IN 1844, Archibald Mirrielees, a widower, married Jane Muir in London, and then took her to St Petersburg, at that time Russia’s capital, where he was already in business. With them went Jane’s brother Andrew; and thirteen years on, the family established Muir and Mirrielees in St Petersburg, selling ‘sewing cottons, laces and many other kinds of British manufactures’. Some thirty years later, they relocated to Theatre Square in Moscow, determined to become Russia’s answer to Whiteley’s of London.*

Growth was rapid. Even a serious fire was an opportunity, the company hiring distinguished architect Roman Klein to design a six-storey replacement in Gothic Revival style.* At each stage, Russian clergy came to bless the construction — it was, as their publicity said, a ‘Russian-English firm’ — and the new shop opened in 1908 amidst breathless anticipation, as it was the first building in Moscow to boast lifts. It was also the country’s first department store, selling everything from furniture and perfume to cuddly toys.