Vodka has long become one of the national drinks of Russia - and not so much because of people's love, but thanks to the efforts of entrepreneurs. One of the largest producers of Russian vodka - - was first of all a talented seller. The primordially 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 20th century, a wave of strikes swept Russia. Revolutionary ideas gained extreme popularity, offering to throw off the oppression of capital and take away the factories from the bourgeoisie. Strikes were organized at the enterprises of Morozov and Putilov, but there were companies whose employees 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 Arsenyevich Smirnov. There was nothing for the workers of the Smirnov factories to go on strike: the rule “a happy worker is an efficient worker”, introduced by the founder of the company, was carried out even after his death.

The liquor tycoon's factories paid well, workers had good housing and hospitals, and fines for misconduct were low (although other manufacturers often punished their employees harshly). So not a single strike has happened in the entire history of the Smirnovs' business.

The history of the famous brand began with the fact that in 1811, the brothers Arseniy 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 in this way worked out quitrent for their master. According to the decree of Peter I of 1718, the household tax was replaced by a poll tax. Since then, the so-called otkhodnichestvo has spread - the peasants left the villages and villages for the city in order to earn cash for their landowner.

In 1816, the younger brother Ivan was added to the two Alekseevs. It was thanks to his commercial streak that the brothers not only worked out 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 freedom, they received the right to the surname Smirnov. Ivan Alekseevich was the most talented in the family and managed the family business.

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

In 1860, at the initiative of Peter, who was already 29, his father Arseny Alekseevich left the family business and opened his own shop. Partner brothers turn into rival brothers: from Varvarka against Arseny Smirnov from the Chugunny Bridge.

pure 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 landlords made their own strong drinks - each according to his own recipe, since 1716 distillation was an exclusively noble privilege. The distillation of alcohol, which had been used in Europe since the 14th century, was unknown to Russians. Vodka was purified with natural animal proteins. According to culinary historian William Pokhlebkin, "six buckets of vodka of the first race relied on at least one bucket of milk or half a bucket of egg whites." Moreover, 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 XIX century, when Arseny and Pyotr Smirnov were just starting the business, in the western provinces they began to switch from grain vodka to potato vodka. But cheap potato swill was of poor quality and contained a lot of fusel oils and impurities. Once, after tasting such bad vodka, Arseny said: "It's time to make your own, Smirnoff!" His son Peter dedicated his life to this.

From January 1, 1863, the tax-farming system for the sale of alcohol, which caused discontent and led to "tavern riots", was replaced by an excise tax. The excise tax was collected from the volume, quantity, quality of alcohol smoked and for trade. In the same year, Pyotr Arsenyevich opened his first vodka shop on Ovchinnikovskaya embankment. Initially, nine people worked there, who produced only a dozen barrels. The vodka was called "Smirnovskaya".

The first thing Smirnov paid attention to was the quality of products, but he also did not forget to increase the client base. For example, he paid extra to the regulars of taverns to ask the owners if there was a “smirnovka”. And since the client is interested, it means that it is necessary to buy. A few months later, 25 people had to be hired, but even they could not cope with the orders. Growth was too fast. Workers persuaded Smirnov to increase sales by slightly lowering the requirements for technology, but the owner was adamant: he was not allowed to reduce quality under any circumstances.

Like the best houses

During the expansion of production, Petr 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 labeled "smirnovka" so that any illiterate peasant could figure out where to buy vodka. Turnovers 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 step regarding the young merchant was considered impudence at court, and the petition was rejected.

To establish himself, the entrepreneur took up social activities: became an agent of the Committee on begging for alms in the Pyatnitskaya part. It was a state body formed to combat begging and vagrancy. Among his goals were "finding funds for a secure place and a possible allowance for the first and active measures to convert the latter from idleness to honest and useful work," as well as the care and education of homeless children.

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

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

By the end of the 70s, the proceeds from sales of "smirnovka" exceeded 3 million rubles a year - an indicator that no one could ever approach until the revolution itself. In 1882, Pyotr Smirnov's products were recognized as the best at the All-Russian Exhibition, where tasters tried drinks blindly, without knowing the manufacturer.

In 1885, Peter again applied 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 of the Court, but also awarded him the Order of Stanislav III degree, which also meant a noble title with the right to pass it on by inheritance. Pyotr Smirnov also 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 the development of bottle shapes for different types of vodka. In the 80s, up to two thousand workers already worked for him, more than 45 million bottles a year were bottled at his factories. The excise taxes of the Smirnov 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: the Alexander-Mariinsky Women's School, the Moscow Eye Hospital, the Alekseevskaya Psychiatric Hospital, the Moscow Department of Guardianship of the Blind, the Society of Military Doctors, the community of sisters of mercy and other charitable institutions were built and maintained with his money.

Vodka and power

Vodka is a very marginal product. The cost and sale price differ tenfold, 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 the collection of excises, then in the early 90s of the century before last, Finance Minister Sergei Yulievich Witte decided to introduce a state monopoly on the purification of alcohol and the sale of strong drinks.

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

After the introduction of the state monopoly, Petr Arsenievich lived for another four years. The family business was inherited by his sons - Peter, Nikolai, Vladimir, Sergey and Alexei. But things didn't go so well for them. Then Petr Petrovich Smirnov, who turned out to be a rather successful leader, became the head of the company. He died in 1910, leaving 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 took place, 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 another story.

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

The Smirnovs were serfs-otkhodniks of the Myshkinsky district, the village of Kayurov, the patrimony of the steward Skripitsyn (Klimatinskaya vol., now the Uglich district). Brothers Arseny Alekseevich and Ivan Alekseevich Smirnovs from the beginning of the 19th century. 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 the Rhine cellar of his father, 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 factory "At the Cast Iron Bridge". Production is growing rapidly, the range of products is expanding, in 1869 Pyotr Arsenievich even applied to the Ministry of the Court with an offer to become his supplier, but was refused.

In 1871, P. A. Smirnov entered the first merchant guild. Since 1973, he has been constantly participating 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). The Ministry of Finance of Russia in 1877 grants him the right to place on the labels the State Emblem - a double-headed eagle. In 1882, P. A. Smirnov presents his products at the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition, following which the Ministry of Finance gives him the right to place the second State Emblem on the labels. In 1885, Smirnov received the right to be the supplier of the Supreme Court. During this period, he annually contributes up to 5 million rubles of excise duty to the state treasury (in previous years, he paid more than 30 million rubles to the treasury). In 1886, the Ministry of Finance gives him the right to place the third State Emblem on the 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 granted 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 "Nezhinskaya mountain ash", which made a splash with its taste. Smirnov classified the place where the rowan used in the manufacture of tincture grew: it was collected near the village of Nevezhino, Vladimir province, and the name referred 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. His "vodka empire" in addition to the factory included 15 warehouses, seven glass factories that annually produced up to 50 million bottles of various shapes, four lithographs that printed colorful labels. Products - and it was more than 400 items - were transported daily in Moscow by 200 carts. Smirnov considered it necessary to take care of the families of his employees: he built housing for them, a hospital, and paid well. It is no coincidence that there have never been any working demonstrations at his factories. The clerks at Smirnov's enterprises were mainly people from Myshkin, Uglich and Kashin villages. In his homeland, not far from Kayurov, on the Potapovo churchyard, P. A. Smirnov built the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (not preserved).

