Matryoshka and Traditional Toy Museum

About museum

The 'Matryoshka and Traditional Toy Museum' was opened in 2017 at the factory producing matryoshkas and wooden souvenirs, LLC 'TD Semyonovskaya Rospis'. The factory began operations in 1932 and is one of the oldest matryoshka producers in the country. It was at this enterprise that the festive, kind, and bright wooden doll — the Semyonov matryoshka, with a lush bouquet of flowers on her sarafan — first appeared.

Having appeared more than 100 years ago on Semyonov soil, the local matryoshka gained worldwide recognition in the mid-1950s. In popularity it surpassed its predecessor — the Sergiev Posad matryoshka — and practically became the No. 1 Russian souvenir for foreigners. But in Russia the Semyonov matryoshka is no less well known and beloved.

The museum's exhibition allows visitors to get acquainted with a unique collection of exhibits: matryoshkas and wooden toys from the Soviet period and modern times. The Semyonov matryoshka is presented in a wide variety of forms, showing how its image and style changed.