Matryoshka doll

Matryoshka dolls (Russian: матрёшка, IPA: [mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə] ( listen)), also known as

Russian nesting dolls, stacking dolls, or Russian dolls,[1] are the set of wooden
dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name "matryoshka"
(матрёшка), literally "little matron", is a diminutive form of Russian female first
name "Matryona" (Матрёна) or "Matriosha".[2]

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.
Matryoshka dolls set in a row
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.
Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan, a long and shapeless
traditional Russian peasantjumper dress. The figures inside may be of either gender;
the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood.
Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The
dolls often follow a theme; the themes may vary, from fairy tale characters to Soviet
leaders. In the west, Matryoshka dolls are often erroneously[3] referred to as
"babushka dolls", babushka meaning "grandmother" or "old woman".

Izmaylovo Market with Matryoshkas,

Contents Moscow

History
Themes in dolls
Political Matryoshka
World record
As metaphor
See also
References
External links

Nesting of opened matryoshkas

History
The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 byVasily 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.[4][5] The doll set was painted by
Malyutin. Malyutin's doll set consisted of eight dolls—the outermost was a girl in a traditional dress holding a rooster. The inner
dolls were girls and a boy, and the innermost a baby.[4]

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.[6] Sources differ in descriptions of the doll, describing it as either a round, hollow daruma doll, portraying a bald old
Buddhist monk,[7] or a Seven Lucky Gods nesting doll.[4][5][8]
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.

Themes in dolls
Matryoshka dolls[9] are often designed to follow a particular theme; for instance,
peasant girls in traditional dress. Originally, themes were often drawn from tradition
or fairy tale characters, in keeping with the craft tradition—but since the late 20th The original matryoshka set by
century, they have embraced a larger range, including Russian leaders. Zvyozdochkin and Malyutin, 1892

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 andcaricatures

Matryoshkas are a popular souvenir of famous politicians, musicians,

for tourists in Russia athletes, astronauts, "robots," and
popular movie stars. Today, some
Russian artists specialize in
painting themed matryoshka dolls that feature specific categories of subjects, people
or nature. Areas with notable matryoshka styles include Sergiyev Posad, Semionovo
(now the town of Semyonov),[10] Polkhovsky Maidan, and Kirov.

Alsacian matryoshka dolls

Political Matryoshka
Russian leaders in matryoshka form
In the late 1980s and early 1990s
during Perestroika, freedom of expression allowed the leaders of the Soviet Unionto
become a common theme of matryoshka, with the largest doll featuring then-current
leader Mikhail Gorbachev. These became very popular at the time, affectionately
earning the nickname of a "Gorby", namesake of Gorbachev. With the periodic
succession of Russian leadership after the collapse of the Soviet Union, newer
versions would start to feature Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and
Dmitry Medvedev.

Most sets feature the current leader as the largest doll, with the predecessors decreasing in size. The remaining smaller dolls may
feature other former leaders such as Leonid Brezhnev, Nikita Khrushchev, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and sometimes several
historically significantTsars such as Nicholas II and Peter the Great. Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko almost never appear
due to the short length of their respective terms. Some less-common sets may feature the current leader as the smallest doll, with the
predecessors increasing in size, usually with Stalin or Lenin as the lar
gest doll.

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.
During Medvedev's presidency, Medvedev and Putin may both share the largest doll due to Putin still having a prominent role in the
government as Prime Minister of Russia. As of Putin's re-election as the fourth President of Russia, Medvedev will usually succeed
Yeltsin and preceded Putin in stacking order, due to Putin's role solely as the largest doll.
Political matryoshka usually range between 5 and 10 dolls per set.

World record
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 53.97 centimetres (21.25 in); the smallest, 0.31 centimetres (0.12 in). Arranged side-by-side, the
dolls span 3.41 metres (11 ft 2.25 in).[11]

As metaphor
Matryoshka is often seen as a symbol of the feminine side of Russian culture.[12]
.[13]
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.[14][15][16]

The concept of the Russian dolls is
used as a visual example in various
topics
carbon nanotubes.
Matryoshkas are also used metaphorically, as a design paradigm, known as the
“matryoshka principle” or “nested doll principle”. It denotes a recognizable
relationship of “object-within-similar-object” that appears in the design of many
other natural and crafted objects. Examples of this use include the matrioshka brain,
the Matroska media-container format, and the Russian Doll model of multi-walled

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.