In 1896, at the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition, P. A. Smirnov personally brought a glass of "Nezhinsky mountain ash" to the new sovereign Nicholas II. As a result of the exhibition, he was allowed to place the 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 Arsenyevich was married three times. The first wife Nadezhda Egorovna (1826 - 1855) was childless. The second - Natalya Alexandrovna, nee 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, nee Medvedeva (1858 - 1899) gave birth to a daughter, Alexander (1877 - 1950) and three sons: Vladimir (1875 - 1934), Sergey (1885 - 1907) and Alexei (1889 - 1922).

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

The introduction in 1897 of the state monopoly on the production of vodka had already laid a time bomb under the “Smirnov empire”. In 1901, the Association'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 out by three older brothers - Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir, who in 1903 created the Trading House "Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir Petrovich Smirnov, trading under the firm P.A. Smirnov in Moscow.

During two years Pyotr Petrovich bought out the shares of the brothers 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, managed to rectify the financial situation.

Other sons of Peter Arsenievich found themselves more interesting occupations than wine and vodka production. Sergei Petrovich published the newspaper "Morning", Alexey Petrovich graduated from the Sorbonne, knew five languages, wrote children's stories, composed music. Nikolai Petrovich he spent his life in feasts and extravagance - only in 1912 did he finally settle down and instead of cocottes he took up horses. All the Smirnov brothers owned apartment houses in Moscow: Alexei 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, was a recognized authority in this area. Vladimir married Maria Gavrilovna Shushpanova, but in 1901, having met the 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 tenement house 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. For some time, they tried to produce vinegar and soft drinks at the plant, but it was already agony. And in 1918, all the property of the Smirnovs was nationalized. Evgenia Ilyinichna, immediately after the October Revolution, married the Italian consul de la Valle Ricci and went abroad with him. Her son Arseniy stayed in Moscow, worked as an ordinary employee in some offices.

Of the thirteen children of Pyotr Arsenyevich, five did not survive before the Bolsheviks came to power: Alexandra and Olga died in infancy, Anna died at the age of six, Sergei in 1907, Peter in 1910. The fate of the rest of the Smirnovs after the revolution developed differently.

Natalya Petrovna was married to a representative of the famous Moscow merchant family Konstantin Petrovich Bakhrushin (1856 - 1938) - his cousin Alexei Alexandrovich founded the 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's Sons, a member of the Moscow City Duma, a co-owner of the Aquarium Theater, a ktitor 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 the eclectic style. Natalya Petrovna and Konstantin Petrovich had three daughters and a son, Peter. Natalya Petrovna helped her husband a lot in charity affairs, led women's craft courses at the House of Free Apartments. After the revolution, everything went to dust. The house was taken away from the Bakhrushins, since 1933 it has been occupied by the Moscow City Prosecutor's Office.

The youngest daughter of the Bakhrushins - Nina Konstantinovna (1892 - 1966) in 1914 became the common-law wife of the famous Russian aviator Boris Semenovich Maslenikov. 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 exiled "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 of the Trotskyists ... He did not plead guilty.” Sentence - 8 years in the camps. Boris Semyonovich returned only in 1946, having rewound the entire term from bell to bell. A year later he died of cancer.

Maria Petrovna She was married twice, for the first time - to the merchant-tea merchant Pyotr Alekseevich Rastorguev, the second - to a well-known 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 shareholder-contributors of the Moscow Art Theater and member of its board. In Moscow, M. G. Komissarov had several profitable houses, in the Vladimir province - a glass factory. In 1918, having lost all his 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. For release 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 bail the arrested assistant to the theater accountant M.G. G. Komissarov is the only assistant accountant - an extremely necessary worker. In the first marriage, Maria Petrovna had three children (Komissarov adopted them all), in the second - five. Three sons became actors. Sergei (1891 - 1963) served in the Moscow Art Theater, during the tour of the theater in France, he met there with his uncle Vladimir Petrovich. In the 1920s, after the tour of the troupe of Kachalova, he remained to play in the Germanova troupe in Prague. Then he returned to the USSR, served in the theaters of Omsk, Ivanov, Kineshma, Rostov-on-Don and later - in the Volkov Theater in Yaroslavl. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1947). Gerasim (1900 - 1973) was an actor of the Volkovsky Theater. Alexander (1904 - 1975) from 1925 until the end of his life was in the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater, in the play "Days of the Turbins", which Stalin loved so much, played Nikolka Turbin. In the film "Circus" he played the role of amateur constructor 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 a chocolate manufacturer Alexander Alekseevich Abrikosov (1869 - 1937). They had six children: Cyril (1894 - 1972) - in the 1950s and 1960s - the executive secretary of the Old Believer archbishop; Agrippina (1895 - 1896); Igor (1896 - 1952) - teacher at the Air Force Academy. 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 broke up 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 a sugar and textile manufacturer Martemyan Nikanorovich Borisovsky, who himself was so in love with Alexandra that he forgave her connection with Bostanzhoglo, adopting their illegitimate son. Vadim Vasilyevich Borisovsky (1900 - 1972) became a famous musician, the founder of the school of violists in Russia. Laureate of the Stalin Prize, I degree (1946), Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1965). Since 1925 - a teacher, since 1935 - a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. His father Vasily Bostanzhoglo already in 1929 was accused of sabotage and sent into exile in the Northern Territory. Since that time, the NKVD did not let him out of his sight. Several times he was arrested, the last - in 1950 in Rostov-Veliky. The Yaroslavl Regional Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison. On May 2, 1953, V. V. Bostanjoglo died in the camp.

Vladimir Petrovich 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 several times to a staged execution. Then from the Crimea with Wrangel's troops he moved to Constantinople. Wandered around Europe - Sofia, Lvov, Prague, Paris. In these cities, he tried to revive the family vodka business, but had no success. In the end, he sold a license for the manufacture of alcoholic beverages to the former partner of the Smirnovs, Rudolf Semyonovich Kunetsky, who already lived in America and changed his last name to Kunett. But in America at that time they almost didn’t drink vodka, and then Prohibition happened. And, having hesitated, Cunette sold the license to Heublein from Connecticut for ten years, stipulating for himself a percentage of the product's release. 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 occupied by the Smirnovs before the revolution was compacted and turned into a communal apartment. In total, 35 people settled in it, and the Smirnovs huddled in seven 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 the "tower" was replaced by a camp term. 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. Alexei Petrovich died in 1922 from angina pectoris.

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

Now about fifty descendants of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov live in Moscow. The most energetic of them was 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 of the initiative of Boris Alekseevich did not approve and even quarreled with him.

In Myshkin there is a museum of Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov.

Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov was born on January 9, 1831, according to the old style, in the village of Kayurovo in the parish of the village of Potapov, Myshkinsky district, Yaroslavl province, in the family of serfs Arseny Alekseevich and Matryona Grigorievna. During his lifetime, he was called the "vodka king."

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 a wine trade that had long been established as a family business.

In 1860, a new trading establishment of Arseny and Peter Smirnov for the wine trade was registered - the Rens cellar (from the distorted name of the Rhine wines). Pyotr Arsenievich serves as his father's clerk, and a few months later he buys another Rens 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 once said by his father about vodka of poor quality sunk deep into him: "It's time to make your own, Smirnoff!"

