Moscow GUM department store
Moscow GUM department store is the most glamorous and expensive of them all. Well, I'm not sure about expensive - but I'm definite about glamorous. What else can you expect from a mall that stands right on the Red Square?
I'll be honest - the prices are sky-high, so don't even think about shopping there! No matter how much money you've got - spending it in GUM is not wise. You can buy same stuff much cheaper - unless you're after high-class things!
Wait a second - where are you going? Moscow GUM is pricey, but it's also a work of art! So come on in, don't be shy!
Ahh, just look around! The passages, the look! In fact, GUM department store was built in 1893, way before the Communist revolution - and you can feel it in every inch of the carvings!
By 1917, Moscow GUM department store contained more than 1200 shops! That's a pretty big number even for modern malls, right?
But Bolsheviks had to ruin everything... Comrade Stalin turned GUM into an office building, and the store was re-opened only in 1953!
On the bright side, it didn't suffer from deficit like the others, and sometimes you could buy American or European clothes there!
I'm not kidding! People would die to have non-Soviet apparel back then, and GUM was pretty much the only place to get it legally!
The queues were terrible - they could go up to several miles. The entire USSR was shopping in GUM - I remember how my dad spent time in Moscow trying to get us something decent.
Oh, but there was a good thing about it - a chance to taste the best ice cream ever!I don't know how and where they made it, but there're people that would sell their soul to bite that crunchy wafer cup just one more time!
Alas, it's gone forever....
Today, everything has changed - and though I'm glad the times of scarcity are gone, I'm gonna miss the magic of old GUM. Well, just a little bit!
Modern GUM is totally different from its pale Soviet predecessor. It was renewed and sold to private owner, who let hundreds of exclusive shops right in. The prices have never been low, but they skyrocketed lately. Personally, I never bought anything there - it's just not worth it.
As I said, GUM is a work of art. Walk around, see for yourself! Don't pass by the famous Moscow GUM fountain - a meeting place for many Muscovites.
Good think about GUM is it's located right on the Red Square. Once you finish inside - you're free to continue your tour right to the heart of Moscow. Go out, breath some air, let your camera rest for a moment!
Can you see Lenin's mausoleum right in front of you? A war of the worlds, right? Old vs. new. Past vs. future.
Sometimes it gives me chills...
...and I sure hope Moscow GUM wins!>
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