Moscow and St Petersburg are perfect for a weekend break. Rightly famed for
their cultural treasures, for the more adventurous there is also the
opportunity for a wide array of shopping.
Most retail business is transacted in roubles, as required by law, even if the
prices are quoted in "uslovnye edinitsy" or "U.E." -
basically a euphemism for US dollar. Only street vendors will normally
accept foreign cash and, then only USD or Euros.
Most good shops in Moscow and St Petersburg will accept credit and debit
cards, and there are plenty of ATMs in Moscow, especially around the city
centre where you spend most of your shopping hours. Most ATMs will offer you
Russian roubles only, but there are still those where you can get US
dollars.
If you find yourself stranded away from the city centre without cash, look for
a local branch of Sberbank (Savings Bank), instantly recognisable by the
brand colours of emerald green. Many metro stations will have ATMs. Most
ATMs will give you an English menu, so do not feel intimidated. You can
exchange any US dollars or Euros at multiple "exchange points"
scattered throughout the city.
Make sure that your notes / bills are crisp and clean as many exchange points
may refuse to accept them or try to give you a lower exchange rate.
Exchanging sterling is more of a challenge, outside of the Banks.
SHOPPING IN MOSCOW
CAVIAR
Ossetra, sevryuga and beluga - all known as "black caviar" in Russia
- are still relatively cheap compared to Western prices. Best place to start
is a supermarket chain such as the Seventh Continent, which has an
interactive map with store locations. This will not be the cheapest but
should be reasonably fresh and a good quality product. Eliseevsky
Supermarket, recently restored to its former, pre-1917 glory, at Tverskaya
Street 14 is another, albeit pricier, option.
Buy at your own risk from tourist-geared stalls and "souvenir shops".
Look for glass jars with blue (supposedly, top of the line), red or yellow
cover and check two things - the general look of the caviar inside (smooth,
black/dark gray and moist) and, more importantly, date of manufacture. The
latter will be stamped on the cover and often is hard to read and, for a
novice, to understand. Ask someone for help - younger store assistants will
almost certainly speak some English. For the bulk buyers, keep in mind that
there are restrictions on the quantity that you may take out of the country
- so check before leaving. Caviar emptor.
Price guide: £25-£60 per 112 gramm jar, depending on
where you buy, type of fish etc. Anything cheaper will be either fake
(”synthetic” caviar) or illegally harvested by poachers. Or simply past the
sell-by date.
ART AND ANTIQUES
No longer the bargain they used to be as Russians now tend to buy Russian art
in New York, London, Paris and Stockholm and bring it home. Yet if you are
set on buying a Russian icon, turn of the century china or jewellery, there
are good places to go. The Arbat Street has a wide array of shops (20-25 min
walk from the Red Square). Ignore all the street vendors advertising rabbit
fur hats, nested dolls (matryoshkas), military and communist paraphernalia
and check out the antique stores that line the street on both sides.
Start with the shop attached to the famous Prague restaurant. Keep in mind
that there are plenty of fakes about, so think twice before you drop any
real money on a pair of "19th century diamond earrings" or an "18th
century icon". You can also try some of the higher-end salons such as
Yekaterina (Leningradsky Prospect, 24). Another good place is Gallery on the
Smolenskaya Naberezhnaya, five minutes walk from the British Embassy for a
good selection of late 19th and 20th century Russian and Soviet art - though
they don't take credit cards.
Finally, you can try street vendors on the Arbat or the outdoor arts and
crafts market near the House of Artists by the Krimsky Bridge. You can also
try the market at Izmailovo to the north of the city, but it is mainly a
larger (and more aggressive) version of the Arbat stalls. Bear in mind that
taking art and antiques out of Russia is fairly heavily controlled. The
rules change frequently to the point that even the border guards can be
inconsistent. However to export anything pre-1960 will require a certificate
from the Ministry of Culture. For ease, ask the seller to obtain the
documentation for you.
Price guide: Antiques - icons (17th-20th century
religious paintings) vary wildly, from £120-£180 to over £600, especially
larger/older pieces or those that come in silver/gilded frames. Fakes will
cost slightly less, but not much - to make them look like "real bargains".
Turn of the century porcelain coffee service from Gardner factory used to
cost £450-£600, these days runs over a £700. Decent jewellery starts from a
few hundred, most antique pieces will be around £700 plus. Art: you can get
good early-mid 20th century graphics (watercolours etc.) from £300-£600.