Gradually, production became more complicated and expanded. Smirnov bought his own house (Pyatnitskaya street. Photo of the beginning of the 20th century) for the hired premises of the plant, which he had dreamed of for so long - at the Cast-iron bridge, which at the corner goes from Pyatnitskaya to Ovchinnikovskaya embankment, which subsequently appeared on the labels and became a brand name. According to him, any illiterate man could recognize the "Smirnovskaya" among other bottles. The house on Pyatnitskaya became the family castle of the Smirnov family, a reliable support in the expanding business. It was spacious, with a vast courtyard and outbuildings, with deep vaulted cellars in which wine barrels could be kept or a Ren cellar kept. And on the ground floor there is a room for a shop and an office. Having bought up neighboring buildings along the embankment and Ovchinnikovsky lanes, Pyotr Smirnov created his springboard for a large plant and warehouses attached to it, where a "Smirnovsky island" was formed. By the beginning of the seventies, seventy workers were already working at the plant, and annual production had doubled.

In 1871, Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov joined the first guild. He was rich, was in the elite of the Moscow merchants, had a beautiful house, a promising factory, huge warehouses and connections with many cities of the country. But the wine trade grew. Competitors, following the example of Smirnov, tried to make drinks cleaner in order to win the market with quality, and stepped on their heels. He needed to confirm his superiority now by the recognition of specialists, connoisseurs. Therefore, in 1873, he decided to send his drinks to the International Industrial Exhibition in Vienna, where the verdict was unanimous: the quality is excellent, the drinks are worthy of European attention - that is, the Honorary Diploma and the medal of the exhibition participant. This was the first official recognition of professionals. From that, the Vienna debut, the triumphal procession of the "Smirnovskaya" began in the world capitals.

In 1876, they learned about the 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 the highest award for their "high quality and products". It was a success louder than the Viennese! From now on, the Great Philadelphia medal, as a sign of the winner, will decorate the labels of all Smirnov bottles. Following the results of the exhibition, the Ministry of Finance of Russia in 1877 awarded the firm of Pyotr Smirnov a high distinction, awarding it with the State Emblem, which gave the right to place the Russian coat of arms on the labels from now on as a sign of achievements in the national industry. It was a sign of guaranteed quality, opened up new opportunities for expanding the business. That coat of arms was worth a lot - he immediately put Smirnov's company in first place among 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 Parisian success finally secured the leadership of Pyotr Smirnov among the producers of alcohol. This was also expressed on the scale of the case - 280 workers and products were 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, the firm of Peter Smirnov took part in the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition. The exposition of P.A. Smirnov’s factory was not large, but the range of liqueurs, tinctures, vodkas on display was amazing. But the experts, who sat for a whole week, paid attention, first of all, to the taste and the data of laboratory tests, which clearly showed which of the wine producers think about the health of consumers, and who only about their own income. In all respects, Peter Smirnov turned out to be the best.

As a result of the exhibition, the Ministry of Finance awarded the plant of P.A. Smirnov the second State Emblem. It was the most solid and coveted award - only the title of the Supplier of the Imperial Court was higher than it in the domestic industry. 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 was rejected in 1869), which was short 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 Arsenyevich Smirnov was awarded the Order of Stanislav III degree, which gave the right to hereditary honorary citizenship, followed by a long-awaited decision. The tsar personally wished that Smirnov became a supplier, which was noted in the papers by State Secretary Petrov: “The Moscow merchant Pyotr Smirnov has been most mercifully granted the title of Supplier of the Supreme Court. Gatchina, November 22, 1886. It was a moment of the highest happiness, Pyotr Smirnov went to this cherished goal for many years, defeated competitors, received applause and medals, but there was no main prize, which he dreamed of almost from his youth. The third State Emblem soon followed, as confirmation of the high rank of Supplier of the Tsar.

Relations with the Ministry of the Imperial Court developed successfully: its drinks are really good - like vodka, liqueurs and tinctures, cognacs and wines. But vodka was in special 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 bit more expensive - a ruble bottle. And although it was famous for its purity, but the taste was not much inferior to the popularly beloved twenty-first. This was the success of Smirnov - to make only good quality vodka, whether it be the first grade or the third. And available not only to the Emperor and the Minister of the Court.

The extensive activity of Pyotr Smirnov in those years can already be judged by the fact that his factories pay about 5,000,000 rubles a year to the treasury of excise duty, and over the entire previous period of existence they have contributed more than 30 million to the treasury. And, despite such a huge production, which gives a secure income to many hundreds of employees at factories and management, Pyotr Smirnov for almost 30 years has never been subjected to the slightest government penalties and even remarks.

In 1888, Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov, already very favored by fate and power, was granted the general rank of Commercial Adviser by a nominal imperial decree "for the signature of His Majesty in his own hand."

In the 1990s, Pyotr Smirnov sharply increased production, and the number of workers grew to one and a half thousand. In addition to fifteen warehouses and a factory, there were four lithographs where etiquettes and labels were printed, seven glass factories where they made an unthinkable variety of dishes - flasks, bottles, decanters, bottles of all sizes and shapes, almost 50 million units of dishes annually! And for each, etiquettes, corks, tar, sealing wax are needed. The company spent almost 120 thousand rubles on traffic jams alone. A huge transport economy - up to 200 carts daily delivered orders throughout Moscow.

By this time, Pyotr Smirnov had bypassed his main and most powerful competitors - the Beckman and Stritter plants in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Along with the systematic increase in production, the range of products was expanded. The sale of cheap grape wine in wooden barrels increased sharply, which was in great demand among the peasants, who refused to take bottled vodka, being afraid to break it on the road.

The vast stocks of grape wine in barrels in warehouses amazed the imagination of visitors - Crimean, Bessarabian, Donskoe, Derbent, Dagestan, Matrassinskoe, Elisavetpolskoe, Kakhetinskoe, Petrovskoe and Kizlyarskoe, in total - 515,703 buckets, foreign wine - 25,750 buckets.

Most of all, Smirnov sells Kizlyar wine, of which, for example, 3,000 forty-bucket barrels were purchased at the Nizhny Novgorod fair. This wine formed the basis from which red wine is subsequently made by adding alcohol, sugar and blueberry juice. Buying Kizlyar wine with approximately 8% strength, Smirnov, topping it up with alcohol, brings it to an average strength of 14%, using only high-purity alcohol.

In 1889, the World Exhibition opened in Paris, to which Pyotr Smirnov brought not only liqueurs and vodkas already known to the whole world, but also a new drink, which later became the most famous in the Smirnov vodka family, Nezhinskaya Rowan (Nezhinskaya Rowan is one of the best and most popular drinks created at the plant near the Cast Iron Bridge). It was she who conquered Paris, became the sensation of the exhibition and everyone's favorite. French newspapers wrote about her, as about a Russian miracle, and experts were amazed at the unprecedented and exquisite aroma and taste. In addition, the jury was fascinated by the unusual shape of the bottle: a cone elongated like a swan's neck, and at the base - a corrugated "skirt". "Nezhinskaya" was so good that it immediately hit the covers of fashion magazines. And drink pleasure, and watch pleasure. And the shape of this bottle was invented by Pyotr Arsenievich himself, he loved to draw, and almost all the famous decanters and bottles were first born in his office.

