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 of Sweden Oscar II and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. The progenitor of the Smirnoff brand, 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.

Born into a family of serf peasants Arseny Alekseevich and Matryona Grigorievna Smirnov in the tiny village of Kayurovo. All the residents were engaged in latrine work, and as soon as Peter grew up, he went to Moscow to earn money, where he began working as a sex worker in taverns.

In 1857, Father Arseny received “freedom” for himself and his eldest sons Yakov and Peter. In the spring of 1858, they left the village for Moscow, planning to open a wine shop and join the merchant class.

In 1860, the Rensk cellar of Arseny and Peter Smirnov was opened - after the name of the cheapest white grape wine with a sour taste. Peter worked as a clerk in his father's shop. It is said that one of the customers, a lady, liked him and gave him a lottery ticket. The ticket turned out to be a winner. In the same 1860, Pyotr Smirnov bought another Rensk cellar with this money and became a Moscow merchant of the third guild. His Rensky cellar was located near a cast-iron bridge not far from Balchug, where the first Russian Tsarev Tavern was located.

In 1863, the first plant of Peter Smirnov opened on Ovchinnikovskaya embankment near the Chugunny Bridge, where 9 workers work and all products consist of several wine barrels.

In 1864, the production already employed more than 25 people. Production grew and soon Peter Smirnov acquired a corner house on Pyatnitskaya Street. This house was depicted on labels and became a trademark of the products of Peter Smirnov’s plant. In the early seventies, more than 70 workers already worked at the plant, and the merchant Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov joined the first guild.

In 1873, Pyotr Smirnov took part in the International Industrial Exhibition in Vienna - where he was unanimously recognized as the best manufacturer and awarded an Honorary Diploma and an exhibition participant medal.

In 1876, the next level of recognition for product quality was achieved at the World Industrial Exhibition in Philadelphia. A large Philadelphia medal began to decorate the labels of all Smirnov bottles. As part of this success, in 1877 the Russian Ministry of Finance awarded the products of Peter Smirnov the State Emblem, giving the right to place it on the labels.

In 1878, his products won 2 gold medals in Paris. In 1882, at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, with a whole collection of liqueurs, liqueurs, vodkas, liqueurs, his plant was awarded the right to depict the State Emblem.

In 1886, Pyotr Smirnov became the Supplier of the Court of His Imperial Majesty - a note was preserved in the imperial papers: “The Moscow merchant Pyotr Smirnov was most graciously granted the title of Supplier of the Imperial Court. Gatchina, November 22, 1886." He was also awarded the Order of Stanislav III degree, which gave the right to hereditary honorary citizenship.

In the 90s, production grew, the number of workers increased to one and a half thousand: a plant, fifteen warehouses, 4 lithographs for printing labels and labels, seven glass factories. Up to 200 carts delivered orders throughout Moscow every day, and more than 700 people were engaged in collecting berries and herbs. The activities of Pyotr Smirnov annually brought the excise tax treasury about 5,000,000 rubles a year, and during the entire existence of the Smirnov factories, more than 30 million were contributed to the treasury for almost 30 years.

1888 - gold medal in Barcelona and the Spanish Order of St. Isabella. By a personal imperial decree “signed by His Majesty’s own hand,” he was awarded the general rank of Commercial Advisor;

1889 - big gold medal in Paris;

1893 - big gold medal in Chicago;

1896 - supplier to the court of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich. In the same year, the right to depict the State Emblem was repeated at the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod.

1897 - Gold medal at the Industrial and Art Exhibition in Stockholm.

Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov became one of the richest people in Russia - his fortune was estimated at 8.7 million rubles. He died in 1898 in Moscow and was buried at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery.

His motto was “to give the best, to produce products from first-class materials and to spare no expense and expense on improved production equipment.”

(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 popularity 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 an emigrant from Russia, 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.

Vodka has long become one of the national drinks of Russia - and not so much because of popular love, but thanks to the efforts of entrepreneurs. One of the largest producers of Russian vodka - - was primarily a talented seller. The original Russian drink in the form in which we know it was created largely thanks to its skillful marketing. continues a series of publications about businessmen of the Russian Empire.

