Jump to navigation Jump to search “Russian dolls” redirects here. Russian nesting single russian doll, stacking dolls, or Russian dolls, are the set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure, which separates, top from bottom, to reveal a smaller figure of the same sort inside, which has, in turn, another figure inside of it, and so on.
The first Russian nested doll set was made in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo. The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin and designed by Sergey Malyutin, who is a folk crafts painter in the Abramtsevo estate of Savva Mamontov, a Russian industrialist and patron of arts. The origin of the inspiration for matroshka dolls is not clear. It is believed that Zvyozdochkin and Malyutin were inspired by eastern Asian culture, for example the doll Honshu, named after the main island of Japan, however the Honshu figures cannot be placed one inside another. Savva Mamontov’s wife presented the dolls at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, where the toy earned a bronze medal. Soon after, matryoshka dolls were being made in several places in Russia and shipped around the world.
Originally, themes were often drawn from tradition or fairy tale characters, in keeping with the craft tradition—but since the late 20th century, they have embraced a larger range, including Russian leaders. Common themes of Matryoshkas are floral and relate to nature. Often Christmas, Easter and religion are used as themes for the doll. Modern artists create many new styles of the nesting dolls, mostly as an alternative purchase option for tourism. These includes animal collections, portraits and caricatures of famous politicians, musicians, athletes, astronauts, “robots,” and popular movie stars.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s during Perestroika, freedom of expression allowed the leaders of the Soviet Union to become a common theme of matryoshka, with the largest doll featuring then-current leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Most sets feature the current leader as the largest doll, with the predecessors decreasing in size. Some sets that include Yeltsin preceding Gorbachev were made during the brief period between the establishment of President of the RSFSR and the collapse of the Soviet Union, as both Yeltsin and Gorbachev were concurrently in prominent government positions. Political matryoshka usually range between 5 and 10 dolls per set. The largest set of matryoshka dolls in the world is a 51-piece set hand-painted by Youlia Bereznitskaia of Russia, completed in 2003.
The tallest doll in the set measures 53. Arranged side-by-side, the dolls span 3. Matryoshka is often seen as a symbol of the feminine side of Russian culture. Matryoshka is associated in Russia with family and fertility. Matryoshka dolls are a traditional representation of the mother carrying a child within her and can be seen as a representation of a chain of mother’s carrying on the family legacy through the child in their womb.
Furthermore, Matryoshka dolls are used to illustrate the unity of body, soul, mind, heart and spirit. The onion metaphor is of similar character. If the outer layer is peeled off an onion, a similar onion exists within. This structure is employed by designers in applications such as the layering of clothes or the design of tables, where a smaller table nests within a larger table, and a smaller one within that. More than just a pretty face: The secrets of the Russian matryoshka”.
Eastern roots of the most famous Russian toy”. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. The hardworking women behind the matryoshkas hope for an Olympic boost”. Russian Doll follows a young woman named Nadia on her journey as the guest of honor at a seemingly inescapable party one night in New York City. She dies repeatedly, always restarting at the same moment at the party, as she tries to figure out what is happening to her.
