The Russian dolls museum is located in Moscow city centre and was established as a part of the Russian arts and crafts union in 2001.
The Museum of Russian dolls is providing lots of interesting information about the history of Russian dolls, and giving an opportunity to see the most beautiful and rare dolls which were created by talented Russian artists.
The museum building was built at the end of the 19th century, and in 1902 it was bought by the Russian merchant Vasiliy Morozov and soon after he decided to open his own crafts shop. Later, the production of Russian dolls moved out from Moscow to Sergiev-Posad.
At the beginning of 20th century Sergiev-Posad became a centre of Russian dolls production. The popularity of Russian dolls from Sergiev-Posad increased enormously in a very short time. Sergiev-Posad arts and crafts always had a unique style. The Particular painting techniques used by the local artists were appreciated by many people.
This is not exaggeration to say that Sergiev-Posad artists set a great example of unsurpassed style which is still very popular and recognizable all over the world.
Incredibly vivid colours and very realistic faces of dolls were the key features of Sergiev-Posad crafts in that time.
Dolls represented traditionally-dressed Russian ladies with flowers or baskets in their hands.
After a great success of Sergiev-Posad artists, new arts and crafts factories and small shops started appearing in different Russian regions.
By 1922, the first production of Russian dolls was opened in Russian town Semenov. Semenov dolls have characterized by the combination of 3 main colours: red, yellow and green.
In the same time, dolls from another Russian town, Vyatsk got a recognition and respect for their blue eyes and amazingly realistic faces.
After the massive political and economical changes in Russia in the middle of 90th century, small arts and crafts factories and shops revived again and got a second chance to produce the well-known Russian dolls using traditions and techniques that have been saved and passed down through centuries.
In 2000 the Moscow Russian Arts and Crafts union organized an exhibition that was devoted to the 100th anniversary of the creation the first Russian doll. The exhibition was very popular not only for professional artists, but also for people who simply like Russian dolls. This exhibition brought a lots of attention and as a result, in 2001, the first Russian dolls museum was opened.
Nowadays, the museum has a very rich exposition and demonstrates a wide range of different Russian dolls types from very simple to the most expensive and unique.
The museum offers to visitors about 100 excursions per month which instructs about the high popularity of Russian dolls. The museum also provides a master classes covering how to paint dolls, so, if you are keen to create your own doll, you can get a chance to do it by visiting the Russian dolls museum in Moscow.