Nephew of the most honest rules

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Russia was swept by a wave of strikes. Revolutionary ideas that proposed throwing off the yoke of capital and taking factories away from the bourgeoisie gained extreme popularity. There were strikes at the enterprises of Morozov and Putilov, but there were companies whose workers did not take part in the riots and worked as if nothing had happened.

Such enterprises included factories and warehouses of the Smirnov family - the heirs of the vodka king Peter Arsenievich Smirnov. The workers of the Smirnov factories had nothing to go on strike over: the rule “a happy worker is an effective worker,” introduced by the founder of the company, was carried out even after his death.

The alcohol magnate's factories paid well, workers were given good housing and hospitals, and fines for misconduct were low (despite the fact that other factory owners often harshly punished their employees). So in the entire history of the Smirnovs’ business, not a single strike has happened.

The history of the famous brand began with the fact that in 1811, the brothers Arseny and Yakov Alekseev (that is, the sons of Alexei) from the village of Kayurovo, Myshkinsky district, Yaroslavl province, entered the service of the Moscow merchant Korchashkin, who traded overseas wines. They were serfs and thus earned their dues for their master. According to the decree of Peter I of 1718, household taxation was replaced by poll tax. Since then, the so-called otkhodnichestvo has spread - peasants left villages and villages for the city to earn real money for their landowner.

In 1816, a younger brother, Ivan, was added to the two Alekseevs. It was thanks to his commercial spirit that the brothers not only worked off their dues for the landowner, but also began to earn money for themselves. 11 years after Ivan’s arrival, the Alekseev brothers were already trading independently, and in 1837 they bought themselves and their relatives from the landowner. Together with the free man, they received the right to the Smirnov surname. Ivan Alekseevich was the most talented in the family and was in charge of the family business.

In 1840, he bought from his distant relative, the merchant Yakovlev, a Rhine cellar (that is, a shop selling Rhine wines) on Varvarka. Two years later, brother Arseny asked to take his 16-year-old son Yakov into the shop, and four years later his youngest son Peter, who was only 15 years old, moved to Moscow. Having hired his youngest nephew, the merchant of the first guild, Smirnov from Varvarka, as he was called, did not imagine that he was training a dangerous competitor. Working for his uncle, Pyotr Arsenievich thoroughly studied the characteristics of wines, grape varieties, storage secrets and, of course, the art of selling.

In 1860, on the initiative of Peter, who was already 29, his father Arseny Alekseevich left the family business and opened his own shop. Brothers-partners turn into brothers-competitors: from Varvarka against Arseny Smirnov from the Chugunny bridge.

Clean product

As for vodka itself, its production as a separate business is the merit of Peter Smirnov. In the 18th century, vodka was exclusively homemade. The landowners made their own strong drinks - each according to their own recipe; distillation since 1716 was an exclusively noble privilege. Distillation of alcohol, used in Europe since the 14th century, was unknown to the Russians. Vodka was purified with natural animal proteins. According to culinary historian William Pokhlebkin, for “six buckets of vodka of the first race there was at least one bucket of milk or half a bucket of egg whites.” Moreover, the vodkas were only flavored - with the addition of herbs, berries, fruits or seeds.

In the 19th century, technologies for the production of alcohol based on potato raw materials penetrated into Russia. This significantly reduced the cost of production and became a threat to Russian vodka. Just in the 60s of the 19th century, when Arseny and Pyotr Smirnov were just getting started, Western provinces began to switch from grain vodka to potato vodka. But the cheap potato swill was of low quality and contained a lot of fusel oils and impurities. Once, after tasting such bad vodka, Arseny said: “It’s time to make our own, Smirnov’s!” His son Peter devoted his life to this.

On January 1, 1863, the tax system for the sale of alcohol, which had caused discontent and led to “tavern riots,” was replaced by an excise tax. The excise tax was collected on volumes, quantity, quality of alcohol smoked and for trade. In the same year, Pyotr Arsenievich opens his first vodka store on Ovchinnikovskaya embankment. At first, nine people worked there, producing only a dozen barrels. The vodka was called “Smirnovskaya”.

