Russian Standard Company Rejects Allied Domecq's Cease and Desist Legal Request; Cites Newly Discovered Official Documents Revealing Stolichnaya Vodka is Not Authentically Russian

MOSCOW, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Russian Standard, a leading Russian consumer goods and financial services company, has rejected Allied Domecq's formal legal request to cease and desist with its public relations, advertising and marketing campaign stating that Russian Standard is Russia's leading premium vodka. Additionally, newly discovered Russian government documents regarding exports of distilled vodka products from Russia, as well as public information obtained from court documents, reveal that Stolichnaya is not authentically Russian.

In a letter received by the company, Allied Domecq claims that Russian Standard's marketing campaign implies that its Stolichnaya brand vodka is not truly a Russian vodka. Russian Standard Company affirms this position and maintains that Stolichnaya brand vodka is not authentically Russian, and believes that Stolichnaya's marketing messages are inaccurate and misleading to vodka consumers.

Roustam Tariko, President of Russian Standard Company, said: "Russia is the birthplace of vodka and the largest vodka market in the world. The fact that a vodka is authentically Russian is one of the most significant attributes a vodka can have."

Legal documents filed by Allied Domecq, and their vodka producer SPI, in U.S. Federal Court state that its Stolichnaya vodka is produced in Russia and then shipped in bulk into Latvia, a neighboring country, where it is filtered, bottled and labeled as Stolichnaya vodka.

Newly discovered documents from the Russian government declare that the only vodkas exported to Latvia in 2004 and 2005 were shipped under different names than Stolichnaya vodka, and were based on different recipes than the recipe for Stolichnaya vodka. The Russian government further confirms in writing that their records reveal no exports of Stolichnaya vodka, or vodkas based on its recipe, were made in 2004 and 2005 from the distillery in Kaliningrad Russia to Latvia. In addition, press releases found on SPI's website indicate that Stolichnaya vodka is actually produced in Latvia.

Tariko added, "Russian Standard Company is the leading producer of premium vodka in Russia, and we will vigorously defend the value of our vodka making heritage, the quality of our products and our brand name. We will not be intimidated by competitors." Tariko continued, "If Stolichnaya vodka comes from Latvia rather than Russia, then they should be honest about that. We think they should be proud of their Latvian heritage."

  Documents in the public record also include the following:
  1. The Russian Government has sued Allied Domecq in the courts of the
     United States (New York) and Australia arguing that their Stolichnaya
     branded vodka is not of Russian origin, that consumers are misled by
     their claims that Stolichnaya is Russian, and that the trademark
     Stolichnaya is actually owned by the Russian Government.  On April 3,
     2006, the court in New York dismissed the claims of the Russian
     Government contesting the ownership and use of the trademark
     STOLICHNAYA in the United States.  The court in New York stated that
     the trademark STOLICHNAYA is not a geographical indicator, and that the
     issue as to the actual place of STOLICHNAYA's production was not
     relevant to the court's decision

  2. Despite the Russian Government's position that Allied Domecq's
     Stolichnaya vodka is not Russian vodka, Allied Domecq takes the very
     unusual position that a U.S. government regulation defines what is
     Russian -- not the Russian Government.

  3. Allied Domecq's Stolichnaya vodka which is labeled as "Russian Vodka"
     cannot be sold in Russia.  In New York court in declarations under
     oath, Allied Domecq's business partners admitted that when they tried
     to use the Stolichnaya trademark in Russia for their vodka, that vodka
     was seized by the Russian Government.

  4. The Russian Government has argued in court papers in New York that
     Allied Domecq's Stolichnaya vodka is distilled in Latvia.  As
     previously noted, Allied Domecq's producer SPI has issued press
     releases declaring that Stolichnaya vodka is produced in Latvia and
     that: "It's important to have rights for Russian vodka in its country
     of origin."

Russian Standard vodkas sell over one million cases a year and command a 67 percent share of the premium vodka market in Russia. Roustam Tariko introduced Russian Standard Original in Russia in 1998 and Russian Standard Platinum in 2001. After becoming the market leader in premium vodka within two years, Roustam and Russian Standard Company launched IMPERIA in Russia in 2004. IMPERIA is uniquely based on famed Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev's original formula, decreed by Czar Alexander III in 1894 as "The Standard of Vodka" for the royal court of St. Petersburg. IMPERIA was most recently introduced to the US market in September of 2005.

About Russian Standard Company

Russian Standard Company is an entrepreneurial company with a proven track record of developing innovative products and services for the benefit of the Russian people. Russian Standard Company was founded in 1992 by the entrepreneur Roustam Tariko, who is currently its president. The company is comprised of strong and growing businesses in premium vodka, spirits distribution, banking and insurance and has developed one of the leading consumer brands in Russia. Russian Standard Vodka is the best-selling premium vodka in the country. The company's spirits distribution service dominates the Russian marketplace and is the leading importer of premium alcoholic beverages. Russian Standard Bank is a respected pioneer and market leader in consumer credit and is one of the most successful banks in Russia.