For further details see the chapter on the imperialist war.

The word monopoly is derived from two Greek words, monos (alone, sole, single) and polein (to sell). In Russia, at one time, the use of the term “monopoly” was almost restricted to denoting the governmental monopoly in spirituous liquors. But there can exist a monopoly in any commodity; and a monopoly may be held by a manufacturer or a group of manufacturers just as well as by the State.