Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (russian: Пётр Арсе́ньевич Смирно́в; January 9, 1831November 29, 1898) was a Russian businessman, who created Russia's leading pre-revolutionary
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
company, a predecessor of both
Smirnoff
Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
and Smirnov companies. He was born a
serf in Kayurovo, a small Russian village, on 9 January 1831, and rose to become one of the wealthiest men in Russia.
References
19th-century businesspeople from the Russian Empire
1831 births
1898 deaths
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