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russian dolls ...
After trawling through lots of blogs I have noticed that many of you either own a set of Russian dolls, or have bought Russian doll related items. Also know as Matrioska (various spellings), these were given to me when I was young back in the 1970s, by a friend of the family. They are the real McCoy, (marked made in Russia) as one of the couple was a Latvian who joined the German army and who during World War Two became a Prisoner of War here in England. Like the majority of German POWs, for obvious reasons he didn't go back (thanks Steve for the information). I cannot get the exact provenance of the dolls, as both have sadly passed on.
As you can see the colour on the wood has faded, looks like I had them all lined up in direct sunlight, I didn't know any better at that age!
Have you got a cherished item that tells a story?
3 comments:
Oh louise.. these made me gasp! I am very fond of Russian dolls and as you know have a collection very much like your own..
The first was given to me when I was a very young child .. my mother bought it at the Ideal Home Exhibition and I can just make out the U.S.S.R import stamp on the base...It is very faded now but very precious too!
Lovely to see your collection...
Mx
Ernie was a Latvian who joined the German army (or go with Stalin = Hobson's Choice!) and who during WW2 became a POW here in England. Like the majority of German POWs, for obvious reasons he didn't go back! He and Iris were very kind weren't they.
As for the dolls, we have a set of them but with Russian Premier faces on them. The last being Yeltsin. If we had one to put him in, Putin would therefore chronologically have the bigest head, which is about right!
I actually have a small set of Winnie the Pooh character dolls that my mom bought me about 10 years ago for helping out with the first ever family reunion we held with our newly found Russian relatives. Sadly, I am not sure of their exact location since I boxed them up when I got married. I'm sure I'll come across them one of these days.
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