Toy story: Soviet-era landmark for kids closes

The same year that Sputnik soared into space saw the launch of another Soviet-era icon that may have loomed larger for generations of Russians: a huge toy store in central Moscow called Detsky Mir, or Children's World.

Fifty years later, the hulking block-long building across from the KGB's notorious Lubyanka headquarters closed Tuesday for major renovations, the latest landmark to be torn down or tarted up in the malling of Moscow.

The toy store, faced in yellowish tile on a sloping square near the Kremlin, was a place of dreams and desire for Soviet children and a crucial resource for parents struggling to find them holiday gifts, school supplies and clothing …