Mixed Media: Magazines and Newspapers for All Tastes

Sometimes in Russia there is no better comfort than a glossy magazine or thick newspaper in the language and style of your choice. Until recently, a good selection of current foreign-language periodicals was difficult to find. Over the past few months, however, several local stores have expanded their stock of magazines and newspapers, and now many publications, both popular and esoteric, are more accessible.Arguably one of the best selections of newspapers and magazines in town has always been Stockmann's food store at 4/8 Zatsepsky Val; tel. 233-2602, 231-1924. All the main news magazines are there, from Newsweek, The Economist and Business Central Europe (all $4.90) to Forbes ($11), Stern ($5.80), and Le Point ($4.90). The newspaper section is best for American, British and European newspapers, and includes USA Today, the International Herald Tribune, The Financial Times, and The European, all of which range from $2 to $3 apiece. News magazines in stock are all the current week's edition, while newspapers are generally one day behind.Stockmann also has a good selection of specialist magazines, grouped accordingly, for computer buffs (MacUser at $6.15 and Dr. Dobb's Journal at $7.40), music lovers (Rolling Stone at $6.15), sports fans (Tennis, $8) and celebrity watchers (The Face and Interview are available for $9.85). Women's and general-interest magazines are often cheaper at Stockmann's than elsewhere in Moscow: British and U.S. Cosmopolitan cost $5.55, Vanity Fair is $5.60, and Bazaar is $5.55. Stockmann's also stocks the Russia Business Survival Guide, Information Moscow, and Where in Moscow (fourth edition), at $23, $25, and $17 respectively.Another good source of magazines is at Global USA, at 35 Ulitsa Usacheva; tel. 245-5657, 244-1646, which has more of a representative sampling of different-language publications. In addition to a good selection of news magazines -- Time ($3), U.S. News & World Report ($5), The Economist ($4) and Business Week ($4.50), you can find Life ($6.50), Paris Match ($4), and the German magazine Bunte ($4.50), as well as a good selection of music magazines (from Vox, $11, to Billboard, $9) and a selection of newspapers ranging from The Wall Street Journal to The Observer to Le Monde (priced respectively from $2 to $8.50).If you are eager to find your hometown newspaper, try the Progress Supermarket at 17 Zubovsky Bulvar; tel. 246-9976, which has a wide range of major papers from Britain (The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph), Germany (Suddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit), France (Le Figaro, Le Monde), and Italy (La Corrizione) in addition to The Wall Street Journal. Papers range from $2 to $8.50 (for The Observer), and the store also has a good range of magazines from the aforementioned news weeklies to Q music magazine ($10.50), GQ ($9) plus the Robes-Manteaux catalog ($9.50) and knitting books from Lang, Bettina, Burda, and Coton/Actuel at $6 to $7 a piece.At the Radisson Slavjanskaya, the Vesti Newsstand located on the hotel's St. George Street (tel. 941-8080) always has a good source of periodicals. The wide range of international newspapers (The Guardian, $2, Die Welt, $2, La Stampa, $2.50, The International Herald Tribune, $2) is usually one day old. The magazine selection is also fairly generous, ranging from current editions of the major fashion magazines in American, British, French and German editions, to specialty reads such as SportsCar International (13DM or about $8), PC (12DM), and Guns and Ammo ($5). Newspapers and magazines, despite the currency of the price tag, are payable in rubles and credit cards only.Finally, if you are looking for inexpensive, English-language magazines and are not bothered if they are a few months out of date, check out Post International at Room 4 on the ground floor of the Novoye Vremya Building, Pushkinskaya Ploshchad, on the right side of the Rossiya movie theater. The courier company, which provides a mail service for a large part of the foreign community, sells unclaimed magazines and newspapers for ruble prices, displaying the items along the wall inside the entrance. A recent selection included April issues of The Economist for 3,500 rubles, Public Citizen (May/June edition) for 1,500 rubles, and National Parks for 2,000 rubles. Even Newsweek and Time have on occasion been seen. If you are in the area, it is worth stopping by.