GUM is Russia’s premier department store and one of the world’s top ten most famous department stores. It is located on the east side of Red Square, with Red Square itself to its west.
During the Soviet era, GUM was known as the “State Department Store” (Russian: Государственный Универсальный Магазин), abbreviated as “ГУМ,” which is transliterated into Chinese as “GUM.”
In 2004, a Russian company named “Bosco di Ciliegi” acquired the department store for $100 million, and its name was changed to “Main Department Store” (Russian: Главный Универсальный Магазин), though its abbreviation remained the same as before: “ГУМ.”
GUM was built on the site of a traditional Moscow marketplace. There used to be a large number of shops here. Construction took place from 1890 to 1893, and it opened on December 2, 1893.
In 1893, the complex consisted of 16 buildings arranged in a north-to-south formation, each with three floors: upper, middle, and lower. Bridges connected the floors within each row of buildings, while a 400-meter-long arched glass dome linked every two rows of buildings, There are a total of three 400-meter-long arched glass domes running parallel from north to south, uniting all the buildings into a single complex.
Today, visitors stepping inside can not only experience a high-end, fashionable shopping atmosphere but also admire the architectural masterpieces that span over a century—translucent arched glass domes covering three-story colonnades, where ornate cast-iron railings intertwine with warm yellow lighting, as if freezing the aristocratic ambiance of days gone by in mid-air.
As a prime example of the fusion of Russian architectural art and commercial civilization, GUM Department Store not only preserves the memories of the empire but also continues the city’s prosperity with elegant grace, serving as a shining cultural emblem of Moscow.
