotr Arsenievich even approached the Ministry of the Court with an offer to become its supplier, but was refused.

In 1871, P. A. Smirnov joined the first merchant guild. Since 1973, he has constantly participated in industrial exhibitions - first abroad, and then in Russia. Smirnov's products were awarded the highest awards at exhibitions in Vienna (1873), Philadelphia (1876), Paris (1878). In 1877, the Russian Ministry of Finance granted him the right to place the State Emblem - a double-headed eagle - on labels. In 1882, P. A. Smirnov presented his products at the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition, following which the Ministry of Finance gave him the right to place the second State Emblem on the labels. In 1885, Smirnov received the right to be a supplier to the Supreme Court. During this period, he annually contributes up to 5 million rubles of excise tax to the state treasury (in previous years he paid more than 30 million rubles to the treasury). In 1886, the Ministry of Finance gave him the right to place the third State Emblem on labels.

In 1888, at an exhibition in Barcelona, P. A. Smirnov received another gold medal, and the Spanish king awarded him the Order of St. Isabella. In Russia, he was awarded the title of Commercial Advisor, which was equivalent to the rank of general. In 1889, at an exhibition in Paris, Smirnov presented a new tincture, “Nizhyn Rowan,” which created a sensation with its taste. Smirnov classified the place where the mountain ash used to make the tincture grew: it was collected near the village of Nevezhino, Vladimir province, and the name refers to the Little Russian city of Nezhin, famous for its cucumbers.

In the early 1890s, P. A. Smirnov employed more than one and a half thousand workers. In addition to the plant, his “vodka empire” included 15 warehouses, seven glass factories that annually produced up to 50 million bottles of various shapes, and four lithographs that printed colorful labels. The products - and there were more than 400 items - were transported in 200 carts every day in Moscow alone. Smirnov considered it necessary to take care of the families of his employees: he built housing and a hospital for them, and paid them well. It is no coincidence that there were never any worker protests at his factories. The clerks at Smirnov's enterprises were mostly people from Myshkino, Uglich and Kashin villages. In his homeland, not far from Kayurov, in the Potapovo churchyard, P. A. Smirnov built the temple of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (not preserved).

In 1896, at the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition, P. A. Smirnov personally presented a glass of “Nezhin Rowan” to the new sovereign Nicholas II. As a result of the exhibition, he was allowed to place a fourth coat of arms on the labels! In 1897, Smirnov’s products received another gold medal at an exhibition in Stockholm. And the king of Sweden and Norway also elevated him to the rank of supplier of his Court.

Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov

Pyotr Arsenievich was married three times. The first wife Nadezhda Egorovna (1826 - 1855) was childless. The second - Natalya Alexandrovna, maiden name Tarakanova (1843 - 1873) gave birth to two sons - Peter (1868 - 1910) and Nikolai (1873 - 1937?) and seven daughters: Alexandra (1859 - 1860), Vera (1861 - ?), Natalya (1863 - 1923), Anna (1864 - 1872), Maria (1867 - 1936), Glafira (1869 - 1918/19) and Olga (1871 - 1872). The third wife, Maria Nikolaevna, whose maiden name was Medvedeva (1858 - 1899), gave birth to a daughter Alexandra (1877 - 1950) and three sons: Vladimir (1875 - 1934), Sergei (1885 - 1907) and Alexei (1889 - 1922).

In 1893, Pyotr Arsenievich submitted a petition to the office of the Moscow Governor-General for approval of the Charter of the Vodka Factory Partnership, which was granted. Smirnov introduced his sons into the business, while none of them could use their shares until they reached the age of 35. Therefore, the first two years after the death of P. A. Smirnov, the enterprises of the Partnership worked successfully.

