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RUSSIAN SOUVENIRS

On 14th St., A Hoarder’s Paradise

Russian Souvenirs Liz Wagner Figurines in the window of Russian Souvenirs. Below: The shop’s storefront.
Russian Souvenirs

East Village boutiques are pretty quirky, but Russian Souvenirs, a small consignment store on 14th Street near Third Avenue has some of the most unusual finds in the neighborhood.

The dust-crusted window leads to a view of a chaotic array of Matryoshka dolls, which includes one that’s painted to look like Michael Jackson. There’s a line of Soviet military caps adorned with red stars hanging from stretched-out wire hangers, and a collection of wooden statutes whittled to look like bears posing in odd positions. A hodgepodge of war medals, army pins, dangly gold earrings, glasses without lenses, and swaths of fabric — 50 percent off, as advertised on a rumpled piece of paper taped to the front of the store, — complete the window display.

The spectacle has been known to entice passersby.

“I saw this sort of messy stuff in the window and it was interesting,” said Catherine Siemann, a Chelsea resident, who stopped to take a peek.

Inside, Russian Souvenirs is a hoarder’s paradise. It is packed floor-to-ceiling with stuff; more nesting dolls and military paraphernalia, Ukrainian eggs, paintings of Soviet landscapes, racks of dark-colored clothing. The only aisle is too narrow for two people to stand side by side, and the place smells like a grandfather’s coat closet that hasn’t been opened for quite some time.
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