The case in Paris ended as usual: "Nezhinskaya Rowan" was awarded the Big Gold Medal. The success of Ryabinova both in Moscow and throughout Russia was complete. It instantly became so popular that the factory did not have time to produce it. Competitors got excited, began to make rowan tinctures, rowan on cognac and so on. Only the rivals did not succeed in such a mountain ash as Nezhinskaya. Mountain ash is usually bitter, but Smirnov's is sweet. Maybe add sugar? Or some syrup? What's the secret? Maybe rowan special? They rushed to collect mountain ash near the city of Nizhyn, but they made a mistake - they had to collect it in the wrong place, the wrong mountain ash. But Pyotr Arsenievich foresaw all this and deliberately confused the competitors with the name.

And it was like that. Initially, "Nezhinskaya" was called "Nevezhinskaya", since she was from the village of Nevezhina, in the Vladimir province, not far from Suzdal. Rowan here is really special, there is no such thing in the world. It is sweet, of different shades - from red and purple to yellow. Pyotr Smirnov knew a lot about herbs and berries since childhood, since Yaroslavl distillers and healers have long used them for vodkas and healing potions. He himself and his vodka masters never worked blindly, at random, but attracted specialists, including scientists from Moscow University. Smirnov's people throughout European Russia were looking for raw materials for the manufacture of special varieties of tinctures, liqueurs and vodkas. Pyotr Arsenyevich knew where in the North it is better to collect juniper cones, where the most fragrant mint grows in the Moscow region, and where is lemon balm, and where is anise and coriander. Which swamps in the Novgorod province have the best cranberries. He had the best connections with the owners of distilleries, with merchants who sold bread. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the researcher's curiosity once led him to the village of Nevezhino. It was in the autumn of 1888 shortly after the return of Pyotr Smirnov from Spain, where in Barcelona his grape wines and vodkas received another gold medal, and Pyotr Arsenievich himself became a Knight of the Order of St. Isabella, bestowed on him personally by the Spanish king for outstanding contribution to industry.

In that year, the mountain ash was born to glory. Local peasants willingly earned money by collecting half a ton of rowan clusters for a Moscow merchant. They were frozen, and then put into action. The vodka turned out to be excellent, a box of which Pyotr Arsenievich sent to the Spanish king.

And then Smirnov realized: if he managed to make a tincture, others will be able to, especially since it is not difficult to find the village of Nevezhino by name. Therefore, he ordered to change the name and redo the ready-made etiquette, explaining "So that others do not covet." So instead of "Nevezhinskaya" the name "Nezhinskaya" appeared, more harmonious and romantic. And most importantly, it knocked inquisitive competitors off the trail for many years.

The company stubbornly follows its motto - "to give the best, develop products from first-class materials and spare no expense and expense on improved production devices."

Juniper from the North, herbs from the Moscow region, cranberries from Valdai, mountain ash from near Suzdal - this was the embodiment of the motto "Giving the best." And this was the basis of the amazing variety that amazed the range of drinks of the P.A. Smirnov plant - from Maraskino to Cherry Vodka, from Finn-Champagne to Nezhinskaya Rowan, from table wine No. 21 beloved by the people to liquor "White Plum", adored by the Empress.

The history of the appearance of the "Nezhinskaya Rowan" largely explains the reasons for the long-term success of P.A. Smirnov's company, which did not give up its position for three decades. On the contrary, year after year her popularity grew, because people's confidence in her grew, because Pyotr Smirnov did not tire of surprising the public with his new products, which were reported on price lists under the heading "Remarkable News". In due course, Zubrovka, Travnichek, Sukharnichek, Limonnichek, English Bitter, Little Russian Casserole, Spotykach (from stewed cherries), Fresh Cherry (a tincture of outstanding dignity), “Leaflet”, “Mamura, (liqueur from the berries of northern Russia), “Erofeich” (on twenty herbs).

In the 1990s, the assortment of the Smirnov factory consisted of more than four hundred names, which did not include another hundred foreign ones, which Smirnov always traded, as if giving the buyer the opportunity to compare: whose is better - ours or foreign?

The names of creme-martinique liqueurs of twelve types sound like poetry: fleur d'orange, chocolate, tangerine, walnut, maraschino, vanilla, orange, pink, coffee, tea, anise, lemon.

Berry liqueurs in decanters: cherry, blackcurrant, raspberry, strawberry, Little Russian casserole, raspberry, strawberry, princely, mountain ash, Little Russian plum.

According to the price list of P.A. Smirnov, you can order both red Chateau Lafitte and Chateau Larose, and white Chateau Yquem and Langoran, these are from Bordeaux. And you can Burgundian, including the famous Nuit and Chablis, you can, if you wish, Rhine, Moselle, for example, Liebfraumilch. Would you like to choose from seventeen varieties of Spanish sherry or ten widows of Madera? Or maybe rum "Jamaican" or "White"? or Hungarian wines? Or balms?

Bitter vodkas from P.A. Smirnov’s plant

You can order Russian grape wines and, of course, something stronger from the house near the Chugunny Bridge. There are twenty varieties of bitter vodka alone! Hunting, Fruity, Chinese, Sea, Forest, Persian, French, Volga, German, Siberian (in a black bear dish), Afghan bitterness, Northern (carp in a dish), Kama, Riga Black Balsam, Cinnaia, Swiss Absinthe, Dutch Gin, Kirschwasser, Orange essence.

Not every winemaker could afford such a variety of assortment. For this, it was necessary to have considerable funds, and suitable specialists, and powerful production. All this was in the hands of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov.

In 1896, Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov was preparing for the most important exam in his life - the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition, appointed by the Decree of Emperor Alexander III, which was already held under Nicholas II and which became an event in national history. It was held next to the traditional Nizhny Novgorod Fair.

Among its attractions was a fabulous showcase of P.A. Smirnov’s factory. It consisted entirely of bottles and kegs, forming a huge tricolor arch: the colors of the national flag. Electric pears were installed inside the bottles. When the imperial couple, surrounded by bells in white caftans, approached the arch of their Supplier, they flared up with electric fire. Here the tsar was brought a cup of Nezhin mountain ash, which he drank with pleasure. Nicholas and Alexandra were delighted. The whole retinue with delight examined the arch of bottles, which either went out or flared up. Even the bells, the sons of merchants in disguise, put aside their decorative axes and clapped their hands like children. In a luxurious album about the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition of 1896, there is a large essay on the history of the P.A. Smirnov plant. There is also a description of a showcase made of bottles, and many, many figures and facts that reveal the scale of the Smirnov family business. Following the results of the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition in September, P.A. Smirnov’s plant received the fourth State Emblem.

Nobody had such a collection of coats of arms. In addition, the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, hastened to correct what had been overlooked, making Pyotr Smirnov a Supplier to his Court - that is, to the Court of Imperial Highness.

Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov received the last gold medal in his life, as reported by World Illustration, at an exhibition in 1897 in Stockholm for the high quality of refined table wine, vodka, berry liqueurs and liquors. P. A. Smirnov’s factory put up almost its entire price list, designed in the form of a spacious wine cellar, which was visited by Swedish King Oscar II with Crown Prince Gustav and Prince Karl. Three representatives of the dynasty were quite satisfied with the Smirnoff drinks, which they themselves tasted, not entrusting such an important matter to the retinue.

It is not difficult to predict the outcome of the august visit: the king of Sweden and Norway decided that he was no worse than the Russian emperor and also elevated P. Smirnov to the rank of Supplier of his Court. The balance sheet for 1897, last signed by Peter Smirnov, amounted to a fabulous amount for those times: 19,713,955 rubles! Profit for the year amounted to 757,549 rubles. 13 million paid for excises!

Anticipating a family split and division of property after his death, trying to at least somehow protect his business, in which his whole life was invested, from collapse, Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov in 1893 filed a petition with the office of the Moscow Governor-General for approval of the Charter of the Vodka Factory Partnership, which was satisfied. It was a rejection of the sole management of the business, Pyotr Arsenievich tried to gradually introduce his sons into the business. In addition, the charter did not give any of them any special rights and opportunities to use the shares. And in his will, drawn up in 1897, he far-sightedly stipulated the condition that the shares be kept in the cash desk of the Partnership until the sons reach the age of thirty-five.

A well-written will for several years reliably protected the capital of P.A. Smirnov from squandering, which largely determined the stable operation of the plant, when in 1898, on November 29, the managing director P.A. Smirnov died.

P.P. Smirnov

After the death of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov and his wife, Maria Nikolaevna, the eldest sons Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir became the owners of the largest vodka factory in Russia and warehouses for cognacs and grape wines.

The economy was well-established, as before, Lomakin remained the chief vodka master, so for some time the plant could successfully work by inertia, without the firm hand of the founder. But by 1901, the Partnership's profits had fallen catastrophically. It was a commercial failure. And on November 20, 1902, an extraordinary meeting of shareholders decided to immediately begin the liquidation of the P.A. Smirnov Vodka Factory Partnership.

N.P. Smirnov

All movable and immovable property of the vodka factory worth 3,240,000 rubles was sold to the elder brothers Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir Smirnov, who on January 1, 1903 established a new trading house "P.A. Smirnov in Moscow". The share capital of the new Trading Scrap amounted to 600 thousand rubles. None of the comrades could transfer their rights in the Trading House to another person during their lifetime without the written consent of all the other founders.

The fate of the plant worried the brothers a little. But the eldest, Peter, understood that sooner or later he would have to deal with the plant, and he had a paternal ambition. And by seniority, the answer for all the failures to keep him. For the last few years he had been close to his father and therefore knew the business in general terms. Gradually, Petr Petrovich bought up from Vladimir Petrovich and Nikolai Petrovich their shares from their father's inheritance and in fact took possession of all the real estate of the company. Soon Nikolai Petrovich came under guardianship for squandering and left the company. Vladimir concluded an agreement with Peter on the transfer of all rights and privileges to him for 500,000 rubles, and from December 21, 1904, Vladimir Petrovich no longer had anything to do with the P.A. Smirnov Trading House.

V.P. Smirnov

Since January 1, 1905, Petr Petrovich Smirnov has been the sole owner of the Trading House. Soon a revolution broke out in Moscow, but the workers of the factory and warehouses continued to work and did not take part in strikes and at the barricades. Profit fell, the number of workers decreased, but still the company's products were approved by experts, although P.A. Smirnov's plant had not produced such drinks as Nezhinskaya Rowan or table wine No. 40 for several years. However, at the International Exhibition in Milan in 1906, the P.A. Smirnov Trading House presented its exposition and received a gold medal for Smirnov vodka.

The following year, in Bordeaux, France, the International Maritime Exhibition was held, at which P.A. Smirnov rightfully exhibited its products: on all military and merchant ships under the Russian flag, one could find reserves of table wine No. 21, or simply the most the cheapest and most beloved vodka in the Navy. The success was complete: Smirnov's products received the Grand Prix. This was the last award in the history of the plant, and the last exhibition in Bordeaux, in which the plant took part.

Competitors have always pursued Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov, and Pyotr Petrovich inherited this. The rivals sensed that no one could replace the powerful vodka king, and began to attack the Trading House under the firm "P.A. Smirnov" with a vengeance. The best answer to competitors was the opening on Tverskaya, directly opposite the house of the governor-general, a luxury wine store, conceived by my father. And this was very important, since the sale of Smirnoff wines in Moscow was steadily declining, a store in the busiest place, next to Eliseevsky, next to the Dresden Hotel, next to Stoleshnikov, had to improve things.

The growth of competition has become one of the reasons for the approaching decline of the Smirnovskaya vodka empire. In addition, Russia entered an era of upheavals, which could not but affect the work of the plant. And let's face it: Pyotr Petrovich could not fully replace the large-scale figure of Pyotr Arsenyevich. He had no commercial talent, no authority, no courage, no firmness of his father's character. Pyotr Arsenievich knew the business in all its subtleties, relied on folk traditions and tastes, was not afraid to invent new things, spend money on experiments. Almost every medal in his collection is for some novelty. Perhaps that is why competitors could not catch up with him, he was always a little ahead. He was a leader in spirit, and his scope, his outstanding personality ensured long fame for the plant near the Cast Iron Bridge. And most importantly, in the thirty-five years in which he ran the plant, he never put defective drinks on sale, he improved their quality from year to year and never evaded taxes to the treasury. It must be admitted that his son did not possess such moral qualities.

They went out of business, and then Nikolai and Vladimir completely disappeared. For a short time fate was favorable to Peter. In April 1910, he died suddenly, and the widow of Pyotr Petrovich Evgenia Ilyinichna Smirnova stood at the helm of the Smirnov family business.

Occasionally, some events reminded of the former prosperity of the firm of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov. A few months after his death, the quartermaster of the Spanish royal court informs that His Majesty the King of Spain satisfies the request of the Trading House of P.A. Moscow plant.

For the distillery industry, 1914 was a disaster. Since the beginning of the war, the plant near the Cast Iron Bridge stopped producing strong drinks and began to produce vinegar from the stocks of sour wine and various fruit drinks. For some time, the production of grape wine and cognac was preserved.

Nicholas II banned the state-owned sale of vodka and gave the local authorities the right to decide on the introduction of dry law in cities and provinces. They decided, as it seemed, to end the long and completely unsuccessful struggle against drunkenness with one blow. It can be said with confidence that the P.A. Smirnov company actually ceased to exist not under the Bolsheviks, but much earlier, with the first decree of Nicholas II on the ban on strong drinks.

By the middle of the war, no more than a hundred people remained in the warehouses and the factory from one and a half thousand workers.

After the February Revolution of 1917, a factory committee was formed at the plant. New power I was afraid of an uncontrollable drunken crowd, so my attitude towards vodka has not changed. The vodka factory had to vegetate and wait for better times. The interim government demanded from the Excise Departments the strictest accounting of all alcohol in the country. By the autumn of 1917, even wine trade had almost completely ceased. After the Bolshevik coup, the nominal owner of the plant, Evgenia Ilyinichna, married the Italian consul Dalla Vale Rici and left Russia.

