Written by Andrew Romeo Monday, 16 January 2012 12:42
Parliament has been a popular cigarette in Russia since the late 1990s. Unlike in the US, it is super-premium, priced above Marlboro alongside brands like Davidoff and Sobranie.
In 1998, during the financial crisis, we heard in informal talks with PM Russia, that while the majority of Russian smokers traded down to 'local' crap cigarettes to save money, Parliament sales remained steady, and the brand became a symbol of prosperity and wealth.
Like many brands, it is available today in Russia in multiple SKU's of varying strengths and diameters. Many men in Russia/CIS smoke super-slims, for example, and almost all segments boast super-slim variants, with LD at the bottom, and Parliament at or near the top.
It is said that 2012 is going to be a year of big changes in the Russian tobacco industry. Rotating "DG-V" (EU-style) health warnings began last year, and most feel public places restrictions are imminent, as well as massive price hikes (a pack of Marlboro costs about US $2.50 today). WHO tar and nic ceilings (10/0.1) are already in place. Thus, all local factories have been shut or sold. Only the big boys remain after Donskoi Tabak went to Imperial last summer.
Read more: Philip Morris, Swedish Snus, and the Parliament brand in Russia


To start with, the new factory has four production lines: 2 by Merz, 1 by Hauni, and 1 loose snus line. Each line is 18 meters long and cost approximately $1.8MM per line. Before the snus makes it's way to the lines, closed system automated grinding and mixing machinery takes the raw tobacco and converts it to snus. All V2 snus continues to be steam pasteurized.
and GR' Kardus will be released.