See also
Amish doll
Chinese boxes
Droste effect
Fractal
Kokeshi
Mise en abyme
Recursion
Russian culture
Self-similarity
Shaker-style pantry box
Stacking (video game)
Turducken
Turtles all the way down

References
1. Russian doll (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/russian-doll). (n.d.). Collins English DictionaryComplete &
Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
2. Oxford English Dictionary Online(http://www.oed.com/). Accessed 2011-03-25.
3. Russian Legacy (https://russianlegacy.com/matryoshka-nesting-dolls.htm). Accessed 2018-03-06.
 4. "Matryoshka - Soul of Russia"(http://www.russianlife.com/article.cfm?Number=196). Russian Life. Retrieved
2011-10-23.
5. Billington, James H. (2004).Russia in search of itself(https://books.google.com/books?id=zRVi2XpqJuIC&pg=PA14
8&dq=Japanese+Matryoshka&hl=en&ei=xHL8T cyYA9HFtAbb-LTxDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-preview-link&r
esnum=6&ved=0CEUQuwUwBQ#v=onepage&q=Japanese%20Matryoshka&f=false) . Woodrow Wilson Center
Press. p. 148,208. ISBN 978-0-8018-7976-0. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
6. Kostomárova, Elena (2015-08-08)."More than just a pretty face: The secrets of the Russian matryoshka"(https://ww
w.rbth.com/arts/2015/08/08/the_secrets_of_the_russian_matryoshka_48375.html). Retrieved 2018-08-31.
7. "Три матрешки (http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/vs/article/1660/)" (Three Matryoshkas),Vokrug sveta, July 1980.
8. "Eastern roots of the most famous Russian toy"(https://web.archive.org/web/20140301205606/http://int.rgo.ru/news/
eastern-roots-of-the-most-famous-russian-toy/) . Russian Geographical Society. 2011-03-24. Archived from the
original (http://int.rgo.ru/news/eastern-roots-of-the-most-famous-russian-toy/)on March 1, 2014.
9. "Matryoshka dolls" (https://www.fromrussia.com/russian-dolls/nesting-dolls-matryoshkas). FromRussia. Retrieved
2017-07-05.
10. "The hardworking women behind the matryoshkas hope for an Olympic boost
(http://rbth.com/articles/2011/07/15/the
_hardworking_women_behind_the_matryoshkas_hope_for_an_olympic_boo_13151.html) ". July 18, 2011, Natalya
Radulova, Ogonyok
11. "Largest Russian nesting doll (matryoshka)"(http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-russian-ne
sting-doll-(matryoshka)/). guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
12. 1939-, Hubbs, Joanna, (1993) [1988].Mother Russia : the feminine myth in Russian culture(https://www.worldcat.or
g/oclc/29539185) (1st Midland Book ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 19.ISBN 0253208424.
OCLC 29539185 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29539185).
13. Kostomárova, Elena (2015-08-08)."More than just a pretty face: The secrets of the Russian matryoshka"(https://ww
w.rbth.com/arts/2015/08/08/the_secrets_of_the_russian_matryoshka_48375.html). pp. 8–12. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
14. M., Shapiro, Rami (2012).Writing--the sacred art : beyond the page to spiritual practice(https://www.worldcat.org/ocl
c/767566167). Shapiro, Aaron. (Quality paperback ed.). Woodstock, Vt.: SkyLight Paths Pub. p. 137.
ISBN 9781594733727. OCLC 767566167 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/767566167).
15. Janet., Baljeu, (2012).Downloading spirit : babushka(http://worldcat.org/oclc/934717840). Xlibris Corporation.
ISBN 1469157640. OCLC 934717840 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/934717840).
16. 1961-, Holland, John, (2007).Power of the soul : inside wisdom for an outside world(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7
0836680) (1st ed.). Carlsbad, Calif.: Hay House. p. 3.ISBN 9781401910853. OCLC 70836680 (https://www.worldca
t.org/oclc/70836680).

Sugar Skull Russian matryoshka dolls, by Etsy

External links
Media related to Matryoshka dolls at Wikimedia Commons

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