MOSCOW, January 21 (RAPSI) – State Duma lawmaker Mikhail Degtyaryov (LDPR) has requested that Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov raise on the level of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international court instances the issue of prohibiting foreign companies from using Vodka trademark, Izvestia newspaper reported Thursday.

According to Degtyarov, foreign firms must not produce these alcoholic drinks without consent of the Russian party because the word “Vodka” and beverage processing first appeared in Russia.

Brand “Vodka” has been assigned to Russia by dozens of independent studies, the newspaper quoted the lawmaker as having said. In 1982, the International Court of Arbitration confirmed the Soviet Union’s right to create original Russian vodka as a drink.