![](http://www.alamy.com/thumbs/6/3422B3E3-B396-4FAF-83D4-51FBF3B1E998/WAFAFN.jpg)
A giant Russian doll advertising Smirnov vodka in Sergiyev Posad, Russia
Matryoshka dolls, also known as Babushka Dolls, Russian Tea dolls, stacking dolls, or Russian dolls, are the set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name "matryoshka", literally "little matron", is a diminutive form of Russian female first name "Matryona" or "Matryosha". A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure, which separates at the middle, 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. The first Russian nested doll set was made in 1890 by wood turning craftsman and wood carver 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 peasant jumper 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 referred to as "babushka dolls", babushka meaning "grandmother" or "old woman".
Size: 3840px × 5760px
Location: Voznesenskaya Ulitsa, Sergiev Posad, Moscow Region, Russia, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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