The introduction of a state monopoly on the production of vodka in 1897 had already laid a time bomb under the “Smirnov empire”. In 1901, the Partnership's profits fell catastrophically. In 1902, an extraordinary meeting of shareholders decided to liquidate the Partnership. All movable and immovable property of the plant, valued at 3.24 million rubles, was bought by three older brothers - Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir, who in 1903 created the Trading House "Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir Petrovich Smirnov", trading under the company P.A. Smirnov in Moscow."

During two years Pyotr Petrovich bought the brothers' shares and from January 1, 1905 became the sole owner of the plant. He presented his products at exhibitions in Milan (1906) and Bordeaux (1907), where he also received gold medals, but neither he nor his wife Evgenia Ilyinichna, who took over the management of the enterprise after his death in 1910, was able to improve the financial situation.

Other sons of Pyotr Arsenievich found more interesting activities for themselves than wine and vodka production. Sergey Petrovich published the newspaper "Morning" Alexey Petrovich He graduated from the Sorbonne, knew five languages, wrote children's stories, and composed music. Nikolai Petrovich he spent his life in feasts and extravagance - only in 1912 did he finally settle down and take up horses instead of cocottes. All the Smirnov brothers owned apartment buildings in Moscow: Alexey owned the entire right side of Maly Gnezdnikovsky Lane, Sergei had houses on Dolgorukovskaya, on the Garden Ring, on Petrovka, on Bolshaya Polyanka, shops at the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, Vladimir Petrovich owned several houses, including on Sadovaya-Samotechnaya Street, the Shelkovka estate near Moscow. He was seriously interested in breeding racehorses and was a recognized authority in this field. Vladimir married Maria Gavrilovna Shushpanova, but in 1901, having met actress Alexandra Pavlovna Nikitina, he left his first wife and entered into a new marriage. Soon his son Vladimir was born (1901 - 1960s). But in 1911, Vladimir Pavlovich began an affair with operetta actress Valentina Piontkovskaya, and he left his second wife, leaving her a huge apartment building on Sadovaya-Samotechnaya Street.

The year 1914 turned out to be a disaster for Smirnov’s company: after the start of the war, prohibition was introduced in the country. The plant tried to produce vinegar and soft drinks for some time, but it was already in agony. And in 1918, all the Smirnovs’ property was nationalized. Evgenia Ilyinichna immediately after the October coup married the Italian consul de la Valle Ricci and went abroad with him. Her son Arseny remained in Moscow, working as an ordinary employee in some offices.

Of the thirteen children of Pyotr Arsenievich, five did not live to see the onset of Bolshevik power: Alexandra and Olga died in infancy, Anna at the age of six, Sergei in 1907, Peter in 1910. The fates of the rest of the Smirnovs after the revolution turned out differently.

Natalya Petrovna was married to a representative of the famous Moscow merchant family, Konstantin Petrovich Bakhrushin (1856 - 1938) - his cousin Alexei Alexandrovich founded a theater museum in Moscow, which now bears his name. Konstantin Petrovich was a member of the board of the Association of Leather and Cloth Manufactories of Alexei Bakhrushin Sons, a member of the Moscow City Duma, a co-owner of the Aquarium Theater, a patron of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Kuznetsy, a member of various societies and boards. At the corner of Novokuznetskaya Street and 1st Novokuznetsky Lane, the Bakhrushins had a luxurious house, rebuilt in an eclectic style. Natalya Petrovna and Konstantin Petrovich had three daughters and a son, Peter. Natalya Petrovna helped her husband a lot in charity matters and led women's craft courses at the House of Free Apartments. After the revolution everything went to pieces. The house was taken away from the Bakhrushins, and since 1933 it has been occupied by the Moscow City Prosecutor's Office.

