Putinka

Putinka (Russian: Путинка) is a brand of Russian vodka made by the Moscow Distillery Crystal company. Created in 2003 by Vinexem Brand Manager Stanislav Kaufman, the brand plays upon President Vladimir Putin's name. The brand is owned by businessman Arkady Rotenberg, a close confidant of Putin, though Putin has no formal involvement in the production of Putinka. Putinka was formerly one of the most popular vodka brands in the Russian market, though the brand's popularity began to decline in 2016. The brand belonged to the Vinexim company, the creator of the brand is marketer Stanislav Kaufman. Registration restrictions were avoided, since the word «putinka» is not an exact copy of the surname, in addition, it means the Russian fishing term «Putin». When launching the brand on the market, the calculation was made on the popularity of President Putin among Russians, and the release of the product is planned to continue even after he leaves the post of president: «This vodka is associated with something very good. After 2008, her popularity will only increase». On the other hand, according to the representative of the company, sales volumes in the regions of the «red belt» with strong support of the Communist Party lag behind compared to other regions. In 2008, the company that owns the rights to the «Putinka» brand submitted an application to Rospatent for registration of the «Putinka Ministerial» trademark.