What is Matryoshka Dolls? (Background)

The Matryoshka doll is a representation of Russian culture. Matryoshka doll, or Russian nested doll, is also called Babushka doll or stacking doll. ‘Matryoshka’ is imitative of the Russian female first name ‘Matryona,’ which was a name common amongst peasants in old Russia. The name ‘Matryona’ is associated with its the Latin root, "mater," which means mother.

It is called a nested doll because it is a group of dolls of decreasing sizes positioned one inside the other. It is made of wood, which can be pulled separately to show another figure of similar type inside. The larger, or outer doll, has her babies within like a pregnant mother, and each daughter in turn becomes a mother. Matryoshka doll are symbols of both fertility and motherhood.

The largest doll is typically between 2 and 12 inches (5-30 cm) tall, though larger ones have been made up to several feet tall. The smallest can be really tiny, which is less than 0.25 inches (0.6-cm) tall. The number of nested figures is normally five or more with cylindrical shapes, rounded at the top of the head and narrowed at the bottom. A unique feature of these dolls is that they have no hands, except when painted. The artistic quality is seen in the painting of each doll, which is extremely complicated. The common painted image on the dolls is a woman or peasant girls dressed in traditional Russian costume, called a sarafan.

The designs of Matryoshkas show a particular theme, such as fairy tale characters, flowers, great Russian leaders, household pets (such as dog, cat, fish, bird and more), or scenes from Russian folk tales.