5 Best Shopping in Moscow, Russia

A series of shops and boutiques inside a 19th-century arcade, this shopping emporium sits on Red Square, across from the Kremlin. GUM, which stands for Gosudarstvenny Universalny Magazin, or State Department Store, now stocks only a handful of Russian brands in the upper-level stores. On the first floor you will find an arcade of upscale boutiques, including MaxMara, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, and La Perla. Also here is the elegant Bosco restaurant, which overlooks Red Square and has a summer terrace. Cheaper eats are available at fast-food outlets on the top floor. A "historic toilett," with pre-revolutionary interiors made of marble and Murano glass, is located at the first floor (Lane 1).

The Historical Museum's art shop Naslediye (Heritage) deals in many sorts of souvenirs, including jewelry, T-shirts, handmade crafts, replicas of museum pieces, and Russian- and Ukrainian-style embroidered shirts, Gzhel ceramics, and more. Wooden bowls and spoons decorated in khokhloma style—with bright oils painted on a black-and-golden background—fill the shelves. The store is next to entrance number 1 of the museum; enter Red Square through the Resurrection Gates.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan houses this compact icon shop. In addition to icons, you can purchase religious books, silver crosses, and other Orthodox religious items.

This underground shopping mall offers standards like Aldo, Benetton, Tommy Hilfiger, BeeFree, Motivi, and MEXX. Set under the main square adjacent to the Kremlin, the mall attracts crowds of Russian out-of-towners, who stroll, photograph the intricate cupola that extends aboveground, and window-shop.

Located on the ground floor of Novinsky shopping center (just behind the U.S. Embassy) this quirky store with a name that translates as "Humpty-Dumpty" sells modern art turned into gifts and souvenirs. Works of renowned contemporary Russian designers and artists appear on T-shirts, cards, and cups. Imitation Soviet schoolchildren's star badges fashioned from fake gemstones are a distinctively Russian jewelry gift.