Russian Nestling Dolls

Russian dolls or Matryoshka are sets of dolls of increasing sizes nested inside of one another. They are called matryoshka (mother) or babyushka (grandmother) dolls. They are symbols of maternal fertility. The first Russian dolls were created in 1890 by wood carver Vaily Zyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin. It is thought to be inspired by Honshu dolls from Japan. The woman in the outer layer is dressed in a sarafan (long traditional jumper dress) traditional wear of peasant women at the time. They were traditionally made from the wood of the Linden tree. During Perestroika, they were used to portray popular political leaders. Mikhail Gorbachev was particularly popular.
The largest set of Russian dolls contained 51 pieces.