Iconic Soviet-era children's store reopens as patriotic mall

A legendary store where Soviet children once flocked to snap up the latest toys has reopened in Moscow after massive, if controversial, renovations as a glitzy mall boasting "the biggest of everything".

Under wraps since 2008, Russia's largest children's store - historically known as "Detsky Mir", or Children's World, though now called the Central Children's Store on Lubyanka - has undergone a reconstruction worth eight billion roubles ($138 million) to try to attract a new generation of young shoppers.

Gone are almost all the Soviet period details, the clunky original escalators and the sweltering heating system, and in their place are a six-story glass atrium, designer brands and Europe's largest Hamleys concession, the famous British-founded toy retailer.