| - "Sputnik (Russian: "Спутник" Russian pronunciation: [sputnʲɪk],"Satellite-1 was the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite. It was launched into an elliptical earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957"
- Vodka’s long and sordid history dates back to around 9th century when a couple of couple of Russian employers began trying to import a mead-based spirit from Arabia into Russia.
- During transport the spirit fell victim to the freezing temperatures and was rendered useless. The pioneers refused to give up and began experimenting with new type of distillation. By freezing the mead several times and skimming it they were able to extract pure spirit which they called “zhivaya voda” or the water of life.
- This unique and mind altering “water of life” was initially used for medicinal purposes but it didn’t take long time before people began discovering its true potential.
- By the 1700s vodka had become an integral part of Russian life. From Tsars to warlords and from politicians to dictators, vodka played an integral role in shaping Russia fascinating history. Due to intense public demand, and its ability to generate enormous wealth, vodka had become the hot topic of 1800s. At this time, vodka came in all types and varieties. Some similar to a modern days port, while with others, you ran the risk of going blind.
- The famous Russian scientist and father of the Periodic Table, Dmitry Mendeleev, was charged by the Russian Government to define a “State Standard” for the production of the national spirit. Over the course of 10 years, Mendeleev delved into vodka’s hidden depths. He was well aware of vodka’s ability to open doors in the mind – in fact, it’s rumoured that he devised his famous table the morning after a long night of vodka drinking – but he had also witnessed the spirits destructive side. In his mind he dreamt of a vodka which produced desired psychological effects but also had very few negative side effects.
- Mendeleev discovered that vodka had to be measured by weight and not by volume. By matching 1 vodka spirit molecule to 3 purified water molecules, a perfectly balanced vodka was relatively straight forward. Dmitri also discovered that charcoal filtration removed the maximum amount of impurities without stripping vodka of its deliciously smooth grain taste. Once the 40 percent standard was discovered, the Russian government began ruthlessly enforcing the law. Corrupted producers would be “removed” and soon producing the vodka we know and love today.
- Nowadays vodka is still demanded by millions of Russians. Over 123 million bottles are produced in Russia, of which only 2 percent actually make it out of the country to markets like the UK. Vodka again comes in all types of varieties.
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