Russian Nesting Dolls
The Charm of Russian Nesting Dolls
By Irina Hinderliter
There are a few things that have always remained a part of the Russian culture. The Russian nesting dolls or Matryoshkas are one among them. Matryoshkas or Babushkas as they are commonly called were introduced to Russia about a hundred years ago. Since then they have been a part of every girl’s toy collection. The term ‘Matryoshka’ is derived from a popular Russian name ‘Matryona’. This name is believed to have been derived from the Latin word ‘mater’ which when translated means mother.Almost every one visiting Russia buys these as a souvenir when returning home. Thanks to the internet it is now possible to buy such Russian dolls from a US company.
These dolls are usually made from lime wood or bass wood, that’s dried for about two years. The skill here is to make dolls that have fine sides. A typical Babushka would have about 5 to 30 dolls inside. They generally follow a theme. For example they could depict a large Russian family or a Russian peasant woman with her large brood. The traditional Russian nesting doll depicts, a typical Russian peasant woman, with a portly figure and a scarf (or babushka) tied around her, to avoid the cold. Political nesting dolls have also gained popularity. The trend started, with the immensely popular Gorbachev nesting dolls and has now grown to include a variety of themes, like Star Trek dolls, The Simpsons nesting dolls, Disney characters nesting dolls, sports themed dolls, and even musical dolls.
Artisans follow a particular style, when making these dolls. Sergiyev Posad, Seminovo, Polkholvsky Maidan, Zagorsk and Kirov are some of the popular styles. The dolls would differ according to the influence of the style that the artisan follows.
The price of these dolls usually varies from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. The collectibles are usually priced high. As earlier said, you could buy them from the US, through a number of websites that offer to sell them. These handmade dolls make the perfect wedding gift as these dolls symbolize fertility. For those looking to gift these dolls, you could get them gift wrapped as well. These websites also store a number of other popular Russian souvenirs like Baltic amber(which is the best among Russian amber), lacquer boxes, Faberge style jewelry, Russian brooches and several other collectibles like Russian fur hats, Russian military hats, wooden Santa’s, etc.
So the next time you are out looking for a wedding gift or a Christmas gift, look no further!
Irina is an online retailing expert that has a passion for Russian gifts as well as Russian culture and history. In greatrussiangifts.com one can find unique, authentic handmade Russian gifts and nesting dolls. Shop our exclusive collection of lacquer boxes, Christmas ornaments, jewelry, amber, accessories, collectible gifts and more.
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