From Asia to Russia: The Story of Matryoshka Dolls

You probably already know about the Russian nesting dolls called 'Matryoshka' or Grandmother Dolls, Babushka Dolls, Russian Tea Dolls or some ten other names. Matryoshkas are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name Matryoshka, means "little matron", is a diminutive form of the Russian female first name "Matryona". It seems that this toy is the quintessence of everything Russian. But what if I tell you that the origin of this toy is not russian at all?

Matryoshka is the best known and most popular Russian souvenir. The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 in Abramtsevo by Vasily Zvyozdochkin and designed by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter in the Abramtsevo estate of Savva Mamontov, a Russian industrialist and patron of arts. Like many Russian legends, there are numerous theories on the Matryoshka doll’s history. Some claim the doll was inspired by a nesting toy featuring the Seven Gods of Fortune that Mamontov’s wife brought back from a trip to Japan, while others say it was simply the a result of the workshop’s ongoing innovation. Sources differ in descriptions of the doll, describing it as either a round, hollow daruma doll, portraying a bald old Buddhist monk, or a Seven Lucky Gods nesting doll. Savva Mamontov's wife presented the dolls at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, where the toy earned a bronze medal. Soon after, matryoshka dolls were being made in several places in Russia and became famous around the world. The whole set of dolls is made from the same piece of wood to make sure that wood reacts in the same way to changing humidity and temperature conditions. The most common material is lime and birch. If a master my mistake damaged one piece then the whole set (it could be seven, ten, or even more pieces) is spoiled. Each doll is painted by hand and covered with as many as seven layers of lacquer.
As time constantly changes, so does the physical features of the matryoshka dolls change little by little. Each doll has evolved from uniquely different to identically the same for patterns and designs, just different in size. Modern artists create many new styles of Matryoshka dolls. A set of Russian nesting dolls nowadays can represent modern national politicians, religious deities, a royal family, or a group of celebrities.

Hey there. Somehow you found my video and decided to watch it. So let me introduce myself. I'm Sergei and I'm from Russia. My channel is about my native country. I want to tell English-speaking viewers about the real Russia, about its past and present. Unfortunately, you can find a lot of propaganda about Russia on the Internet, both from the Russian media and from the Western ones. I want to tell you about Russia, as it really is, the country in which I was born, grew up, and lived all my life.

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Видео From Asia to Russia: The Story of Matryoshka Dolls канала Setarko