A designer paints matryoshka dolls in a Sergiyev Posad workshop. Via Time.com
In a previous post (Brighton Beach Babushka) we discussed the delights of the matryoshka, Babushka or nested doll. According to Time.com, the sale of these and other Russian handicrafts has declined to the point where the Russian government is buying “$28.4 million worth of nesting dolls (called matryoshka in Russian), lacquered dishes, crocheted shawls, felt caps and other quintessentially Russian knickknacks to bolster the industry and try to protect the livelihoods of some 30,000 workers at around 240 companies.”
Under the white walls and blue-and-gold cupolas of the Sergiyev Posad monastery, the row of vendors selling nesting dolls and other traditional Russian handicrafts is noticeably shorter this summer. Usually the cheap folding tables, set up in a double row outside the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church, are surrounded by tourists snapping up the iconic egg-shaped souvenirs, made of smaller and smaller wooden dolls hidden one within the other. But on a recent Thursday afternoon, there were only about a dozen people looking to buy. At one table, Olga Isakova waited on her first customers of the day, a man and his son who examined a bright blue-and-white nesting doll with curly blond hair and a heart-shaped mouth before putting it down and walking away. “My sales have fallen 10% to 20% since the fall,” says Isakova. “I’m only selling the cheap stuff these days.”
As the financial crisis continues to take its toll and travelers decide to stay closer to home this summer, Russia’s small local industries suddenly find themselves struggling. Now the government is stepping in to try to keep Russia’s artisanal traditions alive. Earlier this year the Russian government announced that it would buy $28.4 million worth of nesting dolls (called matryoshka in Russian), lacquered dishes, crocheted shawls, felt caps and other quintessentially Russian knickknacks to bolster the industry and try to protect the livelihoods of some 30,000 workers at around 240 companies.
Source: Trying Times for Russia’s Nesting Dolls via Time.com
Undoubtedly the international fine & decorative arts market is suffering during this global recession, effecting even the demand for wooden nesting dolls. Thankfully U.S. President Barack Obama is using his influence to support the Russian craft industry:
Even ABC News.com has recognized the significance of this trend in their article: Traditional Russian Dolls Seek Bailout. Check it out, especially their Dollars for Russian Dolls? video.
~MadSilence
4 Comments
July 11, 2009 at 6:46 am
Fascinating post. Something I would have never found on my own.
July 11, 2009 at 7:24 am
What a NEAT posting – I just love those dolls and that 1st photo you posted is an artwork in itself! Hope all is well your way??
Have you seen JafaBrit’s miniature camo doll on her latest posting? Quite delightfull.
July 11, 2009 at 7:46 pm
A cute human interest story picked up by Time.com & ABC News.com. Being of Polish descent our cabinet is full of wooden dolls.
JafaBrit is one of the artists who got me interested in textile art:
http://jafabrit.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-of-needles.html
July 12, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I got you interested in Textile art? I hadn’t thought that
Thanks for the mention Debbie
What an interesting story, that the government wants to preserve and help the cultural part of its community. I always think it’s a shame when a part of the folk craft that defines a place dies out and so it’s nice to see Russia not wanting to see it disappear (for cultural or financial reasons).