The Bakhrushins' youngest daughter, Nina Konstantinovna (1892 - 1966), became the common-law wife of the famous Russian aviator Boris Semenovich Maslenikov in 1914. In the spring of 1918, she graduated from the university with a degree in General Literature and Foreign Languages. She worked in various organizations in Moscow, and in 1926 she moved to Novosibirsk, where Boris Maslennikov had previously been expelled “as a socially harmful element.” In Siberia, Boris Semenovich laid the first air routes, found landing sites, instructed people to receive aircraft, and organized the first airfields. But the NKVD did not forget about him: in August 1938 Boris was arrested. The indictment stated: “He systematically carried out anti-Soviet agitation among those around him, spread slander against the leaders of the party and the Soviet Government, praised the enemies of the people, the Trotskyists... He did not plead guilty.” Sentence: 8 years in camps. Boris Semyonovich returned only in 1946, having rewinded the entire period from bell to bell. A year later he died of cancer.

Maria Petrovna she was married twice, the first time to the tea merchant Pyotr Alekseevich Rastorguev, the second time to the famous lawyer, deputy of the First State Duma, one of the organizers of the Cadet Party Mikhail Gerasimovich Komissarov, who was also one of the main shareholders and investors of the Moscow Art Theater and member of its board. In Moscow, M. G. Komissarov had several apartment buildings, and a glass factory in the Vladimir province. In 1918, having lost his entire fortune, Komissarov went to work at the Moscow Art Theater as a business manager, later as an assistant accountant, and then became secretary of the board. He was arrested twice by the Cheka, and once for communicating with N.A. Berdyaev. To be released after the second arrest, the help of the Moscow Art Theater was required. On May 18, 1920, Nemirovich-Danchenko, Stanislavsky and Moskvin appealed to the Presidium of the Moscow Cheka with a request to allow “to take bail for the arrested assistant accountant of the theater M. G. Komissarov... It is necessary to conclude reports for the past season and immediately begin drawing up estimates for the coming season... M "G. Komissarov is the only assistant accountant - an extremely necessary employee." In her first marriage, Maria Petrovna had three children (Komissarov adopted them all), in her second - five. Three sons became actors. Sergei (1891 - 1963) served at the Moscow Art Theater, and during the theater's tour in France he met his uncle Vladimir Petrovich there. In the 20s, after the troupe's tour, Kachalova remained to play in Germanova's troupe in Prague. Then he returned to the USSR, served in the theaters of Omsk, Ivanov, Kineshma, Rostov-on-Don and later - in the Volkovsky Theater in Yaroslavl. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1947). Gerasim (1900 - 1973) was an actor at the Volkovsky Theater. Alexander (1904 - 1975) from 1925 until the end of his life was a member of the Moscow Art Theater troupe, in the play “Days of the Turbins,” which Stalin loved so much, he played Nikolka Turbin. In the film “Circus” he played the role of amateur designer Shurik Skameikin. Since 1954 he was a professor at the Moscow Art Theater School. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1943), People's Artist of the RSFSR (1948).

Glafira Petrovna in 1890 she married chocolate manufacturer Alexander Alekseevich Abrikosov (1869 - 1937). They had six children: Kirill (1894 - 1972) - in the 1950s-1960s - executive secretary of the Old Believer archbishopric; Agrippina (1895 - 1896); Igor (1896 - 1952) - teacher at the Air Force Academy named after. N. E. Zhukovsky; Alexander (1903 - 1961) - candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, author of books on mechanical engineering drawing; Agrippina (1904 - 1922); Vladimir (1905 - 1936) - repressed. The Abrikosovs separated even before the revolution.

Alexandra Petrovna in her youth she was in love with the handsome Moscow man Vasily Vasilyevich Bostanzhoglo, the son of a tobacco manufacturer. And she married the sugar and textile manufacturer Martemyan Nikanorovich Borisovsky, who himself was so in love with Alexandra that he forgave her for her relationship with Bostanzhoglo, adopting their illegitimate son. Vadim Vasilievich Borisovsky (1900 - 1972) became a famous musician, founder of a school of violists in Russia. Laureate of the Stalin Prize, 1st degree (1946), Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1965). Since 1925 - teacher, since 1935 - professor at the Moscow Conservatory. His father Vasily Bostanzhoglo was already accused of sabotage in 1929 and sent into exile in the Northern Territory. From that time on, the NKVD did not let him out of sight. He was arrested several times, the last one in 1950 in Rostov-Veliky. The Yaroslavl Regional Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison. On May 2, 1953, V.V. Bostanzhoglo died in the camp.