In 1918, the factory and the house near the Chugunny Bridge became "public property". The trading house "P.A. Smirnov" still existed for some time, but there were no more Smirnovs in its board.

Arseny Petrovich Smirnov, the son of Pyotr Petrovich and Evgenia Ilyinichna, became a modest Soviet employee and completely forgot about the sins of youth.

Sergei Petrovich was the publisher of the newspaper "Morning" and died at the beginning of the century from consumption.

Vladimir Petrovich Smirnov went first to the south, to the White Army, then left Russia, ended up in Poland, then settled in Nice and died in exile.

Traces of Nicholas are lost. Presumably he died in the early 20s.

The youngest of the sons of Pyotr Arsenyevich, Alexei Petrovich Smirnov, remained in Moscow, a bright, talented, original person. He graduated from the Sorbonne, knew five languages, wrote stories for children, composed music, but there was no merchant vein in him. At 34, he died suddenly from an attack of angina pectoris.

In the meantime, in October 1918, the plant at the Cast Iron Bridge was transferred from private hands to the state. In 1921, Prohibition was partially abolished. It was allowed to sell wines to the population not stronger than fourteen degrees. Then the sale of wines with a strength of up to twenty degrees is allowed, a decree is issued on the size of wine bottles. And then - a permit for the production of tinctures and liqueurs. And, finally, Gosspirt announced the start of the production of vodka products. And although everything old pre-revolutionary was diligently expelled, this rule did not apply to the recipes and secrets of making vodka. Therefore, in the announcement of Gosspirt it was said that "the best masters of the old firms were involved in the participation."

The "old firm" was, first of all, the plant near the Cast Iron Bridge, and the "best master" was Vladimir Alexandrovich Lomakin, a virtuoso and expert in his field, a favorite and faithful employee of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov. Thanks to this remarkable person, the main advantages of Russian vodka, awarded with medals at world exhibitions, were preserved even during the years of socialism, when many skills, traditions, craftsmanship were lost and forever forgotten.

Lomakin was given the same position that he had under Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov - a vodka master. At the same time, he was in charge of a vodka warehouse. In two years, he managed to establish the production of liqueurs, liqueurs, vodkas according to old Smirnov recipes. His vast experience, the secrets of the craft, professional responsibility for quality - all this did not die, but became a support in the activities of the former state-owned warehouse, which over the years turned into a powerful world-famous plant "Kristall", which rightfully became the heir to the plant of P.A. Smirnov, maintaining continuity in the traditions of Russian winemaking.

In 1923, a joint-stock company for the production and trade of wines and vodka products, Neptorg, was created under the All-Union Agricultural Sciences of the RSFSR. Vintorg's base was a factory and warehouses near the Cast Iron Bridge. The plant at the Chugunny Bridge ceased to exist in 1930, and the production of vodka was transferred to the Smirnovsky warehouse for grape wines, which eventually turned into a sparkling wine factory, and is now known as the Cornet.

In 1933 Prohibition was repealed in America. Old firms were reopened, new ones were opened, a well-known trademark was needed that would guarantee demand. And then in America they remembered Peter Smirnov's vodka. She was well remembered from the World Exhibitions in Philadelphia and Chicago, where table wine No. 21 was a hit.

According to the American version, the son of Pyotr Arsenyevich Vladimir Petrovich Smirnov, who lived in Nice in those years, sells the rights to the world-famous company "P.A. Smirnov" to Rudolf Kannet, an American citizen, a native of Russia. This event served as the starting point for the birth of the Smirnoff company, which began to produce Russian Smirnoff vodka, though without Mytishchi water, without Smirnoff technology, without Peter Smirnov's recipes.

The agreement with Kannet was signed by Vladimir Smirnov and three of his companions in August 1933. Kannet was granted the right to reproduce and use the invention of various emblems, medals, coats of arms, signs and prizes.

In America, there were many stocks of real Smirnovskaya, brought to the States from Russia even before the revolution. Labels were printed with a new name and state emblems of Russia, with the title of Supplier of the Royal Court. And things went. The authority of the name of Peter Smirnov in America was so great that people, without thinking about the authenticity of the item, bought bottles of "white whiskey".

In 1938, Rudolf Kannet, as president of Pierre Smirnoff, signs an agreement with the Hubline Corporation from Connecticut, which at the same time becomes the actual owner of the company.

In the early 80s in Russia, they finally remembered that Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov was a famous Russian winemaker. And what is rather disappointing when not Russia, but America and England receive income from the right to use this name, known on all continents. A lawsuit was filed against Hubline and Schneider Import, which distributed Smirnoff vodka in Germany. The trial took place in 1982, and then in 1986 in Cologne, according to which Hubline was forbidden to refer to Russia and “to the connection of the product with the Russian trading house of Peter Smirnov.” But this decision concerned only the borders of Germany.

The great-great-grandson of Peter Arsenievich Smirnov, Boris Alekseevich, decided to revive the glory of the Smirnov family and revive the production of vodkas, liqueurs, liqueurs according to grandfather's recipes. A great success for him was the day when the widow of his great-grandfather Alexei Petrovich, Tatyana Andrianovna Mukhanova-Smirnova, gave him an old box with recipes for making famous vodkas and liqueurs at the factory of Pyotr Arsenyevich, which she kept all her life. 287 recipes. Here is Spotykach: prune tincture, alcohol, cherry and almond essences, vanilla infusion, syrup. The color is cherry with a brown tint. Here are "Robin", "Lemon", "Khinnaya", "Orange", "Allash Russian". Finally, the world-famous No. 21 Bread Wine - it's all about cleansing with well-burnt charcoal.

The first batch, prepared according to the old method, was produced in 1992 at a distillery in Krymsk, Krasnodar Territory, and amounted to only a few boxes. These were already branded drinks, and they had a name: Smirnov. The return took place.

Upon learning of this, "Hubline - Pierre Smirnoff" sued Boris Smirnov. But the court in the city of Krymsk rejected the claim as unsubstantiated and unfair.

After experiments in Krymsk with three boxes of table wine No. 21, Boris Smirnov changed more than one vodka distillery until he settled on Chernogolovka, near Moscow, where the idea of ​​reviving the best national vodka was warmly supported. Cooperation turned out to be mutually beneficial, and soon at fairs, and then in stores, a bottle appeared with the image of a house near the Cast Iron Bridge - table wine No. 21, table wine No. 31, Ryabinovaya, Lemonnichek, Suharnichek. so far fifteen titles. Compared to P.A. Smirnov’s price list, it’s more than modest, but Pyotr Arsenievich himself had all his liqueurs and tinctures, bitter and sweet vodkas for more than one year. Boris Smirnov is going to restore a significant part of the Smirnov assortment for the needs of all tastes.

The Moscow government returned the legendary house near the Chugunny Bridge to the Smirnov family to continue the traditional business. Boris Alekseevich placed here the Trading House of the descendants of the Supplier of the Court of His Imperial Majesty and made a complete restoration of the building. The current owner has restored the home to its former glory. As in the time of Pyotr Arsenyevich, there is a Trading House and a luxury store on the ground floor, where the best drinks are sold according to the recipes of P.A. Smirnov. On the second floor is the office of Boris Alekseevich, where a portrait of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov, the great "vodka king" of Russia, hangs over a spacious oak table.

