At the corner of Pyatnitskaya Street and Ovchinnikovskaya Embankment there is a mansion, as if frozen in time. This house was built in the middle of the 19th century by the merchant Morkovkin. Almost nothing is known about him, except that he came from the peasants of Count Sheremetev. The main history of the house is connected with the wine and vodka king of the Russian Empire, Peter Arsenyevich Smirnov. The side of the house still flaunts the inscription "Supplier of the court of HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov"

Vodka King of Tsarist Russia Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov founded his brand in 1862. The most popular drinks were: table wine "No. 21" and tincture "Nezhinskaya Rowan"

The future businessman Pyotr Smirnov was born in a family of serfs. Even as a child, Peter watched his uncle and father brew wine and sell it on holidays. After the abolition of serfdom, the Smirnov family decided to make winemaking their main source of income. From childhood, Peter began to take part in family affairs: after working for some time as a clerk for his father, he organized his own wine production.

"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, Smirnovskaya!"

Shustov, A. S. Album of the participants of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896 - St. Petersburg. : A type. Moscow Ways of Communication, 1896. - Sec. pag. : ill.

The business developed quite rapidly: the brand became more recognizable, the number of cellars, warehouses, production outlets and stores increased. The entrepreneur was able to achieve such success thanks to his good reputation and established trade relations. Smirnov worked only with his relatives, who were faithful to him, and in the production of wine he used only high-quality raw materials: spring water, alcohol not from beets, but from bread grains, good berries and fruits.

from here

Smirnov was engaged in the search for fruits and berries on his own, going around the agricultural lands of his region and looking for unknown varieties. Pyotr Smirnov's company produced not only wine, but also vodka, liquor, tinctures and liqueurs. The number of titles was about 400.

Smirnov Pyotr Arsenievich (1831-1898)- wine merchant and wine merchant, Moscow and St. Petersburg (since 1892) 1st guild merchant, commerce adviser, founder (1893) and director of the Association of Vodka Factory, Warehouses of Wine, Alcohol and Russian and Foreign Grape Wines P.A. Smirnov in Moscow. Member of the Moscow Committee for the Care of the Poor, Honorary Member of the Moscow Council of Orphanages under the Department of Empress Maria Feodorovna, Trustee of the Alexander-Mariinsky Women's School, Honorary Member of the Board of Trustees of the Moscow Eye Hospital, Trustee of the Iberian Community of Sisters of Mercy, Warden of the Annunciation and Verkhospassky Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin.

1870s

During the expansion of production, Petr Arsenievich literally lived at the plant. In 1867, he bought himself a two-story house on Pyatnitskaya for 50,000 silver rubles. After the repair, which lasted about a year, the whole family and many leading employees of the enterprise of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov moved into the house. Since that time, it has become the "Ancestral House of the Smirnovs"

The house overlooked Ovchinnikovskaya embankment, there was a shop 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. By the end of the 70s, the proceeds from the sale of Smirnovka exceeded 3 million rubles a year - a figure that no one could ever approach until the revolution itself.

An image of a two-story house by P.A. Smirnova on Pyatnitskaya street

Advertising poster of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov at the Cast-iron bridge in Moscowwith the image of a two-story house No. 1 on Pyatnitskaya Street, in which foreign and Russian grape wines were traded, as well as a steam vodka factory in the house of the merchant Shekhobalov. Lithograph by S.G. Grigorieva, M., March 23, 1872).

Having received the right to manufacture products in 1863, Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov in the house of the merchant I.F. Shekhobalov, located in the second quarter of the Pyatnitskaya part in the Sadovnikov district, opens a vodka distillery, which employs 9 people. The image of this plant appeared on the labels and posters of Pyotr Arsenievich, and is also given in the magazine on p.

Vodka was objectively the best on the market, and in 1869 Smirnov filed a petition for recognition of 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.

In 1871, he moved his factory from Shikhobalov's house to Ovchinnikovskaya embankment, house number 6, and soon the number of his employees grew to a hundred.

