It is not conceivable to return from a trip to russia without bringing the matryoshka de rigueur. These traditional dolls are the classic souvenir and an original gift. Its hollow interior serves to hide an almost endless succession of smaller dolls. There is only one rule: the number of dolls must always be odd.
Since Russia opened up to the rest of the world in the early 90s and more and more tourists began to arrive in the country, the production of matrioskas and their variety has exploded. Thus, along with the classic designs, in the stalls of the Red Square, Gorky Park and other emblematic places of Moscow, we find matrioskas that represent and caricature characters known as Vladimir putin, Boris Yeltsin, Tsar Nicholas II and even himself Stalin.
The matryoshka tradition began in 1890, when Russian craftsmen began to copy the design of wooden dolls from Japan that were all the rage in the country of the steppes at that time. They are made with light and malleable linden wood, and are painted in oil and then covered with a layer of lacquer or varnish.
Thanks to its cheap price (a seven-figure matryoshka costs 4 rubles, about 50 euro cents) it is almost inevitable to bring home a set of these Russian souvenir dolls. they are somewhat more expensive the matrioskas of the city of Semionov, chosen "official souvenir" of the next Sochi 2016 Winter Olympics.
More information - The statue of the Motherland in Russia
Images: russiatoday.com