(b. 1831 - d. 1898)

Russian entrepreneur, owner of the largest distillery in Russia and a network of trading establishments selling alcoholic beverages. The creator of the famous Smirnov vodka and many other popular alcoholic beverages. A 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 enjoyed 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. The former peasant Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov started out as a clerk in a wine cellar, and for a long time his name did not say anything to the layman. Then no one knew that this name would become known to the whole world. Smirnov managed not only to break out into the people, but became the richest man in Russia, a commerce 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, in the family of serfs Arseny Alekseevich and Matrena Grigorievna Alekseev. Since the time of the war with Napoleon, their large family has been engaged in fishing for the “tasting” of Kizlyar and “Rensky” (Rhine) wines, which allowed them to save money, buy free and move to live in Moscow. Having become free people, the Alekseevs received permission to bear the surname Smirnov, one of the most common on the Upper Volga.

My labor activity little Petya started at the age of 10. He was given by his father "in the service" of his brother, Ivan Alekseevich, who was engaged in the sale of vodka, liqueurs and tinctures. When in 1860 Arseny Smirnov opened his own wine cellar in Zamoskvorechye, Peter began working as a clerk for his father. There were at least 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 Arseniy realized that at the age of 60 he could not manage affairs with the same energy, and transferred the powers of the manager to his son.

By the end of 1861, Peter Smirnov became a merchant of the third guild. And after a while, he decided not only to trade, but also to start his own "fabrication of wines". For the rest of his life, he remembered the words once said by his father about poor quality vodka: "It's time to make your own, Smirnoff!" In addition, at that time, the necessary legal prerequisites for a new business were created in the country. Everyone was allowed to engage not only in the aging and sale of Rhine wines, but also in the preparation of "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 factory, which employed only 9 hired workers, and a store - the “Rensky cellar”.

At first, all the products of the new enterprise easily fit in several barrels. But, thanks to the diligence of the founder of the company, his conscientious attitude to business and attention to the interests of the consumer, the business progressed noticeably in a short time. Over time, it became possible to expand the range of products and increase the number of workers up to 25 people.

Gradually, production became more complicated and expanded. By the beginning of the 1870s. the factory already employed about seventy workers, and its output was doubling every year. Not the last role in such a rapid take-off was played by the original 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 they everywhere in the taverns demanded only Smirnoff 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 merchants, had a beautiful house, a promising factory, huge warehouses and trade relations with many cities of the country. But competitors did not doze off. They also tried to make their drinks better to win over the market, and they were a real threat. There is an urgent need to confirm its primacy by recognizing 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 the Honorary Diploma and the medal of the participant in the competition. This was the first official recognition of professionals. Since then, almost every year the company has received the highest world and domestic awards.

The best “work” of Smirnov was recognized by the international jury as “white wine”, which possessed pristine purity and originality. Before the revolution, white table wine was called a drink, which 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 consisted in a careful selection of the best raw materials and a strictly controlled filtration process.

Already in 1876, Smirnovskaya 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 Peter 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 the competition and made it a leader in the vodka industry and wine trade.

Two years later, at the World Exhibition in Paris, the Smirnov plant was awarded two gold medals at once: for “refined table 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 re-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 offering everyone who wanted 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 order, Pyotr Arsenyevich was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav of the III degree, and his company was declared the official and sole supplier of vodka to the table of the Russian monarch: “The Moscow merchant Pyotr Smirnov has been graciously granted the title of Supplier of the Supreme Court. Gatchina, November 22, 1886. It was the moment of the highest happiness, the merchant went to this cherished goal for many years. In this regard, a few days later, in all Moscow newspapers, an appeal was published by the main office of the wine trade P.A. firms." Following this, the image of the third State Emblem of the Russian Empire appeared on the corks and seals that closed the bottles with the best Smirnoff "works".

Since that time, the surname "Smirnov" has become a universal trademark, personifying guaranteed quality. Soon, vodka from the Moscow factory "At the Chugunny Most" became the favorite drink of the King of Sweden and Norway, Oscar II. And in 1888, the products of the Smirnovsky enterprise were so liked at the World Exhibition in Barcelona that the King of Spain awarded the owner of the plant with the Order of St. Isabella. In his homeland, Smirnov, already quite favored by fate and power, was awarded the title of commerce adviser by a nominal imperial decree “with His Majesty's own signature”. The following year, at the World Exhibition in Paris, he first demonstrated the Nezhinskaya Rowan tincture to the European public and received a Grand Gold Medal for it.

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

Already by the beginning of the 1890s. The Smirnov distillery was equipped with steam engines and had electric lighting. It employed up to 1.5 thousand people. The following figures testify to the scale of this production: its main turnover was 17 million rubles, of which 9 million rubles were paid to the state in excise duty for refined table wine and alcohol. The plant annually produced up to 45 million "dishes" (bottles). Up to 180,000 poods of charcoal per year were used to purify table wine. Smirnov's firm leased 7 glass factories producing annually up to 7 million bottles of various shapes and sizes. Four printing houses printed more than 60 million labels and labels on her order, and more than 120 thousand rubles a year were spent on the purchase of corks. Only for the transportation of products of the vodka plant within Moscow, 120 carts were hired daily.

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

The overwhelming success of the business was not so much due to the increase in the scale of production and sales, but due to the relentless improvement of products. After all, the basic principle of Pyotr Arsenyevich, in his own words, was to "give the best, develop products from first-class Russian material and spare no expense and expense on the most advanced production apparatus."

Possessing a special commercial flair and the gift of foresight, constantly studying the 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 the factory production various sweet tinctures and home-made liqueurs: raspberry, chocolate, nut, etc., the best of which was still Nezhinskaya Rowan.

Year after year, the popularity of the company grew. Smirnov did not get tired of surprising the public with his novelties, which the newspapers reported under the heading "Remarkable News". So, Zubrovka, Travnichek, Sukharnichek, Limonnichek, English Bitter, Little Russian Casserole, Spotykach, Fresh Cherry (a tincture of outstanding dignity), Leaflet ”, “Mamura” (liqueur from the berries of northern Russia), “Erofeich” (on twenty herbs), etc.

But Table Wine No. 21 was in special demand at 40 kopecks per bottle. This drink (belonging to the cheapest 4th grade) "gained the right of citizenship everywhere: in officers' canteens, soldiers' tea rooms, as well as in the Russian Navy and in special "ladies' buffets", at wakes and weddings, and even at celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896 in Moscow. Thanks to the "drinking softness" of this variety of table wine, its affordable price, it has become essentially a "folk" strong drink.

In the 1890s The assortment of Smirnov's 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 are better. Now its stocks were already located on the territory of 15 huge warehouses, and the number of people employed in the production and trade of alcoholic beverages reached 25 thousand people.

Pyotr Arsenievich received his last gold medal, as reported by World Illustration, at an exhibition in 1897 in Stockholm for the high quality of refined table wine, berry liqueurs and liquors. The Smirnov plant exhibited almost its entire range there. The pavilion was designed in the form of a spacious wine cellar, which was personally visited by Oscar II with Crown Prince Gustav and Prince Carl. Three representatives of the royal dynasty were satisfied with the Smirnov drinks, which they tasted themselves, not entrusting such a responsible event to the 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 beggars in the Pyatnitskaya part" of the city of Moscow, taking a personal part in the fate of disadvantaged people. Since 1873, he was an honorary member of the Council of Orphanages under the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria Feodorovna, he made his "special personal contribution to the care of homeless 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.

