The eastern side of Red Square is taken up by the GUM (pronounced 'goum') department store. Its name is an abbreviation of Glavny Universalny Magazin (Main Universal Shop).  The current building was built in the Russian Revival style between 1890 and 1893, consisting of three aisles and covered by an impressive glass roof.

After the Revolution the department store was nationalised and between 1928 and 1953 it was used as offices.  Since the fall of the Soviet Union GUM has reinvented itself and now many of the top names in fashion can be found here, but don't expect to find any bargains!  The ground floor has a nice food shop called Gastronomy No. 1 while the top floor has a small food court including a reasonably priced canteen offering traditional Russian cuisine.  There is even a posh historical toilet on the ground floor.  Even if you have no intention of buying anything, GUM is a nice place to walk around, especially on the small bridges which connect the upper-storey aisles.

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