Why “Russian”
The market’s Khmer name is Psar Tuol Tompoung. Foreigners have called it the Russian Market since the 1980s, when Soviet expatriates working in Cambodia during the People’s Republic of Kampuchea period were the most visible foreign shoppers in it. The nickname stuck long after they left.
What to buy
The market is organised into loose zones. Textiles and silk take up a large share — scarves, krama, tailored shirts and lengths of fabric — and there is a substantial trade in silver, jewellery, antiques of varying authenticity, and carved wood and stone.
It is also the best place in the city for genuinely useful things: motorbike parts, hardware, kitchenware and spices. The food court in the middle is worth arriving hungry for — noodles, iced coffee and fruit shakes, cooked in front of you.
Bargaining is expected and should be good-natured. Starting around half the opening price and settling somewhere in the middle is normal.
Visiting
The market is in the Toul Tom Poung neighbourhood south of the centre, a ten-minute tuk-tuk from BKK1. It opens early and starts winding down in the late afternoon.
The corrugated roof turns it into an oven by mid-morning — go before ten if you can. It is cramped, so keep bags in front of you.
The surrounding streets have quietly become one of the better neighbourhoods in the city for independent cafés and boutiques, and are worth an hour after the market itself.