Occupying a full city block of prime downtown real estate, the store traditionally was chock-full of school uniforms, snowsuits and track suits, as well as sports supplies and toys.
Now, as the privatization process creeps forward, Detsky Mir is renting space to stores that often have nothing to do with childhood, Soviet or otherwise.
Arab Audio and Video hides its inventory behind tactful brown paper on the fourth floor. During a recent visit, a CD store was pumping out one of the less sensitive works of the rap singer Sir Mix-a-Lot (for the ruble equivalent of $18), and the first floor was doing a brisk business in double beds, Smokers' Toothpaste, and radar detectors ($140.)
But some outlets for children's items remain.
Winkler's World, a German clothing store, occupies much of the second floor with mid-range imported sportswear -- Lee jeans are selling for 98 Deutsche marks ($64.50), cotton shirts start at 19.90 DM ($13). One floor up, a boutique emblazoned "School Clothes from USA" offers Knitwaves merchandise for prices that hover around $44 for a sweater and $21 for leggings.
Every price tag in Detsky Mir is now stamped with the item's country of origin, and a perceptive customer can spot prices in half a dozen different currencies. Disposable diapers have made their way from Israel, Finland, Turkey and France. Black marketeers walk the halls selling home-made paper diapers out of paper bags, sidling up to customers and whispering "cheaper than Pampers."
Among the playthings on sale are cheaply-made Chinese amusements such as "The Mighty Washer," a small pink plastic toy that lights up and simulates the cycles of a washing machine. "The Mighty Washer" left Kolya Savchenko, 5, spellbound and gaping, as his mother tried to explain the concept of budgeting.
Although the Savchenko family once came regularly to shop at Detsky Mir, the imported goods have shot out of their price range, his mother said. "Perhaps the quality is higher, but it hardly matters."
"You understand, this is almost my entire monthly salary," said Sveta Savchenko, who works as a teacher's aide. "These days, we just come here to look."
But pockets of the store itself also remain more or less unchanged. Beside the Polish strollers (378,000 rubles) and Chinese inflatable pools (96,600) are locally produced wooden cross-country skis which still sell for 12,760 rubles. School supplies are still cheap, and the Soviet-vintage microscopes and camera equipment are priced in the 20,000-ruble range.
That should leave some extra cash for the BMW 318i sitting in the entrance, still shining after 7,000 kilometers.
Detsky Mir is located at the end of Teatralny Proezd on Lubyanskaya Ploshchad. Telephone: 926-2110.
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