MOSCOW -- Moscow seems to have the biggest concentration of furniture stores per square kilometer in the world. Downtown is a cramped place, with barely enough space for designer clothing and jewelry boutiques. Yet, in the peripheral neighborhoods, furniture stores thrive.
Store names are laconic and businesslike. One is unlikely to come across an Uncle Vanyas Sofas or a Kremlin Futons. Bigger stores name themselves in the plainest possible way -- Furniture. Smaller ones proudly point to the source of their goods -- Spanish Furniture, Italian Furniture, German Furniture, Finnish Furniture and Spanish Furniture (for some reason, Spain is very popular with the furniture people in Moscow).
After years of political debate, uncertainty and protest, Moscow has found solace in adamant consumerism. Everybody seems to be involved in redecorating his or her apartment. Richer people are moving the walls and installing marble baths; poorer ones are applying new wallpaper and paint.