GUM (department store)

GUM (Russian: ГУМ, pronounced [ˈɡum], an abbreviation of the Russian: Главный универсальный магазин; Glavnyi Universalnyi Magazin; literally "main universal store") is the name of the main department store in many cities of the former Soviet Union, known as State Department Store (Russian: Государственный универсальный магазин; Gosudarstvennyi Universalnyi Magazin) during the Soviet times. Similarly named stores were found in some Soviet republics and post-Soviet states. The most famous GUM is the large store in the Kitai-gorod part of Moscow facing Red Square. It is currently a shopping mall. Prior to the 1920s, the location was known as the Upper Trading Rows (Russian: Верхние торговые ряды). Nearby, also facing Red Square, is a building very similar to GUM, known formerly as the Middle Trading Rows. It is about the same size as a large North American shopping mall. It has a clear roof.

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