Handmade crafts and cultural heritage: dolls and souvenirs from different regions of Russia in the Department Store

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The Department Store at the National Centre RUSSIA features unique products from different parts of our country. Visitors are particularly fascinated by the distinctive dolls dressed in national costumes from Buryatia, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, Kuzbass, and the Leningrad and Volgograd regions.

Each doll is handmade by artisans and decorated according to the traditions of their people, using only natural materials.

Fun Craft

Since 1991, the Poteshny Promysel company (lit. Fun Craft) in St. Petersburg has been producing porcelain dolls. The enterprise is included in the federal Register of Folk Arts and Crafts of Russia, and the factory has hosted a doll museum for many years — the largest in the country. In the Department Store, guests can purchase luxurious dolls in secular costumes, as well as historical, fairy-tale, and literary character dolls. 

Horn and Wood Souvenirs

Artisans from Buryatia have presented in the Department Store nesting dolls and other ethnic-style souvenirs. These unique items are handmade from wood and cattle horn. All the dolls are dressed in colorful national costumes with embroidery and decorative elements. 

Yamal Souvenir

The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area is renowned for its folk arts and crafts, including the unique figurines of the indigenous people of Yamal. It is hard to believe, but these dolls are made from cotton wool and starch paste using an old technique. The finished works are richly decorated with mink and sable fur, natural stones, as well as natural materials such as moss and bark.

Handmade Dolls in Shor Costumes

Craftswoman Natalia Shelbogasheva has been developing the production of textile dolls in national costumes in her native Kemerovo region for many years. Special attention is paid to details such as embroidery, patterns, and the choice of color schemes, in accordance with Shor traditions. Each doll is adorned with necklaces and headdresses made from natural stones, beads, leather, and fur. 

Interior Protective Doll

In the Volgograd region, unique protective dolls are created by winding fabric in a special way. Each element is made separately and then attached to the item with ribbons and threads, and the hair is made from flax. The finished doll is dressed in a traditional Russian costume. Only natural materials are used in the production. According to folk legends, they possess special power, so these dolls are considered protective charms.