From Russian Crafts:The first Russian nesting doll (matryoshka) was born in 1890 in the workshop "Children's Education" situated in Abramtsevo estate new Moscow.Semionovo is a large old center of wooden handicrafts. Huge thick forests, soil that is not good for agriculture, big outlet provided development of local people crafts. Of course, many changes occurred during long history of crafts in Semionovo but even now about 200 items are produced in factories and privately in this region, 33 countries import goods from this small town. Semionovo is famous for its wooden painted tableware, wooden toys and, of course, matryoshkas.The first mention about this settlement goes as far as 1644. There is a legend that Semionovo was founded by merchant Semion and a run-a-way monk from Solovky monastery. In 1779 in time of Catherine the Second 3000 inhabitants lived and worked in this place. As the town was surrounded by forests people used to make goods of wood for themselves and for sale. Some crafters made for their children and just for fun wooden toys, with time it became a profitable business.The owner of Abramtsevo was Savva Mamontov - industrialist and a patron of the arts. The end of the 19 century in Russia was a time of great economic and cultural development. Mamontov was one of the first who patronized artist who were possessed by the idea of the creation of a new Russian style. Many famous Russian artists worked along with folk craftsmen in Mamontov's workshops.Russian wooden dolls within smaller dolls were called matryoshka. In old Russian among peasants the name Matryona or Matriosha was a very popular female name. Scholars says this name has a Latin root "mater" and means "Mother". This name was associated with the image of of a mother of a big peasant family who was very healthy and had a portly figure.Subsequently, it became a symbolic name and was used specially to image brightly painted wooden figurines made in a such way that they could taken apart to reveal smaller dolls fitting inside one another.The biggest matryoshka contained 72 pieces; it was 1 m high. This unique doll was made in 1970 and was dedicated to the birthday of Soviet communist leader Lenin. It cost 3000 rubles, and was sent to an exhibition in Japan.
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