Vladimir Petrovich At first he made his way to the south, fought in the White Army, ended up in the dungeons of the Cheka, where he was taken out several times for a staged execution. Then he moved from Crimea with Wrangel’s troops to Constantinople. Wandered around Europe - Sofia, Lvov, Prague, Paris. In these cities he tried to revive the family vodka business, but was not successful. In the end, he sold the license for the production of alcoholic beverages to the Smirnovs’ former partner, Rudolf Semyonovich Kunetsky, who already lived in America and changed his last name to Kunett. But in America at that time they hardly drank vodka, and then Prohibition happened. And, having suffered, Kunett sold a ten-year license to Heublein from Connecticut, stipulating a percentage for himself from the release of the product. In France, Vladimir married for the third time - to Tatyana Aleksandrovna Maksheeva. He died on August 24, 1934 in Nice.

The son of Vladimir Petrovich, Vladimir Vladimirovich, lived with his family in Moscow, in a house that once belonged to his father, and then to his mother Alexandra Pavlovna. The eight-room apartment that the Smirnovs occupied before the revolution was compacted and turned into a communal apartment. In total, 35 people lived in it, and the seven Smirnovs huddled in one room: Vladimir with his wife and twin daughters Kira and Galya, Alexandra Pavlovna with her sister and her daughter. Before the war, Vladimir Vladimirovich was arrested and sentenced to death, but his “tower” was replaced with a camp sentence. After his release he lived in Orsk, where he married again, then in Tver.

Alexey Petrovich was married to Tatyana Andrianovna Mukhanova (1892 - 1981), who, according to some information, was a housekeeper in the Smirnov family. As they say, after his marriage he entrusted all his affairs to her. Alexey Petrovich died in 1922 from angina pectoris.

How the future life of Nikolai Petrovich and Vera Petrovna (she was married to Ivan Nikolaevich Chekalin) developed is unknown.

Now about fifty descendants of Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov live in Moscow. The most energetic of them turned out to be Boris Alekseevich Smirnov, the great-grandson of Alexei Petrovich: in the early 1990s, he took the initiative and registered the enterprise “P. A. Smirnov and Descendants in Moscow”, and then organized the production of vodka under the famous brand. Most of the other descendants did not approve of Boris Alekseevich's initiative and even quarreled with him.

In Myshkin there is a museum of Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov.

The site's observer studied the history of the Smirnov family and the family business, which was led to success by Peter Arsenievich Smirnov, an entrepreneur with an original approach to promotion and communication with employees.

Our country first entered the top drinking states not at all in the status of the Russian Empire or even earlier, but in the 1930s, during the times of the USSR. By this time, Russian alcoholic products were known throughout the world, and the Smirnov family did a lot for this.

As befits famous brands, Smirnoff has a long and complicated history. In the process of its formation, it went through crises, constitutional changes, and a ban on distribution in its own country. Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov played a major role in the development of the brand - he became the “vodka king” and the only supplier of alcohol for the imperial court. A talented entrepreneur and brilliant innovator, Smirnov created a brand that still occupies a leading position in its industry on the world market.

Smirnov family

The Smirnovs, like many large businessmen in the twilight of the empire, are of peasant origin. According to the most common version, the brothers Arseny and Yakov Smirnov, serfs, went to Moscow on quitrent in 1811, where they sold alcohol, working for the merchant Korchashkin. Later they were joined by a third brother, Ivan: he was still young, but he showed himself brilliantly and helped the brothers not only perform their duties well, but also make money from it. Thanks to his efforts, in 1837 the Smirnovs were able to buy themselves out of serfdom.

