Moscow must-haves
From vodka and caviar to designer shoes and hand-painted dolls
Been to St Basil’s? Snapped Red Square? Toured the Kremlin? Now it’s time for a spot of retail therapy, Moscow-style, where Fabergé eggs, caviar, vodka, matryoshka dolls and designer handbags are just a few of the stylish souvenirs on offer
Words: Georgia Barclay
MORE THAN 20 years after Margaret Thatcher famously said to Mikhail Gorbachev: “We can do business together”, Moscow has evolved into a destination that seriously means business. Of course, there are the historical attractions of architectural masterpieces such as St Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin and Red Square, but it’s the city’s shopping identity that is now attracting a new breed of visitor. Those looking for a different consumer experience will be inspired to buy, buy and buy some more.
The first item on the shopping list will be Russian vodka. Known for its incredible quality in its homeland, it’s also much cheaper there, with prices starting at 500 roubles. Don’t be tempted by tourist-trap vodka bottles in the shape of comical Russian babushkas (traditional scarf-wearing grandmothers). Instead, head to The Vodka Museum (www..vodkamuseum.ru), a dedicated pitstop for the vodka aficionado as well as the novice. The museum presents the history of Russian vodka and helpful staff then offer a vodka tasting. The signs to look for is vodka that has little taste, is smooth to drink and doesn’t leave your throat feeling like you’ve consumed a shot of sandpaper. If in doubt, you can’t go wrong buying a bottle from Russia’s leading export vodka manufacturer, Stolichnaya (www.stoli. com). The renowned company produces numerous varieties including blueberry, peach and elderflower flavoured vodkas, most of which can be bought at The Vodka Museum. Vodka should be 
served chilled in a shot glass known as a riumka and downed in one go. With some vodkas containing up to 60% alcohol content, locals almost always accompany the drink with zakuski, a smorgasbord of rye bread, caviar, cheese and pickled cucumbers. Check out the Vodka Bar on Ulitsa Lva Tolstogo (+7 (0)95 246 9669) and relax in the luxurious interior of blue and white aviation-themed mosaic walls and sparkling red star chandeliers. As you can guess from the name, there’s a wide range of vodkas here (prices range between 90 to 120 roubles per 45-gram shot). Try a khrenovkha, a traditional spicy Russian drink of horseradish-infused vodka, which is guaranteed to warm you up.
At some point during your stay, you’re bound to be approached by an illegal caviar seller. The incredibly cheap prices they offer may seem tempting, but unless you enjoy eating Chinese reed toad eggs masquerading as caviar, say nyet (“no”). For the real deal, track down Yeliseyevsky (+7 (0)95 209 0760) on Ulitsa Tverskaya, which sells caviar by the pound and also in pre-packaged jars. As impressive as the food is the awe-inspiring art deco interior decorated in delicate mint, salmon and golden colours. The high ceiling seems to be held up by the wanton female marble statues that gaze seductively down on guests entering the food emporium. As with buying precious stones or metals, it’s worth learning a little bit about caviar before making a purchase. In brief, black caviar comes in three varieties, known as beluga, oscietra and sevruga. Beluga is the most expensive and its ideal colour should be black with a slight tinge of grey and it should have little or no smell. Oscietra should be black with a tinge of green and has a slightly fishy smell. Sevruga is plain black with the sharpest smell and taste.
By most standards caviar is expensive, starting at 2,000 roubles per 30 grams, so when buying by weight, don’t hesitate to ask to taste the caviar before agreeing to purchase it. When tasting, good quality caviar will have easily separable grains that should burst in your mouth. Buying packaged caviar is a little trickier. Caviar connoisseurs recommend buying in glass so that you can at least visually inspect the roe. And if your grasp of the Russian language leaves much to be desired, all Russian glass-packed caviar comes colour-coded: a blue lid for beluga, yellow for oscietra and red for sevruga.
If you’re looking for locally designed fashion, shops stocking up-and-coming Russian designers are on the rise. Cox (www.cox.ru) is an experimental boutique collaborating with over 170 Russian designers. Expect clothing that is eccentric and funky. In contrast, Marki (www.markiboutique.ru) distances itself from anything too youthful or unconventional, and goes by the mantra “a boutique is not a museum – clothes should be worn”. It’s aimed at professional women who have the means and taste to buy foreign designs but want something unique to Russia. I.Zima (www.izima.ru) stocks beautifully made designs that often appear on the catwalks of Moscow Fashion Week. If you’re chasing fashion from an established Russian designer, look no further than Denis Simachev (www.denissimachev. com). He was the first Russian to show a collection at Milan Fashion Week and his clothes are stocked from New York to Tokyo. His designs can now be bought from his first concept store on Stolehnikov Pereulok, where his two-storey boutique is worth a visit as much for his iconic T-shirts as for the extravagant opulence of the shop interior. The granite floor was mined from the same Ukrainian quarry that was used for Lenin’s mausoleum, the delicate French chandeliers arrived by private jet and the two armchairs taking prime position used to belong to Prince Grigory Potemkin, Catherine the Great’s secret husband and fellow ruler of the Russian Empire. Valentin Yudashkin (www.yudashkin.com) is another high-end couturier worth searching out. Everything in his boutique is deliberately excessive. 