As a result of commercial efforts and, as it is now called, socially responsible behavior, Pyotr Smirnov becomes a 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 to be recognized 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, the Ministry of Finance allowed Smirnov to put on the labels the state emblem - a double-headed eagle - as a sign of the highest achievement of Russian industry.

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 (according to other sources - from June 28, 1855, only the 1st degree of the Order of St. Stanislav provided the right of hereditary nobility).

Imperial and Royal Order of Saint Stanislaus— This is a state award of the Russian Empire, which lasted from 1831 to 1917. This order was the youngest in seniority among all state orders, it was mainly awarded to officials.

Badge of the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class. Firm of D. Osipov, Petrograd, 1915-1916 ("civilian" version)

Pyotr Smirnov also received other royal awards for the quality of his products - from the Swedish and Spanish kings.

Two-storey mansion on Pyatnitskaya street, bought from the Morkovkins, after Peter Arsenyevich Smirnov was awarded the title of Supplier of the Supreme Court and elevated him and his family to the estate of hereditary honorary citizens, in 1886 it was rebuilt into a three-story military engineer Nikolai Alexandrovich Heinz
T when the entrance acquired a cast-iron porch-canopy. On the first floor of a residential building P.A. Smirnov were commercial premises.

The third son of the merchant, Vladimir, recalled: “It was an amazing house, and I keep the best memories of it as a refugee! large reception hall, father's office. The office was very richly furnished. Paintings hung on the walls, the furniture was made of Karelian birch. A huge desk was specially ordered from Germany.. The third floor was the realm of family peace and peace"

The tax to the treasury was paid very decent. In a year, the company produced products for 17-20 million royal rubles.

Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov treated the needs of his employees with great attention and took care of them as people close to him. Of the 56 houses purchased by Smirnov in Moscow, more than 40 were intended for workers. The following words belong to him: if the workers live badly, they will also work badly. In his will, he is for everyone. left the worker 1000 rubles in gold.

P.A. Smirnov among the workers of his factory

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.

View of Nizhegorodskaya street in Nizhny Novgorod from Figner's theater in flood. Shops of the trading house "P.A. Smirnov"(vodka), joint-stock company "Tamazov S.S. and Co" (Russian grape wines) and the Reddaway Partnership (fire hoses and tarpaulins), pharmacy, rooms (on the right)

After the introduction of the state monopoly, Petr Arsenievich lived for another four years (he died in 1898). 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.

The Smirnov House on Pyatnitskaya, near the Chugunny Bridge in Moscow, where for a long time there was an office, a vodka factory and a shop of Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov, and then the office of the Partnership founded by him.
.

"... Long ago, behind the Moscow River,

On Pyatnitskaya, near the canal,

overgrown with rotten grass,

There was a coal house; life then played

Between the high walls... It's empty now"

(M.Yu. Lermontov.)

It was here that the Smirnov family moved.
.

Smirnov Vladimir Petrovich (1875-1934) --director of the Association of Vodka Factory, Warehouses of Wine, Alcohol and Russian and Foreign Grape Wines P.A. Smirnov in Moscow (1897-1902), director of the trading house "P.A. Smirnov in Moscow" (1902-1905), horse breeder, member of the Moscow Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Trotting Horse Breeding, since 1920 in exile, since 1923 the owner (in Poland and then in France) of the trading house "Peter Smirnoff Sons" ("S-te Pierre Smirnoff F-ls").

1934

Smirnov Petr Petrovich (1868-1910)- director of the trading house "P.A. Smirnov in Moscow" (1902-1910). Member of the Moscow Council of Orphanages, trustee of the Dolgorukovsky orphanage, warden of the Annunciation and Verkhospassky Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin.

1900s (?)

Nikolai Venediktovich Smirnov- Senior Director at the plant of Peter Arsenievich Smirnov. Since 1894 one of the directors of the Association of Vodka Factory, Warehouses of Wine, Alcohol and Russian and Foreign Grape Wines of P.A. Smirnov in Moscow. From 1903 to 1914 he worked in the Trading House, organized by the eldest sons of Peter Arsenievich (Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir). Cousin of Pyotr Arsenyevich Smirnov.