Gradually, Ivan Alekseevich rose to the rank of merchant of the first guild and became an honorary citizen of Moscow. Around 1860, Arseny Smirnov decided to separate from his brother’s business and opened his own Rhine cellar - a shop selling wine, from the distorted word “Rhenish”.

After this, the son of the entrepreneur Peter appears in the history of the family. He was born in 1831, by the time the store opened he was already about 30 years old, so everyone who imagines him at that time as young and inexperienced is mistaken. Already at the age of 15, he worked as a clerk for Ivan Smirnov and began to gain diverse experience and knowledge about the field in which he was to work all his life.

It is not surprising that in 1860 Peter was a support for his father and actually led the family business. The young man did not want to limit himself to just a shop - he dreamed of a factory and his own brand. According to one version, Peter raised the money for the new enterprise himself, trading day and night, but there is a legend that he was lucky enough to win the lottery, and the ticket was given to the seller he liked by a lady who came into the shop.

Be that as it may, in the same year Peter opened the Rensk cellar, and three years later he created a small factory, which laid the foundation for the brand. There is an assumption that Arseny Alekseevich, having first tried Moscow vodka - that’s what they called the tincture of herbs, roots and berries in alcohol - was completely dissatisfied with it and often said that it was time for the Smirnovs to make their own. This thought captivated Peter Smirnov - he began to seriously think about launching an enterprise.

There is a widespread version in which Arseny Smirnov does not appear at all, and his son immediately took up the matter, but it is quite controversial.

Approach to management, production and sales of products

When creating the enterprise, Pyotr Arsenievich immediately put forward high quality products as the main principle. At first, no more than 10 people worked at the plant, and the production volume was only a dozen barrels. This did not stop Smirnov from demanding effective work from his employees, and he achieved significant results. Within a year, 25 people were working at the plant, and there was no end to customers. Pyotr Arsenievich purchased a four-story building near the Chugunny Bridge, where the entrepreneur’s apartments, warehouses, a wine shop and the plant itself were located.

Such growth in just a year makes you wonder how Smirnov built up his client base. Pyotr Arsenievich had dummy clients: he created a network of agents from tavern regulars who were supposed to ask from time to time whether “smirnovka” was for sale. Since people ask, it means that these products must be in stock.

This was not the only method to promote the brand. Smirnov understood that most of his audience were semi-literate or completely illiterate tradesmen and former serfs who were unlikely to read the label who the manufacturer was and what they were buying. This audience needed a special approach, and the entrepreneur began to place on the bottles an image of his headquarters at the Chugunny Bridge in Moscow - anyone could understand this. The labels were bright and memorable.

Another original feature: different drinks were bottled in different containers. If a buyer wanted to buy Sibirskaya, he knew that he needed a bottle in the shape of a bear. In addition to alcohol, posters with images of products could be purchased in Smirnovo shops - this was how the variety of assortment was reported.

In addition to clients, Smirnov needed to find suitable workers for the enterprise. Pyotr Arsenievich invited people who wanted to get a job at his factory to taste his product. The entrepreneur himself was a completely non-drinking person, and many knew about it. The first instinct of the workers was to refuse, but then some of them tried the drink. Pyotr Arsenievich refused to hire such people: he did not need those who did not keep their word.

At the same time, Smirnov was known for his reasonable and careful attitude towards his employees. He was guided by the rule “A happy worker is an effective worker”: in his production there were no high fines, which other merchants did not disdain, he built good housing for workers, erected hospitals and paid them well. During the entire period of Smirnov’s leadership, not a single strike occurred at his enterprises - a brilliant indicator for the 19th century.

It’s worth finally talking about the products of Peter Arsenievich’s enterprises. The drinks that Smirnov produced received many international awards, they were preferred by monarchs, and half of Europe admired them. However, some researchers argue that some of the products were of low quality: harmful impurities often led to deaths in the working classes.

