Vodka is undoubtedly the favorite alcohol of Russians and Poles. Apparently, our compatriots created spirits, but the Russians claim that they invented this alcoholic drink. Is it possible to settle this dispute?
In 1978, the People's Republic of Poland asked international arbitration bodies to grant Poland the right to use the term "vodka". The Poles justified their claims with the fact that they were the inventors of the life-giving drink, and the Russians were only inspired by the Polish achievement.
Polish version
Mariusz Świder in his book "How we built Russia" claims that in the 13th century Poles began to use alcohol made from cereal grains not only for medicinal purposes, but also for entertainment. This drink was called spirits (Latin acqua vitae, or "water of life").
Having invented a new way of using spirits, in the 14th century, Poles coined a different name for this drink - "vodka" (Latin vodka ). The first document in which this term was used is the court record from Sandomierz from 1405. In 1534, Stefan Falimierz, a courtier of the Podole voivode, Jan Tęczyński, mentions as many as 72 types of vodkas in his herbarium "About Herbs and Their Power". ! These herbal tinctures have been recommended as a remedy for a variety of ailments.
The work "About herbs and their strength" by Stefan Falimirz, in which the word vodka was mentioned for the first time in the meaning of distillate
Poles were also pioneers in launching the world's first alcohol distillery on an industrial scale. It took place in 1782 in Lviv by the Baczewski family. Over time, the drink produced by Poles gained so much recognition of consumers that even members of the imperial family became the company's customers. In fact, the Baczewskis even became the official suppliers of the Habsburgs.
Mariusz Świder, ascribing the authorship of vodka to our compatriots, admits, however, that the Russians "refined this invention".
Russian retort
Of course, the USSR could not remain indifferent to Polish attempts at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s and decided to prove that the Russians had overtaken the Poles in this race. The historian and writer William Pochlobkin was tasked with examining the roots of his favorite drink. Soon he presented documents confirming that distillates were used in Rus as early as in the 12th century.
The Russians got acquainted with the spirit in 1386 when the legation from Genoa came to Moscow and presented the healing properties of aqua vitae. However, the hosts were not impressed with the invention, because already in the 30s of the 14th century the monks from the Czudowski Monastery (in the Kremlin) produced meads and other alcohol drinks.
The text was created, among others based on the book "How we built Russia" (author:Mariusz Świder, publishing house Fronda 2021). Buy now
The Russians reportedly had trouble organizing the production of alcoholic beverages on a larger scale, so a decade later, special emissaries from the Kremlin visited Italian monasteries to see the production process and the equipment used by the monks with their own eyes.
William Pochlobkin claimed that his countrymen invented vodka in the second half of the 15th century. Serial production of the drink - in his opinion - began in 1478, thus earlier than the Poles did. Already at the beginning of the 16th century, Swedes coming to Moscow bought alcoholic beverages there and, after returning home, offered them to their family members.
Compromise
After considering the arguments of both parties, the court ruled that the inventors of vodka were Russians and granted the Soviet Union the right to use the term "vodka". Poles also have them. So a compromise has been reached, which is willingly used by both Polish and Russian producers of the high-percentage specialty.
Entrepreneurs do not care about the dispute about who was first. One of the most important vodka producers in Tsarist Russia was a Pole - Alfons Koziełł-Poklewski (1809–1890), who, beyond the Urals, launched the largest distillery in those areas and earned the nicknames of "monopoly king" and "vodka general". His products have been awarded many times at national and international exhibitions. After the Bolshevik revolution, the Koziełłów company was nationalized, but in the post-Soviet times it again went into private hands. The new owner has launched the production of "Poklewski" vodka to honor the company's founder.
Alfons Koziełł-Poklewski became one of the richest entrepreneurs in Siberia in the 19th century
When it comes to the best-selling vodka brands, "Smirnoff" has been at the forefront of international rankings for years. The most popular Russian vodka outside Russia is "Stolichnaya". The Polish "Żubrówka" took fourth position. The Ukrainian "Khortytsya" is in high third place.
The Russians keep inventing newer and newer types of this drink. On store shelves you can find vodka for lovers of geography ("Kaliningrad", "Arkhangelska", "Baikal", "Samarska"), astronomy ("Jupiter", "Sputnik", "Constellation") and history and literature ("Ivan Susanin "," Tiorkin "," Koźma Prutkow "). The most expensive drink costs about 7 thousand. "OVAL Swarovski Crystal" dollars in a gilded bottle decorated with Swarovski crystals.
Bibliography:
- Mariusz Świder "How We Built Russia" Fronda. 2021.
- В.В. Похлёбкин. История водки . Центрполиграф, 2005.
- Б. Родионов. История русской водки от полугара до наших дней. Эксмо, 2012.