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| | Matryoshka (originally taken from the name “Matryona”, in latin the word “Matrona” means the noble lady, mother of the family) – Russian wooden toy in the form of painted doll, holding inside it similar types of dolls of smaller size. Number of enclosed dolls is generally six or more.
Matryoshka is one of the most popular souvenirs for foreign tourists coming to Russia.
Origin of Matryoshka
It is said that the Russian matryoshka was designed as per the model, brought from Japan. According to some versions, the matryoshka dolls appeared in Russia only after Russia-Japan war and return of prisoners of war from Japan to Russia.
Shape to Russian matryoshka was given by the turner V.P. Zvezdochnik in the years 1890s of XIXth century, and the professional painter S.M.Malyutin is the first artist behind the painting. From the memoirs of Zvezdochnik, he never saw the Japanese turned toys. Besides that, before the appearance of matryoshka, Russian craftsmen made wooden Easter eggs, which were detachable and hollow. Therefore, the question about relation between Japanese and Russian matryoshka remains unanswered.
These days matryoshkas are made in different workshops, like the one in the city of Shatur. |
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