Arbat Ulitsa (Arbat St) is a pedestrian only stretch of road just east of the Kremlin. It is lined with shops and restaurants as well as souvenir kiosks. The sellers are not in your face and haggling is a must. Most of it is pretty camp, but some is quite nice. Make sure you are looking for Arbat St and not Novy Arbat St, which is a bit dull and lifeless.

Get off the metro at Arbatskaya and look for the statue of Gogol. Walk past the statue and you're pretty much there

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A sprawling maze of wooden turrets and walkways housing the largest souvenir market in Moscow. If you make it through the obligatory matrioshka and amber stalls, crowded with American tourists, you are rewarded with a bewildering array of miscellany from antique busts of Lenin and Stalin to old toys and household junk. It's as popular with Russians as it is for tourists so the prices are reasonable, although if you have a foreign accent you'll have to work hard to haggle them down. The entrance fee is a mere 10 roubles.

Nearest metro: Izmailovo

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Bring it from Moscow and share it with your friends.

Some local brands of Russian vodka, such as Russky Standard have a very special taste infused by rye and other natural ingredients.

Caviar is also a very special Russian treat: try it with black bread and butter.

Get it at Duty Free in Sheremetyevo or Domodedovo or in Eliseevsky supermarket on Tverskaya (nearest metro: Tverskaya)

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You're in a cold, smelly suburban train full of drunken youths going back to the outskirts. There's no escape and so you need a train seller. They come one after another advertising their wares in powerful voices no earplugs can fight off. These guys can feed you (crisps, nuts, dried squid), get you drunk (beer and alcopops), keep you warm (socks and mittens) and educated (everything from neo-nazi newspapers to bibles and Readers Digest).

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What do you mean you don't need a new hoover/microwave/home theatre? Okay, but luck will have it that your mobile's battery expires or your MP3 player packs up. Or you will need one of 30,000 titles in music or film or software. All of them can be found here.

Two-thirds are still fakes or pirated copies no matter what fancy banners may say. Still, the place offers the most complete selection of Russian music and films, latest Hollywood releases, should you miss home or peculiar tunes.

Bagrationovskaya metro, then walk. Check out the large food market on the way

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A huge electronics market, Gorbushka is the place to get CDs, DVDs, and anything electrical, from iPods to TVs, in Moscow. Piracy is not illegal in Russia - the government itself reportedly uses pirated software on their computers.

Pirated CDs go for about 100 roubles, and MP3 CDs are common and cheap here. DVDs are about 100 to 300 roubles depending on the release, and you can find some real bargains if you shop around.

Go to Bagrationovskaya metro (four stops west from Kievskaya metro on the light blue line) and follow the crowds and big red signs

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Avoid the rip-off fly boys manning the Arbat souvenir stalls and head to this old-fashioned souvenir shop on the corner of Arbat and Konyushennaya. Great selection of matryoshki and wooden toys, china and glassware and a fair selection of table linens.

Wooden Christmas decorations are especially good value. Even better for the tourist, everything is clearly labelled with its price.

Corner of Arbat and Konyushennaya; nearest metro is Arbat (dark blue line)

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Half-litre bottles of beer and Stolichnaya are 50p and £3 respectively; a pack of Marlboro is less than a pound. What are you waiting for? Get yourself to Moscow.

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From the Sandunovskaya bath houses. 300 rubles.

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