Kharkiv Central Department Store (TsUM)

Kharkiv Central Department Store, like the City Council and Regional Administration buildings, bears traces of structures from various styles and eras. The Central Department Store is the result of several renovations and the incorporation of other buildings – it is much older than it appears.

The oldest building, elements of which have survived inside the Central Department Store, is the ‘Zinger’ shop. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century; the shop’s façade was very ‘airy’ – huge windows were supported by metal structures.

^{The ‘Zinger’ shop can be seen on the right. Note the columns in the central display window}

In the photo from 1910–1911, the shop is on the left. On Pavlivska Square, you can see a bus, a horse-drawn carriage and a tram.

In 1930, architect Oleksandr Linetskyi designed the ‘Khatorg’ department store in the Constructivist style.

Its construction was completed in 1933 to the left of the former ‘Singer’ store.

_{The department store’s current address: Pavlivska Square, 1/3}

In 1934, the ‘Khatorg’ department store became the Kharkiv Central Model Department Store (TsUM).

In 1938, the Central Department Store was expanded according to a design by P. Frolov; the buildings that had previously stood to the right of the department store were partially incorporated into its structure.

During the Second World War, the department store suffered serious damage.

_{The KhTZ-16 ersatz self-propelled gun with a 45 mm gun. It was produced on the basis of the SKhTZ-3 tractor in 1941.}

Its reconstruction was carried out according to a design by M. Movshovich, B. Klein and V. Kharlamov in the Stalinist (socialist classicism) style – the department store partially lost its Constructivist appearance. However, if one compares the two photographs, one can see that the appearance of the end façade has remained virtually unchanged, and the arrangement of the windows on the main façade has stayed in the same places.

In order to cut an additional window into the end wall and preserve the legibility of the vertical inscription ‘Department Store’, the letter ‘U’ had to be modified (it was given an additional ‘curve’).

Despite the uniform façade, the interior of the Central Department Store remained heterogeneous – the transitions between the old buildings remained noticeable due to differences in floor levels. Cast-iron columns, remnants of the old ‘Singer’ sewing machine shop, can also be seen inside the Central Department Store

With the growth of online shopping and the emergence of large shopping and entertainment centres in Kharkiv, TsUM began to lose its customers, and more and more retail spaces were converted into offices. In 2021, the ‘Molodist’ restaurant opened on the ground floor; its designers preserved TsUM’s original Soviet mosaics and placed a PAZ-672 bus in the centre of the restaurant, with tables arranged inside. The toilets were designed in the style of lift cabins.

As a result of Russian rocket fire on Pavlivska Square on 28 August 2022, the TSUM building was damaged and lost its glazing.