Sergiev Posad

In 1340 a monk called Sergius founded a small temple lost in the midst of the wild thick forest around 45 miles (73 km) from Moscow. The temple grew and prospered, developing into the biggest monastery of Russia where arts and crafts flourished in the towns and villages surrounding it.

Sergiev Posad was a colorful, truly Russian town. The Monastery lent a unique peculiarity to it. The huge marketplace in front of the Monastery was almost always full of different people: merchants, monks, pilgrims and craftsmen were milling around.

Wooden toys, known as "Trinity" toys, became particularly popular. According to the legend the first "Trinity" wooden toy was made by the Prior of the Monastery, Sergius Radonezhsky. The first nesting doll was made here by the artist Sergei Maliutin and a turner Vassiliy Zviozdochkin. In the initial period of matryoshka development particularly attention was paid to the faces; clothes were not detailed  Such dolls depicted different character and types: peasants, merchants, and noblemen.

The faces of the early matryoshkas of Sergiev Posad were oval, strict and primitive.The heads of many were greatly enlarged; that's why the face dominated the body.

Semionovo

The first matryoshka in Semionovo was made by Arsenty Mayorov already renowned for his wooden utensils, rattles, balls and apples. In 1924 whilst visiting a fair in Nizhny Novgorod he bought an unpainted nesting doll which his elder daughter, Luba painted.In 1931 an artist’s workshop which made souvenirs including matryoshkas was established in Semionovo. For almost 20 years Mayorov dolls were the best in the area.

The  apron is considered to be the most important aspect of Semionovo dolls. A bright bouquet of flowers is painted on it. The early matryoshkas of Semionovo were more in the spirit of old Russian painting traditions, the lines were more graphic and lighter. It is easy to recognize a typical Semionovo wooden doll. It is slender and has a relatively thin top, which widens sharply into a thick bottom.The only flower used in apron painting of a true Semionovo doll is the Dog-rose with its many petals. It is widely considered to be a powerful symbol of femininity, love and motherhood.

The matryoshka of Semionovo are famous for containing many pieces,the biggest of which  contained 72 pieces; it was one metre high.This unique doll was made in 1970 and was dedicated to the birthday of the Soviet communist leader Lenin.

Polkhovsky Maidan

The matryoshkas of Polkhovsky Maidan are manufactured in the peasant primitive style rather like children's drawings, typically  a pretty village girl with knitted brows and a face framed by black locks. Ringlets of hair are a genuine element of local women's head-dress.

Older women covered their hair with kokoshniks, young girls used ribbons. Black drake's feathers were stuck in their headdresses. The painters of Polkhovsky Maidan paid special attention to the floral ornaments on matryoshkas' aprons, as did as the painters of Semionovo They ignored other details. 

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