Luxurious materials such as silk and cashmere are heavily embroidered to create one-off must-haves. If you are after inexpensive but chic Russian-designed clothing, visit one of the many Sultana Frantsuzova (www.sultanafrantsuzova.com) franchises dotted across the city. These boutiques provide well-cut designs that are ultra feminine. But if you worship at the altar of international luxury brands, look no further than department store GUM – Gosudarstvenny Universalny Magazin or The Main General Store – on Red Square (www.gum.ru). Expect the usual line up – Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada – but also expect prices to be higher than usual.
It makes better sense to buy those international designer items in France and Italy. But don’t let that stop you window-shopping and people-watching in what could be one of the world’s most beautiful department stores. The opulent glass atrium was opened for business in 1893 after taking three years to build and feels more like a palace than a shopping mall. After the shopping extravaganza, re-fuel at the Vogue Café on Ulitsa Kuznetsky (+7 (0)95 923 1701). This bar and restaurant is a favourite haunt of fashionistas and the decadent interior includes floor-to-ceiling bookcases stacked with editions of Vogue magazine from around the world.
For all your must-have Russian tourist buys such as matryoshka dolls, khokhloma tableware and Soviet memorabilia, do a one-stop shop at Vernisazh market (open Saturday and Sunday 10-5pm, admission 10 roubles) on Ulitsa Sovietskaya. Also called Izmailovsky Park, hundreds of wooden chalet-style huts sell everything you’d want as a memento from Moscow and haggling with the multilingual stall keepers is expected. Hand-painted wooden matryoshka dolls that fit one inside the other start at 30 roubles and go all the way up to 5,000 roubles, depending on size and quality.
Traditional khokhloma lacquered tableware, painted in red, black and gold and featuring designs of strawberries and flowers, starts at 400 roubles for a medium sized bowl and spoon. More experienced hagglers can pick up original Soviet flags for around 1,200 roubles. Also look out for vintage Soviet posters, soldiers’ boots and Red Army leather belts. The market is also flooded with Christian iconography for sale including hand-painted crosses, stained-glass windows and highly decorated frescos saved from the Russian Orthodox churches.
Finally, if you are after a truly decadent souvenir, a jewel-encrusted collection of Fabergé eggs can be bought, or just ogled, at the Grand Collection Gallery (open 11-5pm,
+7 (0)95 980 4015) on Red Square. Carl Fabergé created the first ultimate Easter egg in 1885 for the reigning Tsars but was then closed down by the Communist Revolution. Now, 90 years on, the Fabergé family is back in business and they have designed several ornate pieces including the Tercentenary, imbedded with rubies, emeralds and diamonds, for the princely sum of $47,000. Expensive as they obviously are, they are also an investment. Last year, oil tycoon Viktor Vekselberg paid the Forbes family more than $90m for its Fabergé collection. If your budget doesn’t reach these lofty prices, a tiny gold and silver embossed egg can be purchased for $200 and could become your very own Russian heirloom – or just a gorgeous reminder of your Moscow shopping experience.
STILL GOT SOME ROUBLES LEFT?
QUIRKY GIFTS, ELECTRONIC CHESSBOARDS AND HOMEWARES TO TEMPT YOU
Quirky gifts: If you’re shopping for someone who has everything, check out Byuro Nakhodok (www.buronahodok.ru) on Smolensky Bulvar. You’ll find fun clocks made from caviar tins and kitsch badges with images of Lenin as a baby.
For the kids: If you seek intellectually orientated toys, head to Malenky Geny on Akademika Korolyova (+7
(0)95 785 9557). Translated as “Little Genius”, the shop sells the Kasparov electronic chessboard, which is perfect for young chess devotees and will challenge future grandmasters with an endless amount of countermoves.
Homewares: For beautiful, traditional Russian linen, look no further than Russky Lyen on Komsomolsky Prospekt (+7 (0)95 242 5925). The boutique sells stunning hand-embroidered tablecloths, napkins and bed sheets. Gzhel Russian porcelain can be bought from their official store on Ulitsa Sadovaya (www.gzhel. ru). The hand-painted blue and white china is famous for its folk figurines. For antiques, Ulitsa Arbat is lined with many of the best curio shops in Moscow. The most popular piece to take home is a Russian samovar, which was used to boil water for making tea. A traditional samovar consists of a large, copper, urn-shaped vessel. A metal pipe, filled originally with hot coals, runs through the urn, heating the water. The tap near the bottom would then be opened to top up your teacup with hot water. The Russian expression translated as “to have a sit by samovar” means to enjoy a long, drawn-out gossip with family and friends while drinking tea.
Photography: Robert King/eyevine, Izzet Keribar/eyevine, Alamy