According to legend, the competition during the development of the Smirnov brand was colossal, there were strong players in the market that were difficult to fight, and Pyotr Arsenievich came up with this: he divided the products into types depending on who it would go to. The imperial family and the upper classes really got good quality, while the rest got a much worse product, but cheaper and in the original bottle with all the brands, stamps and logos.

Researchers have repeatedly criticized this assumption. It has virtually no documentary evidence and appears rather in literary sources. The main argument of the researchers is the care with which Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov developed his own brand and his scrupulous attitude towards what is said about his enterprise.

According to Russian tradition, on holidays - most often on Maslenitsa - fist fights were held. When Smirnov lived, different enterprises seemed to compete in this folk pastime. Pyotr Arsenievich's factory workers were constant winners in these competitions, but one day, due to a large order, the plant managers did not release the main strongmen, and the Smirnov team lost. Several people immediately went to the entrepreneur, and he ordered reinforcements to be sent, promising an increase in salary for victory. He noted with obvious dissatisfaction to the manager that the shame of defeat would be worse than production losses.

However, there are many nuances in this story - starting with the fact that Nicholas I officially abolished fist fights in 1831. Perhaps they were carried out without the permission of the emperor, but something else is interesting - confirmation of how much Smirnov valued his name, since it was known to the workers.

Smirnov really got rich selling alcohol, but he didn’t cross the line because he valued the brand’s reputation and the lives of his clients. Naturally, his enterprises produced products of varying quality and cost, but this does not mean that he counterfeited the products. Moreover, many researchers note that Pyotr Arsenievich’s products were of the highest quality, regardless of category and price.

Smirnov was one of the first to seriously export Caucasian wines, which also brought good profits. However, he also produced excellent products at his factory, where several hundred original recipes were developed. Important products were liqueurs and tinctures - with different tastes and for different audiences. The entrepreneur invited various scientists to develop new recipes.

This approach will ultimately lead to the emergence of another legend: supposedly Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev himself helped create the recipe for the ideal vodka for Smirnov. This looks doubtful, given the volumes and number of varieties of this product produced by the entrepreneur. And some of Mendeleev’s achievements are erroneously attributed. There is a version that Smirnov himself was at the origins of this story: he turned to Dmitry Ivanovich, and later used it in advertising. This approach was used by many entrepreneurs, and it is now difficult to confirm or refute this version.

Imperial Court Supplier

In 1871, Pyotr Smirnov became a merchant of the first guild, which means that the capital of his enterprise grew to at least 50 thousand rubles over the course of a decade. And this is despite fierce competition in the alcohol market, where there were not only Russian but also foreign players. During the 1870s, Smirnov's business gradually began to increase in turnover due to the widespread distribution of original products. At the beginning of the decade, his company also entered the Central Asian market: the entrepreneur set himself the goal of international recognition.

In 1873, the International Industrial Exhibition was held in Vienna, where Smirnov’s products made their debut. Despite the not very large assortment, she still received an honorary diploma. This award was not yet some kind of significant recognition - simply the international community confirmed the acceptable quality of the products.

Smirnov, meanwhile, increased sales volumes. In 1875, production volumes reached an impressive figure of 1 million rubles, and the merchant himself was preparing for the next exhibition - in Philadelphia, America. It was here that Smirnov’s products were awarded a gold medal, which soon appeared on the brand’s branded bottles along with the famous building that became the company’s headquarters. In the future, new awards will appear on bottles of Smirnov products after almost every exhibition.

In the late 1870s, large alcohol producers expanded their product lines. The main achievement was the presence of its own “table wine,” as the predecessor of modern vodka was then called. There is an opinion that this name was invented by Peter Smirnov himself, one of the pioneers of the industry, who managed to travel around the world with his “Smirnovskaya”. The drinks caused an enthusiastic reaction at exhibitions and were accompanied by various laudatory epithets from the jury. Smirnov's enterprise never produced alcohol - it was purchased in the provinces at a price much lower than production would have cost.

