GUM

The end of the last century in a certain sense completed the architectural ensemble of Red Square. In 1890-93, the Upper Trading Rows (now GUM) were erected in the so-called "Russian style" on the east side of the square from a design by Alexander Pomerantsev. The talented architect managed to blend this large new building well with the old Kremlin wall opposite, and to establish new links in the famous ensemble: the paired towers in the central section of the Upper Trading Rows echo the vertical lines of the Historical Museum and the Kremlin towers.

The building of the Upper Rows was erected on a spot with a long tradition of trading. The very word "rows" goes back into the distant past. It had long been the custom in Russia to have a special row for trading in a certain article. Consequently, there were many rows in the Kitai Gorod district of Moscow, one for trading in each of the following: icons, herrings, cauldrons, iron, peddler's goods, paper, oil, spades, vegetables, greens, canvas, gold, dyes, male and female headwear, silver, old clothes, honey, lanterns, mittens, furs, soles, laces, needles and so on.

The facades of the long buildings of the Upper Rows are a decorative display of rhythmically alternating elements of Russian ornament applied to the architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The large glass roofs were installed over the trading lines with the help of metal constructions designed by the distinguished scientist and engineer Vladimir Shukhov.

In 1921, on the initiative of Lenin, the country's largest department store was opened in the building of the Upper Trading Rows. In the 1930s, a number of governmental institutions worked here. In 1953, after major repairs, the State Department Store (or GUM as it is called for short) was reopened. The trading sections are arranged in three long lines. Here, too, is a dressmaking salon and a hall for fashion displays. A staff of about 8,000 serves the more than 300,000 customers who visit the store daily.