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The Russian nesting or stacking doll or matryoshka is probably one of the most popular Russian national souvenirs. Nesting dolls at first glance appear quite simple yet are full of unexpected surprises.

The first Russian nesting doll (matryoshka) was made in 1890 in a"Children's Education Workshop" situated in Abramtsevo, near Moscow. The owner of Abramtsevo was Sava Mamontov, an industrialist and patron of the arts.

By the end of the 19 century it was a time of great economic and cultural development in Russia. Mamontov was one of the first who patronized artists who were interested in creating a new Russian style. Many famous Russian artists worked along side folk craftsmen in Mamontov’s workshops.

During a traditional Saturday meeting someone brought in a figurine of an old bald headed funny good-nature Japanese man named Fukuruma. The doll consisted of 7 other figurines nestled inside one another. There is a legend that an unknown Russian monk made the first nesting doll on the Japanese Island of Honshu where Fukuruma was discovered. Nesting dolls were well known long before Russian crafters started turning wooden Easter eggs and apples.

Why the name matryoshka? In olden times among the Russian peasants, the name Matryona or Matryosha was a very popular female name. Scholars say this name has a Latin root "mater" meaning "Mother". The name was associated with the image of a mother who was very healthy with a portly figure and the head of a large peasant family. By in by it became its symbolic name because of its brightly painted wooden figurines that were made in such a way that they could be taken apart to reveal smaller dolls fitting inside one another.