Reader Reviews (Livelib Platform)

artsalnov
July 26, 2024, 08:41
This guy with the very expressive last name Puzirev (meaning "bubble") vividly tells the story of how Russia’s most famous vodka brands rose to shelf stardom. In some parts, especially the chapter about Dovgan, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. When describing all of Dovgan’s various businesses, the book also details how he made his first pot of gold—and among his business projects were DOKA BREAD and DOKA PIZZA (you can’t help but chuckle). I remember how the entire city of Samara was filled with shops selling "disposable" bread back then; even though it was single-serve, you could buy it hot anywhere in the city. Anyway, it brought tears to my eyes. This author with the metaphorical last name writes about alcohol in an incredibly lively and engaging way—I even caught a few of his TV interviews while reading. Extremely entertaining! However, I couldn’t help but feel that in addition to his love for alcoholic beverages, Puzirev harbors a strong dislike for the current president. His feelings practically pour off the page, and some chapters revolve entirely around this topic. Ugh, I don’t want a second Zygar (a controversial Russian journalist)—one is more than enough.

Flicker
August 24, 2025, 21:49
I didn’t expect so much action in this book. Denis Puzirev (turns out that’s his real name, though I was convinced it was a pseudonym) worked as a journalist for a while and wrote numerous articles about alcohol. So he accumulated enough material for an entire book, with vodka taking center stage as the protagonist of the story. The book consists of 14 chapters, each introducing readers to a famous national alcohol brand. I’m not a big fan of vodka, which is probably why I’d never even heard of some of them. Moreover, I’m not into crime genres, so much of the content was a shocking revelation to me! For example, about Kobzon (a famous Russian singer suspected of ties to criminal groups) and his role in the criminal world, or how "not entirely clean" money was laundered through sports. All this is interesting, but for someone far removed from this field, the information holds no real value—so even during the most bizarre plot twists, I often felt bored. The chapter that stuck with me the most was about the Smirnov vodka dynasty, whose roots date back to the 19th century. The fate of "Putinka" vodka is told in an engaging, slightly comical way. Other than that, I’m afraid the book’s content passed me by. According to the author, the vodka business is no longer as popular among financial tycoons today. There’s no longer that same excitement or new technologies, no shootouts in restaurants, or hunts for factory directors. Now, Russian wine is stepping forward majestically and confidently. Of course, abroad, Russia is still associated with stronger spirits, but wine—especially Crimean wine—is attracting more and more attention from foreigners, and many Russian brands even compete with French ones. But that’s a whole other story.

Merkurevets
January 31, 2024, 16:16
In 2019, I was 18 years old. I could only get into a correspondence program at an unimpressive faculty, didn’t move to a big city, and stayed in my hometown of Nizhny Novgorod. While all my friends and former classmates were starting new lives at colleges and universities, I went to work at a vodka factory near my house. At the time, they were hiring temporary packers for two months because an unexpected large order from American and Kazakhstani buyers came in before the New Year. I worked five days a week, getting up around six in the morning and walking through the winter darkness to the industrial zone near my house, where there was a vodka bottling line. Work started at eight a.m., lunch at noon, and I was home by five p.m. I worked in one of three workshops—a room with a long conveyor belt that had several processes: vodka bottling, capping, applying tax stamps, and much more. Workers rotated tasks every hour. My favorite part was packing boxes and putting labels on bottle necks. The job was tedious and numbing, but since then, I’ve felt a faint connection to the production of Russia’s most iconic drink. Vodka is usually associated with reckless youth or everyday crimes in the regions. But former RBC journalist Denis Puzirev has no such prejudices—for him, vodka is a metaphor for Russia’s past thirty years. It contains joy and sorrow, poverty and wealth, rises and devastating falls. Each chapter of "Modern Russian History in 14 Bottles of Vodka" is dedicated to one vodka brand. You don’t need to know or even taste them, because the text reveals what lies behind the price tag, name, and bottle—stories of real people. Among them are distillery owners, organized crime group members, marketers, and former janitors who became some of the country’s richest people thanks to the vodka business. Additionally, you can learn some unusual facts from the book that you can show off at any dinner party. For example, how Putinka is connected to Putin, what Lady Gaga has in common with a vodka brand, and the subtle link between alcohol and sports. This book inevitably invites comparison to vodka itself. "Modern Russian History..." is good to read in the morning, before lunch, or after a hard day’s work. It fits perfectly in any situation: as a gift for friends, on a sideboard shelf, at a book club, or for an evening of solo reading.

★ Taking vodka as a unique entry point, it weaves together the social, economic, and political changes of Russia over 30 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, offering a novel and highly topical perspective.
★ Focusing on 14 core issues, it delves into the power struggles and interest conflicts behind the highly profitable vodka industry, presenting hard-hitting content full of tension.
★ Written by a senior journalist based on in-depth investigations, it answers many key questions, balancing documentary authenticity and readability.

Vodka is one of Russia’s unofficial symbols—a beverage that is impossible to imagine without, and even harder to understand Russia without. It is also a multi-billion-dollar industry with incredible profitability. Where there is money, there is strife, power struggles, dizzying rises and falls, and of course, silence. This book breaks the silence surrounding this high-profit industry and household-name brands.

Journalist Denis Puzyrev traces the social, economic, and political history of vodka after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Why is Stolichnaya, the world’s most famous vodka brand, no longer Russian? What happened to Vladimir Dovgan? What is the connection between Vladislav Surkov, the first Maidan, and Putinka vodka? Did Putin succeed in curbing the supply of counterfeit vodka during his tenure? How did his closest ally monopolize the vodka market? How many people lost their lives in the battles for control of distilleries? "Modern Russian History in 14 Bottles of Vodka" opens readers’ eyes to the events of the past 30 years from an unexpected and shocking perspective.