FURS
Moscow is a haven for a wide selection of furs. Mid-summer is the best time to
bargain-hunt as the prices are at their seasonal low, and shop owners are
clearing their inventories to make room for the fall models. GUM (the large
department store in Red Square) and Petrovsky Passage (five minutes away
from the Bolshoi Theatre) are good places to start with a number of small
fur boutiques. Prices may be high by local standards, but still attractive
to Western buyers. You may try to negotiate a discount, although this may
not work in larger stores.
Other fur shops worth exploring are Three Lions (Red Square 3, Novy Arbat 15),
Knyazhna (Manezhnaya 1) and Landi (Smolenskaya Square 3). Finally, try also
one of the large indoor markets stuffed with individually-owned and managed
shops, such as the one near the Kon'kovo metro station. Bring a Russian
friend with you to help negotiate; this can bring the quoted price down by
as much as 20 per cent. But do your homework first: most places will not
have returns, exchanges, refunds, warranties, or store credits.
Price guide: A rabbit hat costs £25, mink hat
anywhere from £80-£160, fur coat (short, knee-high) anywhere from
£1,500-£4,000, long (ankle-high) starts at £2,000 and rises £6,000.
AMBER and other high-end souvenirs
Almost every tourist shop will stock amber - however, beware of imitations.
Amber is relatively soft so will scratch easily - it also retains a static
charge which most fake amber cannot. Try the small arts and crafts shop in
the History Museum (Red Square) which also stocks nested matryoshka dolls,
silver and malachite designs and a good selection of hand-painted
papier-mâché boxes. All three main design schools are well-represented and
each box comes with certificate of authenticity and artist's signature. Some
have exquisite designs and are very collectable. Some are not cheap: it is
not unusual for a large box to cost £400-plus. You can also find imitation
Faberge eggs, contemporary icons and the traditional blue-and-white Gzhel
pottery. For a wider range of Gzhel pottery try their exclusive store at
Navaginskaya 12.
Price guide: Amber is not that expensive, one can
get a nice pendant for £40 or a three-piece bracelet for £85.
ALCOHOL
Stolychnaya vodka is available city wide but for something slightly different
try the Liquor section of most Seventh Continent stores or the Eliseevsky
supermarket (for address, see Caviar section). There are shelves and shelves
of vodkas from the very basic five bucks a pop to the most elaborate bottle
designs and wide range of flavours. The only local wine you can buy comes
either from Georgia or Moldavia and which is semi-sweet / sweet and rather
an acquired taste. The more popular brands are Kindzmarauli or Khvanchkara.
They used to run at around £4 a bottle, but - possibly as part of the brand
refinement - have gone up as high as £12-15. Local cognac (Armenian) is
really a brandy, but if you feel adventurous, try the Ararat.
TOYS
One stop shopping for kids stuff can be had at the gigantic Detskiy Mir (Kids'
World) at Lubyanka Square, steps away from the former KGB headquarters.
There you'll be able to find all manner of toys with a Russian flavour for
the little ones.
BOOKS
This is one of the last true bargains left in Russia.- especially art books
which will not require fluent Russian to enjoy. The following stores are all
worth a browse: Dom Knigi (Novy Arbat 8), Biblio-Globus (Myasnitskaya 6/3),
Molodaya Gvardiya (Bolshaya Polyanka 28) and Moskva (Tverskaya 8).
________________
ST PETERSBURG
The city tends to have the same goods as Moscow but generally not as wide a
selection. The second capital also lags behind in terms of shopping
conveniences such as ATMs. Still, there is still good shopping to be had
with the same general observations as in Moscow.
Department Stores
Gostinny Dvor (Nevskiy Prospekt 35) is well worth a tour. The large arcade is
filled with shops selling anything from designer furs to lingerie and CDs.
Passazh (Nevskiy Prospek 48) offers much the same range, along with
imitation antiques. There is also a supermarket in the basement.
Art and Antiques
Peterburgskiy Salon (Nevskiy Prospekt 54) is great for window-shopping and
browsing: be prepared to spend serious money. Rapsodiya (Bolshaya
Konyushennaya 13) offers relatively expensive ceramics, silver and
furniture. Apraksin dvor (Sadovaya) is not the most attractive arcade, but
you may find some very nice mid-century porcelain tea and coffee services.
There is also an outlet that sells rejects of the Lomonosov porcelains.
Designer Clothes
There are several trendy boutiques in the city worth checking out. Tatiyana
Parfyonova (Nevskiy Prospekt 5) for ladies' fashion by Russian designers is
well worth a visit.
Books
Glossy books about the Imperial palaces, the Hermitage and other museums can
be bought from street vendors on Nevsky Prospekt and near the Winter Palace.
There are also several bookstores on Nevsky for a more relaxed browse.
