Welcome to Russia, the great Russian Federation, its cold, its bears, its vodka, but also and above all here, its Russian dolls: Matryoshka dolls.
Made of wood, nested one inside the other... These dolls are one of the strongest emblems of Russia. How about a trip around their history and their meanings? Let’s go!
The Russian dolls’s history
Did you
know that : Matryoshka Dolls are not Russian. They were actually born in Japan, then adapted for Russian culture by a toy merchant after an art exhibition in Japan! But behind that is hidden a legend: the first Matryoshka are said to be bald, happy man, who would apparently be a wise Buddhist brought from Honshu Island (Japan), the Japanese testify to the veracity of the facts by explaining that it was an unknown Russian monk who was the first to carve this, or rather these, dolls.
So, its origins are there. Passed from Japan to Russia, the first Russian Doll appeared in the 19th century and was directly recognized as a symbol of Russian folk art.
Produced in 1890 in Anatoly's workshop by Vassily Svezdoochkin, and painted by Sergey Malyutin, the first series of these dolls consists of 8 dolls, the first wearing an apron, alternating girl and boy up to the baby who, being the last visible, does not open.
It was only shortly after during an exhibition in Paris that the Matryoshka were marketed in 1900 thanks to Savva Mamontov who introduced them. However, this was notwithout any impact in terms of competition!
With this sudden celebrity the dolls were transformed, and became different Russian dolls including Semenov's matryoshka, which became the Semyonovskaya differing mainly in its number of nested dolls. The biggest being composed of 72 dolls and the smallest of 15. Or the Matryoshka of Olkhovsky Maidan in the southwest of the Nizhny Novgorod region where the doll gives itself an all the stronger symbolization of motherhood. Thanks to its brighter colors and t
he presence of the rosehip flower on the apron representing motherhood, like the cunning doll in general, but that's a matter to follow in the rest of the article!
More than just an educational toy for children, helping them to compare colors, sizes, shapes and in motor skills combining eye and gesture, the Matryoshka is a symbol of strong meanings in Russia.
Meanings:
The name Matryoshka stands for a noble, healthy mother.
Maternity, fertility… Matryoshka dolls embody life, these being first of all akin to a mother giving birth to her daughter, this one giving birth to hers, and this until the last doll.
However, even if the latter is the representation, the obvious strongest symbolism of the Russian doll, it is not the only one…
According to tradition, the symbol changes with the colors of the rainbow, so they differ. Red is the symbol of power, strength; orange, the symbol of fertility, abundance; yellow, the symbol of health, strength… This doll is also seen in Russia as a symbol of the look beyond appearances… Indeed, this one hiding dolls within dolls, is also an invitation to judge things from their interior and not by their exterior.
As you will have understood, this emblem, strong in meaning, is an emblem of a life lesson, a symbol of life.
But how are they created?
Made from linden wood for the most part, Russian dolls are created with white-sawn wood from trees cut down in the spring. These trees are left outside for at least 2 years before being carefully cleaned to keep any dark circles. Then, they are varnish to prevent breakage. After that, the wood is carved starting with the smallest one, the baby, to the largest before being coated with dried starch glue and then painted.
That was the story of one of the best-known Russian emblems, the Matryoshka Doll. Nowadays, you can find different variations ranging from traditional to humorous types such as representation of politicians.