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.

Now let's take a closer look at the house.

View of the bell tower of the Church of John the Baptist

View of the house from Ovchinnikovskaya embankment

Sadovnicheskaya embankment of the Vodootvodny Canal - view from P.A. Smirnova

In my opinion - Bacchus and the vine

Modeling on the walls

A detailed history of the famous dynasty is here "Response of the descendants of Peter Arsenyevich Smirnov ..."

Larisa Letova. "Descendants of P.A. Smirnov, and still living in Moscow."

Smirnov Petr Arsenievich

(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 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 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.

Little Petya began his career 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 Smirnov's "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 favored enough 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 for the first time 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.

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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 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 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.

In order to establish himself, the entrepreneur took up social activities: he became an agent of the Committee on beggars 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, Pyotr Smirnov becomes a 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 to be recognized 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 on the labels the state emblem - the double-headed eagle - 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 - a figure 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, Petr 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, 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.

Contents 1 Known carriers 1.1 A 1.2 B 1.3 ... Wikipedia

Wikipedia has articles about other people with that surname, see Smirnov. Pyotr Smirnov: Smirnov, Pyotr Aleksandrovich (1897 1939) Soviet military figure, deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st convocation. Smirnov, Pyotr Arsenyevich (1831 1898) ... ... Wikipedia

Wikipedia has articles about other people named Vladimir Smirnov. V. P. Smirnov Vladimir Petrovich Smirnov ... Wikipedia

Smirnov Pyotr Aleksandrovich (1897 1939) Soviet military figure, army commissar of the 1st rank. Smirnov Pyotr Arsenyevich Russian entrepreneur, vodka king of Russia, founder of the Smirnoff distillery ... Wikipedia

Vodka Founded: 1860(?) ... Wikipedia

- ... Wikipedia

The Stalin Prize for outstanding inventions and fundamental improvements in production methods is a form of encouragement for citizens of the USSR for significant achievements in the technical development of Soviet industry, the development of new technologies, modernization ... ... Wikipedia

Contents 1 1941 2 1942 3 1943 4 1946 4.1 Awards ... Wikipedia

Contents 1 1980 2 1981 3 1982 4 1983 5 1984 6 1985 ... Wikipedia

List of laureates Contents 1 1967 2 1968 3 1969 4 1970 5 1971 6 ... Wikipedia

Books

• Smirnovs. Vodka business of Russian merchants, Vladimir Smirnov. In the 19th century, one of the most popular Russian goods in the world was the famous Smirnovskaya vodka. The beginning of a grandiose business was laid by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov, a native of Yaroslavl ... electronic book
• Heart diseases and their spa treatment, E. A. Smirnov-Kamensky. Economic progress in our country has led to the elimination of many diseases and a sharp reduction in child mortality. The average human life expectancy has exceeded 70 years. But…

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

Having received his freedom, he went 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 Cast Iron Bridge, which in 1864 employed no more than 25 people. The plant immediately began to produce high quality goods and its products were quickly and widely distributed.

The principle of the plant is "to give the best, to develop products from first-class Russian material and not to spare money and expenses for the most advanced production devices."

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

In 1882, at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow, for the excellent quality of refined wine, as well as excellent vodkas, liquors 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 depict the State Emblem.

By 1896, the number of workers, only at the plant itself, extended to 1,500 people; 120 carts a day delivered products. The total number of people working in one way or another for the Partnership of Peter Arsenievich Smirnov reached 5,000 people.
List of awards awarded to the Highly Approved Partnership of Peter Arsenievich Smirnov:
1873 - Honorary diploma in Vienna.
1876 ​​Philadelphia's highest award medal.
1877 - State Emblem.
1878 - Two gold medals in Paris.
1882 - 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 a gold medal in Barcelona.
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.
1896 - Repetition of the right to depict 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 Pyatnitsky cemetery, the grave has not been preserved.

In the city of Myshkin there is a museum of Pyotr Smirnov.