In 1877, Smirnov achieved his biggest achievement: he was allowed to place the state emblem on bottles. The entrepreneur continued to send products to world exhibitions and collect all kinds of awards. It is impossible not to note the Paris exhibition of 1878: Smirnov’s products created a sensation and bypassed other countries, including the French, who have always been the best in this field.

While the brand conquered the world market, Pyotr Arsenievich continued to expand the business, building factories for the production of containers. The enterprise's turnover increased to three million rubles, and about 270 people already worked here. By the mid-1880s, the entrepreneur was a leader in the country's alcohol market, and at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition of 1882, the company's representative office received the right to a secondary image of the state emblem.

Awards came to the entrepreneur himself - not only awards for merchants, but also state ones. For Smirnov himself, the success of the brand was more important than prestigious personal awards. Judging by the memoirs of his contemporaries, he was a rather modest person, moved mainly on foot and, as befits great entrepreneurs, preferred work to idleness and luxury. Pyotr Arsenievich easily found a common language with the workers and knew them almost by name - despite the fact that the business was constantly growing and there was, as we would say now, staff turnover.

In 1886, Smirnov’s long-time wish came true: Alexander III tasted the entrepreneur’s products at the Nizhny Novgorod fair and was so pleased that he made the entrepreneur the sole supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty. Pyotr Arsenievich tried to receive this title back in 1869, but then he was not allowed to receive such an honor.

In 1886, Pyotr Arsenievich was also awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus; later the awards were given to him by the Swedish and Spanish kings. The latter appreciated the products of the Russian vodka king at an exhibition in Barcelona and awarded him the Order of St. Isabella, and Smirnov presented him with a box of the famous vodka. It is impossible not to mention that at the Nizhny Novgorod fair, where Alexander III was present, passers-by were invited to Smirnov by people dressed in bear skins and offering them a glass of vodka.

At the end of the 1880s, Smirnov prepared another revolutionary product - a tincture called “Nizhyn Rowan”. The most contradictory information is still circulating about her, some of which are confirmed, while others are considered speculation. According to the most popular version, rowan berries were specially collected for her in the village of Nevezhino, where extremely sweet and aromatic berries grew. Later, for the purpose of secrecy, Smirnov named the tincture Nezhinskaya, sending competitors to the Ukrainian city to buy rowan.

Many sources call this version overly romanticized and offer their own: rowan grows everywhere and is equally bitter, and Smirnov simply used harmful artificial additives to improve the taste. However, the residents of Nevezhino say that their mountain ash is truly uniquely sweet. Be that as it may, in 1889, “Nizhyn Rowan” conquered the Paris World Exhibition.

Re-equipment of production. State wine monopoly

The beginning of the 1890s marked a new rise for the brand. Assessing the speed of the industrial revolution, Smirnov equipped the factories with the latest technology and increased the number of workers in the factories to an impressive 1.5 thousand per enterprise. Another 5 thousand people worked for Smirnov in other places. Petr Arsentievich also added new types of products to production with original names and tastes. According to some estimates, it occupied 60% of the alcohol market of the Russian Empire. During the year, the company sold about 100 million bottles.

In addition, the entrepreneur continues to increase his momentum on the world stage, opening representative offices in different cities around the world. Thanks to active participation in various international exhibitions, his company does not require additional advertising and is already a recognized brand. A particularly popular brand turned out to be Table Wine No. 21, which cost only 40 kopecks and was sold almost all over the world; it was consumed by almost all segments of the population. This product was also bottled at the coronation of Nicholas II.

The industry, which had a colossal turnover, drew the attention of the Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire, Witte, who decided to use it for the benefit of the state. In 1894, the introduction of a wine monopoly began, which