The first thing Smirnov paid attention to was the quality of the products, but he also did not forget to increase his customer base. For example, he paid extra money to tavern regulars to ask the owners if there was “smirnovka.” And since the client is interested, it means we need to buy. A few months later we had to hire 25 people, but even they couldn’t cope with the orders. The growth turned out to be too rapid. The employees tried to persuade Smirnov to increase sales by slightly lowering the requirements for technology, but the owner was adamant: reducing quality was not allowed under any circumstances.

Like in the best houses

During the period of expansion of production, Pyotr Arsenievich literally lived at the plant. He bought himself a house on Pyatnitskaya, which overlooked Ovchinnikovskaya embankment; there was a store on its ground floor - thus the owner’s housing, production and sales were concentrated in one place. Soon this house near the Chugunny Bridge was placed on the “Smirnovka” label so that any illiterate man could understand where to buy vodka. Turnover grew, vodka was objectively the best on the market, and in 1869 Smirnov filed a petition to recognize his company as a supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty. Such a move by a relatively young businessman was considered impudent at court, and the request was rejected.

To establish himself, the entrepreneur took up social activities: he became an agent of the Committee on Beggars in the Pyatnitskaya District. It was a government body formed to combat beggary and vagrancy. Among his goals was “finding funds for reliable housing and possible benefits for the former and active measures to convert the latter from idleness to honest and useful work,” as well as charity and education for homeless children.

As a result of commercial efforts and, as it is now called, socially responsible behavior, Peter Smirnov becomes a famous person. In 1871, he was a merchant of the first guild (albeit significantly later than his competitor, Uncle Ivan). Following Smirnov’s example, other manufacturers also began to produce personalized vodka. In 1873, Pyotr Arsenievich sent his vodka to the international industrial exhibition in Vienna. This looked as impudent as a request to be recognized as a supplier to the royal court, but the “smirnovka” was not smashed to pieces, but on the contrary, they were awarded a medal and an honorary diploma. Its quality has become internationally recognized.

Then Smirnova's vodka received the highest award at an exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, and two years later made a real splash in Paris. After the Philadelphia exhibition, Smirnov allowed Smirnov to place the state emblem - a double-headed eagle - on the labels as a sign of the highest achievement of Russian industry.

By the end of the 70s, revenue from sales of “smirnovka” exceeded 3 million rubles a year - a figure that no one was able to approach until the revolution itself. In 1882, Pyotr Smirnov’s products were recognized as the best at the All-Russian Exhibition, where tasters tasted the drinks blindly, without knowing the manufacturer.

In 1885, Peter again filed a petition for the status of the Tsar's supplier. After a whole year of paperwork and consideration, a positive response was received. Alexander III not only awarded the merchant's enterprise the status of a supplier to the Court, but also awarded him the Order of Stanislav III degree, which also meant a title of nobility with the right to transfer it by inheritance. Peter Smirnov received other royal awards for the quality of his products - from the Swedish and Spanish kings.

At the same time, Pyotr Arsenievich never lost control over his production; he even personally took part in developing the shape of bottles for different types of vodka. In the 80s, he already employed up to two thousand workers, and more than 45 million bottles were bottled at his factories per year. Excise taxes from Smirnov's plant brought 5 million rubles to the treasury annually; by the end of the 90s, he controlled 60 percent of the empire's alcohol market.

The entrepreneur continued to be actively involved in charity work: with his money, the Alexander-Mariinsky Women's School, the Moscow Eye Hospital, the Alekseevskaya Psychiatric Hospital, the Moscow Department of Care for the Blind, the Society of Military Doctors, the Community of Sisters of Charity and other charitable institutions were built and maintained.

Vodka and power

Vodka is a very marginal product. The cost and selling price differ tens of times, so for the state it has always been a powerful means of attracting money to the budget. But if earlier the authorities were satisfied with collecting excise taxes, then in the early 90s of the century before last, Minister of Finance Sergei Yulievich Witte decided to introduce a state monopoly on the purification of alcohol and trade in strong drinks.

In 1894, the government patented a product that came to be considered Russian vodka: grain alcohol, reconstituted and then diluted with water to exactly 40-degree strength. This “official vodka” or “kazenka” was cheap, and “branded” vodkas were subject to heavy duties. As a result, sales of Smirnov's products fell 15 times.

