Question by This field is Mantastic: is it true that a Babushka doll is a Russian mummy?
How do they fit their bodies in there, or do they just shrink over time?
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Answer by Bing
The correct name is a matryoshka doll.
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zima falvo says
Mm… Try the above link & have fun!
RAY G says
No.
Actually, Matryoskha dolls (See Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll#Hist… ) are a classic example of "invented tradition" (like the kilt and tartan in Scotland).
Despite being iconically Russian, they're actually Japanese-inspired and only date from 1890.
do-anh says
not true .
Russian nesting doll (synonyms – nested doll, stacking doll) or matryoshka as it is sounded in Russian – probably, the most popular Russian national souvenir. The wide fame was won by Russian matryoshka (nesting doll) far abroad. At all large exhibitions, fairs, the festivals held in different counties of the world, amusing cheerful nesting dolls were most fascinating exhibits. Also it seems, that matroyshka nesting doll has come to us from a gray-haired antiquity, from the world of legends and fairy tales. Actually this wooden doll is about hundred years.
Although nesting doll (matryoshka) is famous all over the world it is hard to find books about this phenomena. Have a look at sites dedicated to Russian souvenirs and you will see that all stories about nesting dolls are quite contradictory. The reason is that authors of sites did not have good materials on this subject. I suppose that this page will add some understanding of nesting doll roots and history.