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 {{drink-bio-stub