After the introduction of the state monopoly, Pyotr Arsenievich lived for another four years. The family business was inherited by his sons - Peter, Nikolai, Vladimir, Sergei and Alexey. But things weren't going so well for them. Then Pyotr Petrovich Smirnov, who turned out to be a fairly successful leader, took over the company. He died in 1910, handing over the business to his wife.

In 1914, prohibition was introduced, and the company had to switch to the production of soft drinks. And then the Bolshevik revolution occurred, and in 1918 all enterprises came under state control. The Smirnovs emigrated, and in the 1930s the trademark was sold to foreign businessmen. And that's a different story.

Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov was born in 1831, into a family of serfs, in the village of Kayurovo, Myshkinsky district, Yaroslavl province.

In 1958, his father Arseny, having received freedom for himself and his eldest sons Yakov and Peter, went with them to Moscow.

A year later they opened a small wine cellar. Pyotr Smirnov was his father’s support and actually led the family business. The shop sold grape wine “for drinking and to-go.” But Peter dreamed of opening his own factory. There is a legend that one day a certain lady came into the shop and gave the young clerk a lottery ticket. It turned out to be a winner. With the money received, Pyotr Smirnov (by that time had become a merchant of the second guild) built a small vodka factory on Ovchinnikovskaya embankment, near the Chugunny Bridge, where at first 9 people worked. The plant immediately began producing high-quality products, and there was no end to customers.

Pyotr Arsenievich buys a three-story house near the Chugunny Bridge, where, in addition to his apartment, there are warehouses, a wine shop and the factory itself. Labels with the image of this house are placed on the bottles.

In 1873, Pyotr Smirnov took part in the international industrial exhibition in Vienna, where he had incredible success. He receives a medal and an honorary participant diploma. At the American exhibition in Philadelphia, Smirnov's products were awarded a gold medal. After some time, Tsar Alexander III himself wished that the merchant Smirnov would become a supplier to His Imperial Majesty.

The range of goods and their quality amazed even the most picky connoisseurs of alcohol. Table wines became Smirnov’s pride. This was the name of 40-proof purified vodka, for the purification of which birch charcoal and water from Mytishchi were used. The most popular was table wine No. 21. It cost only 40 kopecks and was sold almost all over the world. It was poured out to the people at the coronation of Nicholas II.

In addition to table wine, Smirnov produced various berry liqueurs, liqueurs and cognacs - “Cherry”, “Nezhinskaya Rowan”, “Maraschino”, “Fine-Champagne”, etc. Rowan for the “Nezhinskaya Rowan” liqueur was collected in the village of Nevezhino, Vladimir region, where The rowan was extremely sweet, but Smirnov, for purposes of conspiracy, called the tincture “Nezhinskaya” so that competitors would go to the Ukrainian city for rowan.

Empress Maria Feodorovna was very fond of the White Plum liqueur, which was produced only by Smirnov.

Different drinks were poured into different containers. For example, Sibirskaya vodka was bottled in the shape of a bear.

Pyotr Arsenievich approached the selection of workers very carefully. He himself was a non-drinker, and when he hired a worker, he invited him to taste his products. If someone did not refuse and tried, Smirnov did not accept such a person. In general, Pyotr Smirnov was a simple man who shunned luxury. He walked, easily found a common language with the workers and knew them all almost by name. During the revolution of 1905, Smirnov's workers not only did not participate in strikes, but also, taking up arms, protected the factory and warehouses from the revolutionary masses.

By 1896, the number of workers increased to 1,500 people, and the plant’s assortment expanded to four hundred types of different drinks.

Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov became a millionaire, his fortune was estimated at 8.7 million rubles. He died in 1898 and was buried at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery in Moscow. His sons inherited the family business, but things did not go well for them. And in 1914, during the war, Prohibition was introduced, and the enterprise had to be converted to produce soft drinks.

After the revolution in 1918, the plant was nationalized and ceased operations. Peter Smirnov's son Vladimir sold the rights to the company P.A. Smirnov" to an American citizen who began producing Smirnoff vodka, but using a completely different technology.

The mansion of Pyotr Smirnov still stands on the corner of Pyatnitskaya Street and Ovchinnikovskaya Embankment, and now there is a store there that sells drinks according to the recipes of the famous “vodka king”.