Elyseyev was one of the most wealthy people in Russia while started as the poor. He owned ships, newspapers, manufacturing and commercial trade ventures running businesses all over the globe. While being great patriot, he always cared about prosperity of the country and its international image. Elyseyev opened few food stores and 2 superstores in Moscow and St. Petersburg in late 19th century. These stores were simply unmatched by any other ones throughout the whole world, as splendor of decoration and choice of food were simply outrageous and unbelievable. The reputation of these 2 stores as the most luxurious in existence and excellent in selection of everything went far beyond Russian borders, the wealthies people from all around the globe were doing shopping through catalogs while enjoying outstanding quality of service. One could find everything in this place to satisfy the most demanding taste, starting from hot/fresh Italian soup ( no kidding ), French perfumery, Iranian caviar, live rays from Oceania and all the way up to the most exotic fresh fruits from Hawaii. Just to give some idea about the superstore decorations,- cost of one single chandelier exceeded $50,000 rubles, unbelievable money for those times. Store survived through the whole reign of Soviet’s rulers while being run down pretty much from its former splendor, yet it was brought back in late 90's to decent, not the same, though, state.