Moscow
From the courtyard, look for the black metal door that leads down into this dungeon of a shop, which houses room after room of CDs, in every genre…
Must-see shopping in Russia
St Petersburg
This Style Moderne stunner is St Petersburg's most elegant grocery store, selling plenty of branded goods from tea blends to caviar and handmade…
St Petersburg
This treasure trove of Soviet ephemera, pre-revolutionary antiques, WWII artefacts and bonkers kitsch from all eras is truly worth travelling for. Exit…
Moscow
One of Russia’s oldest furriers, this place has been manufacturing shapky (fur hats) and shuby (fur coats) since 1912. While Yekaterina has always…
St Petersburg
Dating from 1906–7, the one-time Esders and Scheefhaals department store has been beautifully restored and is one of the most glamorous places to shop in…
St Petersburg
This is one of the city's largest 'creative clusters' with around 13,000 sq metres of space over several floors hosting a variety of art galleries,…
Moscow
Behind its elaborate 240m-long facade on the northeastern side of Red Square, GUM is a bright, bustling shopping mall with hundreds of fancy stores and…
Moscow
Peek in here for a glimpse of pre-revolutionary grandeur, as the store is set in the former mansion of the successful merchant Yeliseev. It now houses an…
Moscow
Flakon is arguably the most visually attractive of all the redeveloped industrial areas around town, looking a bit like the far end of London's Portobello…
St Petersburg
Dating back to the mid-18th century, this is the company that used to make tea sets for the Russian royal family. Formerly known as Lomonosov China, the…
St Petersburg
Near the courtyard of the Berthold Centre, this delightful shop has lots of eye-catching objects, much of it made in-house or produced by St Petersburg…
St Petersburg
This cool store will thrill anyone interested in music and cinema, as it sells a very cool range of vinyls from all eras (it’s particularly strong on rare…
Moscow
Zaporozhets makes clothes themed on popular Soviet cartoon films, such as Holidays in Prostokvashino, for hipsters born after the USSR collapsed who love…
Moscow
A showroom of a popular online shop, which focuses primarily on little-known Russian designer brands. Definitely a place to look for high-quality clothes…
St Petersburg
One of the world’s first indoor shopping malls, the ‘Big Merchant Yard’ dates from between 1757 and 1785 and stretches 230m along Nevsky pr (its perimeter…
Moscow
Alena Akhmadullina’s romantic, flowing fashions have been wowing trendsetters since 2005, when the St Petersburg designer first showed her stuff in Paris…
St Petersburg
Pick up a locally designed T-shirt, sweatshirt, bag or other item of streetwear or accessory at this large unisex boutique with its entrance just off…
Moscow
It’s a bookstore, but it’s also a gift shop, a music shop and a cafe. This is the place to shop for a quirky gift for your friend who (you think) has…
Moscow
TsUM stands for Tsentralny Universalny Magazin (Central Department Store). Built in 1909 as the Scottish-owned Muir & Merrilees, it was the first…
St Petersburg
This historic department store is a temple to prestige fashion and beauty brands, most of them foreign. Even if you're not up for a pricey shopping…
St Petersburg
Tatyana Parfionova was the first St Petersburg designer to have her own fashion house back in 1995, when New Russians turned up their noses at anything…
St Petersburg
This extraordinary place has rather changed everything for shopping in St Petersburg – there are probably as many shops here as elsewhere in the entire…
St Petersburg
Designer Natalia Larchenko has taken the classic Russian nesting doll silhouette and transformed it into a tiny work of art in her attractive necklaces,…
St Petersburg
The superb Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art has several shops in it, including its excellent gift shop, a well-stocked art bookshop and commercially run…
St Petersburg
There's been a market here since the 18th century. Although parts of it are being upgraded, it remains mostly a gritty and chaotic Dostoevsky-style warren…
St Petersburg
Built between 1846 and 1848, this arcade has a glass roof spanning the entire block from Nevsky to Italiyanskaya ul. Dostoevsky wrote a story about a man…
St Petersburg
Looking like the set of Alien designed by Stella McCartney, this avant-garde boutique is one of St Petersburg’s premier fashion experiences. Inside you’ll…
St Petersburg
Nevsky Centre is a smart and central multifloor shopping centre. It houses some 70 shops over seven floors, including the city’s largest department store,…
St Petersburg
Scores of arts-and-craft stores can be found in this arcade in the middle of Dumskaya ul. Among them are Collection, with a wide range of painted works,…
St Petersburg
There is never a dull moment at this underground (in both senses of the word) art gallery. In the front room, you’ll see some fairly mainstream stuff for…
St Petersburg
In the sumptuous surroundings of the Museum of Decorative & Applied Arts, this is a great place to buy contemporary local art. You'll find quite extensive…
Western European Russia
Tula is renowned Russia-wide for its pryaniki (inscribed ginger cakes) and locals pack out this tiny bakery store-cum-cafe, stocking up on blocks of…
St Petersburg
In an otherwise derelict part of town, 'Weavers' is an impressive conversion of a warehouse into a 'creative space', which more often than not in…
Western European Russia
Tula's Salden's Brewery is one of provincial Russia's most respected craft-beer brewers and this tiny takeaway store is a great spot to pick up a couple…
St Petersburg
Contemporary Russian designers for both men and women are represented in this stylishly minimalist boutique on the 2nd floor of a grand building that's…
St Petersburg
Nearly all samovars (metal containers holding boiling water) in Russia are made in the town of Tula, south of Moscow, but this beautiful showroom is the…
St Petersburg
The traditional craft of Russian felt slippers and booties made from thick-fibred wool from Romanov sheep has been given a contemporary fashion spin here…
St Petersburg
In a city with men in uniform on every street corner, this is where you can get yours (the uniform that is!). Buy stripey sailor tops, embroidered badges,…
St Petersburg
This long-established antique bookseller is a fascinating place to rummage around. The stock ranges from fancy, mint-edition books to second-hand, well…
St Petersburg
The city’s only dedicated English-language bookshop has a good selection of contemporary literature, classics, dictionaries, history and travel writing –…
