Souvenirs

A  Matryoshka doll is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The first Russian nested doll set was made in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin (designed by Sergei Maliutin) in the Abramtsevo estate near Moscow. Its creators were inspired by the Japanese doll, Fukuruma, which consisted of 7 statuettes. Maliutin painted the dolls in accordance with his own design. The first Russian nesting doll described a peasant family – a mother with her 7 children. It consisted of 8 pieces. The doll was presented at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, where the toy earned a bronze medal, and just a few years later Matryoshka dolls became insanely popular. Several well-known manufacturing centers appeared in Russia.

The wooden toy was named Matryoshka but there is no information regarding who was the first to call it by this name. Most likely, the name Matryoshka comes from the Russian female name Matriona, meaning lady or matron. This name was associated with the mother of a big family, in good health, and with a large, portly stature. Matriona has a Latin root, Mater, and means “Mother”.

The process for making these dolls remains unchanged. Usually the maker utilizes birch wood stock. The wood is kept in the open air for several years to age and season it. The doll blank undergoes over a dozen turning operations before becoming a finished doll.

The most famous styles of Matryoshka were created in Sergiev Posad, Semyonov, Polkhovsky Maidan, and Kirov.

Typically, the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a traditional Russian peasant dress. The dolls have no hands (except those that are painted). Matryoshka dolls were often painted holding baskets of berries, bread, and bunch of flowers. The figures inside may be man or woman; the smallest doll is typically a baby (made from a single small piece of wood that is non-opening). The dolls often follow a particular theme, which can vary from traditional to modern (for example, Soviet leaders).