Harvey Pitcher, a well-known English researcher and translator of the works of A.P. Chekhov, is also the author of several books about the life of the British in Russia. This time he traced the story of two Scottish families who arrived in Russia almost 200 years ago and left their mark on its spiritual and economic development. The memory of them is kept by the building of the Moscow Central Department Store - formerly the famous Mur and Meriliz department store.