Moscow GUM, Red Square

Almost the entire eastern side of Red Square is taken up by GUM (pronounced 'Goom'), the massive former state department store. The ornate mid-20th century facade conceals an elegant, 19th-century steel frame and glass construction that reminds one of the great railway stations of Paris and London. Its arcades and galleries are now lined with both glitzy Western shops and the odd traditional Russian one, but it has an interesting history. Commandeered by Soviet bureaucrats during the first Five-Year Plan, it was used in 1932 by Stalin for the lying-in-state of his wife, Nadezhda, who had, not surprisingly, committed suicide. He apparently stayed there for days, taking careful note of who turned up - and who didn't. This was also where the huge photographic portraits of the Communist leaders that festooned Red Square were assembled, having been developed in swimming pools.

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