The Bismarck tribune., 1931-11-11
Moscow Housewives Can Never
Tell What They Are Co.
ing to Bag in Stores
Editors Note: This is the sew
enth of a series of stories deal
ing with Soviet Russia.
Nv JULIA BLANSHARD

Staff Writer for NEA Service
Copyright, 1881, NEA Service, 1nco
Shopping in Moscow has the same
sporting element of chance as big
game hunting.
If you lived there you could never
tell what you were going to bag. WHAT
the stores have stocked today may be
gore tomorrow and what you have
looked for in vain for six months may
be in the stores today.
If it is books or periodicals you
want, almost every other store along
Kuznetsky Most and Tverskaya ana
other main streets is book shop.
Every fifth or sixth corner has
kiosk (stalD selling reading matter.
Every phase of the Five-Year Plan
is dramatized and available in read
ing form. Periodicals and books cost
10 and Is kopecks each, five and l21s
cents, respectively.
If it is lipstick, rouge or other cos
metics, you can probably get what-
ever YOU want. You may have an
aversion to the inferior Russia brands.
but the Soviet trust puts out a 1uil
line and that's all there Is.
But, should you want thermome-
ter. a hot water bottle. sheets, a
rsincoat. a pair of scissors, COOK
ing stove. a typewriter, bed or many
other fundamental articles, you are
out of luck. No store has these 10
date.
A~.a~;oor ,,eus,>a herman
broke from living in a hotel, 1ouno
q tiny room he could sublet Tor tne
winter. In desperation over trying
to locate a bed somewhere. he went
to the press department OF the Mar
kornindel (Soviet body corresponding
to our U. S. State Department. ana
pleaded his case SO eloquently that
he GOT. a. government order to nave
q bed made.
The first store that struck my eye
In Moscow was q pet shop. INSIDE
rabbits cost IL rubles ($6) the pair
canaries that sing" 26 rubles ($l3),
gold fish, IS kopecks (35 cents.
Two doors up Tverskaya was a
flower shop. Hothouse flowers, like
roses. carnations, forced crysanthe-
NUNS. tube roses were high, costing
around 10 rubles ($5) for q sizeable
bunch. I saw a poorly dressed cou.
ple buy a whole armful OF 1leio
daisies, marigolds and bachelor but
tons for two rubles ($D.
X \ X
Each Of Moscow's 10 districts has
It's blocks OF stores. These district
stores repeat the goods on sale on
the Tverskaya and Kuznetsky MoSt
because practically all goods now are
produced by the government trusts
and the stores are government OUT
lets and uniformly stocked. The
same articles cost the same stand
hrdized price In every Moscow store.
In any shopping center, you will
bass about tho following kinds o.
xtores: book shops, sweet shops, 9
kports goods house, an antique shop
In office supply store, liquor store
konly bottled goods sold here). q
Chinese laundry 0aalf price for laun-
hry II you bring your own soap. an
ert store, big department store, dry
Cleaning establishment, tailor shop
In opticians office, q radio store, q
shop to pleat and hemstitch mate
tials, q toy shop, q photographer
studio, q peasantware shop, an un-
dertaker's window displaying q grue-
some red coffin.
X X =
There Is one huge. handsome de.
tartment store where no one car
trade but workers Of the G. p. U
(the Soviet secret service). In addi.
tion there Is well stocked antique
and general store, called TorgSin
where only foreign money Is accept
ed, hence only foreigners trade. Tht
big hotels run branches Of Torgsin II
their Hobbies.
Newest are the Udarnik shops
Nhese are fancy goods stores wher'
bnly those can trade who are mem
bers Of the Shock Brigades, as work
ers are called who volunteer to speet
UP the work In their factories, mills
farms.
In the first store I entered I raj
into q queue at the shoe counter
Fathers and mothers were shoppin
for their children. Sex equality i
obvious in the way Russian father
or mothers shop, depending Of
which parent has his day Of res
when the occasion arises.
The man clerk behind the counter
In a faded gray chambray Russian
blouse, handed each customer eithe
D left or right shoe. Never both