History of pharmacies: The first Tzar pharmacy in Moscow and in Russia was established by Ivan the Terrible in 1581. The specially designed Pharmaceutical Department controlled all the medicine and pharmacies in the country. The first pharmacy for the Moscow residents was opened in 1672. By the middle of the XIXth c. there were about 27 pharmacies, 24 of them were private. One of the largest pharmacies of the end of the XIXth c. was the currently operating on Nikolskaya street, Ferreyn’s Pharmacy is still operating today.
At the beginning of the XXth c. there were about 100 pharmacies operating in Moscow. Today there is a very large network of state-run and private pharmacies in Moscow (around 700). There are several veterinarian as well.
The general availability of high quality (often foreign) drugs and hygiene products in pharmacies has improved greatly although it varies from pharmacy to pharmacy. Now imported band-aids, antiseptics, feminine hygiene products, toothpaste and condoms can be found in supermarkets and some large grocery stores as well.
There is no equivalent to the "American Drug Store" that fills prescriptions and sells sundries in Russia. For medicine and drugs, try pharmacies listed below, and for sundries look in Western style DEPARTMENT STORES or FOOD STORES: SUPERMARKETS. You can also find toothpaste, personal hygiene products, etc. now and again in Kiosks.
There are now dozens of well-stocked pharmacies replete with western pharmaceuticals, Asian generic versions and domestic medicines. Here are a few.