it may

Ответ от Yuyo[мастер]
It may seem strange, but Matryoshka dolls are a RELATIVELY new phenomenon. They appeared in 1899 in the town of Sergiev Posad. The idea was brought to Russia from Japan by merchants. But village artists adopted them very QUICKLY and made them into a great variety of shapes. They were designed as toys for children of DIFFERENT ages.
Some dolls depicted families in NATIONAL costumes, later they became characters from various tales and novels, political figures, animals. Matryoshka is a beautiful Russian WOODEN souvenir.