In the sphere of his constant charitable activities were the Moscow Eye and Alekseevskaya Psychiatric Hospitals; the Moscow Department of the Guardianship of the Blind and the Society of Military Doctors with its own free hospital; Iberian Community of Sisters of Mercy and the Society for Assistance to Needy Siberians and Siberian Women Studying in Educational Institutions; elementary school of the Moscow Palace Office and the Guardianship of insufficient students of the Elizabethan Women's Gymnasium.

But Pyotr Arsenievich showed special love and participation in the “beautification” of churches. Large nominal contributions were made by him for the arrangement and restoration of the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin. And in the Annunciation and Verkhospassky Cathedrals, he even was the headman and psalmist. 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 ornament of any large city.

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

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

In 1898, Pyotr Arsenievich fell ill. According to relatives, for about six months he mostly lay on the couch and did not talk to anyone. Unable to withstand the blow inflicted on his empire by the introduction of the state alcohol monopoly, the “king of Russian vodka” died on December 12, 1898, having bequeathed 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 the death of Smirnov, his widow Maria Nikolaevna remained the heirs of the business (Peter Arsenievich's first wife died a year after the next birth, and after a while he married a second time) and five sons from both marriages. According to the will, the inheritance shares allocated to them were to be in the cash desk of the Partnership until the sons reached the age of 35, but for now they could only receive dividends on them. In the name of each of the eight daughters, 30 thousand rubles were put 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 well-written will for several years reliably protected the capital of P. A. Smirnov from fragmentation, which largely determined the stable operation of the plant. However, in 1899 Maria Nikolaevna died suddenly. There were rumors that her death was violent, and her stepdaughters were suspected of this. The share of the widow's inheritance passed to the younger sons - Vladimir, Sergei and Alexei. The balance provided for by the will was upset, which created such 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 stepbrothers. 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, changing their addresses.

In 1902, the "P. A. Smirnov Partnership" was liquidated, and with the funds received as a result of this operation, the older brothers "repurchased 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 firm of P. A. Smirnov in Moscow." However, soon Nikolai, who led a wasteful lifestyle, and Vladimir, who was only interested in breeding horses, left the family business, selling their shares to their brother.

Until his sudden death in 1910, Petr Petrovich Smirnov remained the sole legal owner of the enterprise and trademark. Then the management of the famous firm passed to his widow, Evgenia Ilyinichna (née Morozova). But the state of wine and vodka production was of little interest to her. She spent a lot of time abroad, and in 1917 she stayed there forever, having married the Italian consul De La Valle-Richi. 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 worked 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 repeal 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 didn't know anything about vodka. As a result, the company was on the verge of collapse.

Kunett turned to the president of Huebline Inc. for help. John Martin. He also had no idea what vodka was, but Smirnoff bought the license for the 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 made with a stamp on the cork "Smirnoff Whiskey". This product was marketed in South Carolina as "flavorless white whiskey" and quickly won the hearts of local consumers.

So since 1939, Smirnovskaya vodka received American citizenship, and since the late 1940s. has already taken root so much that it began to replace gin in the recipes of the most popular cocktails. 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 businessman Boris Alekseevich Smirnov and his father registered a small enterprise “P. A. Smirnov and descendants in Moscow. With him began the revival of the company. The heirs not only restored the ancestral home at the Chugunny Bridge, but also resumed the trade in alcoholic beverages, both of their own production and foreign under the family trademark "Smirnov".

Now, slowly but surely, the same surname divides the world in half for itself. And each of the participants in the competitive struggle considers only himself the sole owner of the famous name. Litigation on this issue has not subsided for many years. True, they affect only the marketing side of the business, and as for technology, the Americans are silent here. The fact that "Smirnoff" has nothing to do with "Smirnov" has been proven as a result of numerous laboratory studies. And it doesn’t even matter whether Boris Smirnov actually possesses the prescription 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.

Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov was born in 1831, into a family of serfs, in the village of Kayurovo, Myshkinsky district, Yaroslavl province. His father Arseny, having received freedom for himself and his eldest sons Yakov and Peter, left with them for Moscow. A year later they opened a small wine cellar.

Pyotr Smirnov was the support of his father and actually led the family business. The shop sold grape wine “drinking and to go”. But Peter dreamed of opening his own factory. There is a legend that one day a lady came into the shop and presented the young clerk with a lottery ticket. He turned out to be a winner. With the money received, Pyotr Smirnov (who by that time had become a merchant of the second guild) built a small vodka factory on Ovchinnikovskaya Embankment, near the Cast Iron Bridge, where at first 9 people worked. The plant immediately began to produce 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 plant itself. Labels with the image of this house are placed on the bottles.

In 1873, Peter Smirnov takes part in the international industrial exhibition in Vienna, where he has an incredible success. He receives a medal and an honorary diploma of the participant. On the American exhibition in Philadelphia, Smirnov's products are awarded a gold medal. After some time, Tsar Alexander III himself wished that the merchant Smirnov became the supplier of His Imperial Majesty.

The range of products and their quality amazed even the most picky connoisseurs of alcohol. Table wines became the pride of Smirnov. This was the name of 40-degree 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 to the people at the coronation of Nicholas II.

In addition to table wine, Smirnov produced various berry tinctures, liqueurs and cognacs - Cherry, Nezhinskaya Rowan, Maraskino, Fin-Champagne, etc. Rowan for Nezhinskaya Rowan tincture was collected in the village of Nevezhino, Vladimir Region, where the mountain ash was extremely sweet, but Smirnov, for the sake of conspiracy, called the tincture "Nezhinskaya" so that competitors would go to the Ukrainian city for mountain ash.

Pyotr Arsenievich approached the choice of workers very carefully. He himself was a non-drinker, and when he hired a worker, he offered him a taste of 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 eschewed luxury. He walked, easily found a common language with the workers and knew them all almost by name. During the revolution of 1905, the workers of Smirnov not only did not take part in strikes, but, taking up arms, guarded the factory and warehouses from the revolutionary masses.

By 1896, the number of workers increased to 1,500 people, the assortment of the plant expanded to four hundred types of various drinks. Different drinks were poured into different containers. For example, Siberian vodka was bottled in the shape of a bear. Some products were even to the taste of the imperial family. Empress Maria Fedorovna was very fond of the White Plum liqueur, which was produced only by Smirnov.

Petr 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. The family business was inherited by his sons, but things did not go well for them. And in 1914, during the war, prohibition was introduced, and the company had to be converted to soft drinks.

After the revolution in 1918, the plant was nationalized, it stopped its work. Pyotr Smirnov's son Vladimir sold the rights to P.A. Smirnov" to an American citizen, who began to produce Smirnoff vodka, but using a completely different technology.

Pyotr Smirnov's mansion still stands on the corner of Pyatnitskaya Street and Ovchinnikovskaya Embankment, and now there is a shop selling drinks according to the recipes of the famous "vodka king".