The Only Russian Nesting Doll Intro You’ll Ever Need

This story briefly describes the origin of the Russian wooden dolls. This material may be useful and interesting to primary school teachers, educators of older kindergarten groups. Information about the matryoshka can be used on thematic class hours. But what is a Russian nesting doll really? Let us find out.

Probably, in every house you can meet everyone’s favorite wooden doll. This is a toy that embodies kindness, wealth, family well-being.

The first Russian matryoshka was an eight-person: A girl with a black rooster was followed by a boy, then a girl, and so on. All the figures differed from each other. The last, the eighth, depicted a baby.

Initially, this doll did not even have a name. But when the turner made it, the artist painted it with bright colors, then the name appeared – Matryona. Perhaps this is due to the fact that at various evenings tea was served by servants with that name.

Why it that everyone’s favorite Russian toy doll is was called “the nested doll”?

  • Many believe that this name comes from the female name Matryona, very popular at that time in Russia. The name Matryona in Latin means “noble woman.” Looking at the matryoshka, there really is an image of a portly noble person.
  • Matryoshka won love and recognition as a symbol of Russian folk art.
  • There is such a belief – if you put a note with a desire inside this wooden doll, it will surely come true. Matryoshka, from the very beginning of its origin, symbolizes warmth and comfort in the house.

The very idea of creating such an unusual doll encompasses a deep philosophical meaning: in order to find the truth, you need to get to the point, opening, one by one, all the parts of the wooden doll. In other words, there are no easy ways to solve various problems. It is worth making a lot of effort to achieve a certain result.

Perhaps the idea of a wooden toy, consisting of several figurines that fit one into the other, was submitted to the master who created the matryoshka containing Russian fairy tales. Take the tale of Koshchei, with whom Ivan Tsarevich is fighting. Let us recall the story of the search for “koscheevoy death”: Koshchei’s death is hidden far away: there is a green oak on the sea, on the island on the Buyan there is a green oak, an iron chest is buried under that oak, a hare in that chest, a duck in a hare, a duck in an egg; one has only to crush the egg – and Koschey instantly dies.

In the image of the russian dolls, the art of the masters and the endless love of folk culture are united. Nowadays, you can buy all kinds of doll souvenirs for every taste.

But all the same, when we hear the “matryoshka”, then surely in the head there is an image of a cheerful Russian girl in a bright folk costume. Love for our beloved doll will be passed, I think, from generation to generation. After all, the history of the origin of nesting dolls is the history of our culture.

Bear, balalaika, vodka and of course, the doll! Leaving Russia without a doll is just a crime, it is known and loved all over the world. If you have met in any country of the world a Russian cafe, a shop and the like, there is a matryoshka in it. It could not be otherwise.

Nesting dolls are a symbol of the Russian spirit, but why?

These are just wooden figures, brightly decorated, which are smaller than the other, which is why they can hide in each other. But where is Russia? What we deserve such a symbol?

First of all, the nested doll is an element of decorative art, it’s essentially a doll, it embodies the identity of a people because of its color, because it’s always national, classical. Russian style, Russian character – all this is in the doll. This symbol appeared in the 19th century, but the story itself of the appearance of the doll has two options.

The first hypothesis says that the Mamontov family was presented with an interesting Japanese statuette, and this family was rich (philanthropists and industrialists). The statuette is an image of a Buddhist saint named Furukuji, it was broken into two parts, and inside there was another one the same – only smaller. What do we see? The principle of nesting dolls. So, all inside the figurine there were five figures, and already the Mamontov family decided in response to present a different gift – the same dolls, only in Russian folk style.

But the second version of the origin of nesting dolls says that the eastern analogue looked very funny, that is – the second version also grows out of Japan. So, according to her, Furukuma (Japanese sage) was depicted on the figures as a bald old man, and his head was greatly extended upwards, it is believed that such ailment was in his thoughts and thoughts. And this version says that it was in this way – by copying the form, a Russian matryoshka was created, and they began to produce it right in the Mamontov workshop, and then sell it in the “Child care” store. But the creator of the idea itself is called a certain master named V. Zvezdochkin.

The Birthplace

The birthplace of the Russian nesting dolls is SergievPosad, it is the center of handicraft production of toys. The masters of this city do not lag behind the trends in the world of toys, they do everything that they themselves can do with their own hands.

The nesting doll produced by the Mammoths also made a big impression on them, they also began to create it, and in 1900 they all knew what a Russian nesting doll is and how it looks. Why in 1900, it was just then that she was brought for the first time to the World Exhibition in Paris, after this master’s fur in SergiyevPosad simply did not have time to fulfill orders, there were so many who wanted. Since then, the nested doll has already been brought to various exhibitions in Leipzig and London; they brought the Russian symbol to Greece, Turkey and even the states of the Middle East.

The Right Appearance

The appearance of the nested doll, of course, was not always the same as we know it today; the Russian doll was even with the faces of ancient Russian boyars, knights, fairy-tale or historical characters. Can you imagine a matryoshka doll with the face of Kutuzov and Napoleon? But such existed.

The city of Semenovo and the village of Merinovo were also places where the dolls were made, these particular dolls were the most colorful in the national plan. I must say that the toy was encrusted with straw and such work couldn’t be put on the conveyor, the craftsmanship was what played the main role in decorating the dolls.

When talking about Russian dolls what comes in mind is history, political, cultural and action figures but as sport became an integral part of human life. It is not surprising that different sport games and teams are selling sport matryoshka dolls where you can see the different faces of sport icons.