King

TH E

INGOFVODKA K
The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire

Linda Himelstein

To m y f a m i l y , t h e b e s t t h e r e i s

A man comes from the dust and in the dust he will end— and in the meantime, it is good to drink a sip of vodka.
—O l d Ru ssi a n P r ov e r b

Contents
Epigraph iii The Cast vii Author’s Note xi Prologue: Good-bye xiii

PART ONE
Chapter 1: Hello 1 Chapter 2: Moscow 17 Chapter 3: The Land of Darkness 35 Chapter 4: The Vodka Maker 53 Chapter 5: “Demand Smirnov Vodka” 67 Chapter 6 : To Vienna and Back 81 Chapter 7: Mariya 95 Chapter 8: Vodka Wars 113 Chapter 9 : The Vodka King 129 Chapter 10 : From Pursuit to Preservation 137 Chapter 11: Monopoly Capitalism 153 Chapter 12: The Tsar and 3,000 Flashing Bottles 171 Chapter 13: Twilight 179 Chapter 14: Two Dead Bodies 195

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Contents

PART T WO
Chapter 15: A New Century, a New Reality 203 Chapter 16: Monopoly Madness 213 Chapter 17: From Bad to Bizarre 225 Chapter 18: A War, Uprisings, and Then There Was One 235 Chapter 19: Life and Death and Love and Death 247

Photographic Insert
Chapter 20: Sudden Chaos 261 Chapter 21: Revolution 275 Chapter 22: Escape 287 Chapter 23: Smirnov with an “F” 303 Chapter 24: The End is a Beginning 317

Epilogue 327 Acknowledgments 339 Endnotes 343 Selected Bibliography 371 Index 375 About the Author Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher

The Cast
Main Family Characters
Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov The King of Vodka Mariya Nikolayevna Smirnova Smirnov’s third wife Arseniy Smirnov Smirnov’s father Grigoriy Smirnov Smirnov’s uncle Ivan Smirnov Smirnov’s uncle Pyotr Petrovich Smirnov Smirnov’s eldest son Nikolay Petrovich Smirnov Smirnov’s second-eldest son Vladimir Petrovich Smirnov Smirnov’s third-eldest son Sergey Petrovich Smirnov Smirnov’s fourth-eldest son Aleksey Petrovich Smirnov Smirnov’s youngest son Aleksandra Petrovna Smirnova Smirnov’s youngest daughter

Supporting Family Characters and Others... [continues]

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