The Art of the Russian Matryoshka
Rett Ertl and Rick Hibbern
Vernissage Press, 2003, $40
www.vernissage.us
One hundred and four years ago, in 1899, the first Russian matryoshka doll was turned on a lathe in Sergiev Posad, by Vasily Zvyozdochkin. Based on nesting dolls brought from Japan nearly a decade before and on the Russian craft of making nesting Easter eggs, the matryoshka was birthed on fertile ground. While Sergiev Posad had been the center of Russian Orthodoxy for half a millennium, it had also been the center of Russian toymaking for at least 300 years. By the time the first matryoshka was turned, there were over 300 toy factories in Sergiev Posad, serving a growing interest in folk culture and peasant artistry.
Fast forward a century. It seems you can’t swing a stick in Russia without hitting a nesting doll. For better or worse, the matryoshka has become the ubiquitous international, symbol of Russian culture.
How this deceptively complex “toy” emerged from nowhere to become such a prominent symbol of things Russian is delved into only briefly in this beautiful new volume by one of America’s premier importers of Russian folk art (www.tolstoys.com). Much more time is devoted to affectionate portraits of the towns north and east of Moscow which craft the dolls, and to the techniques of artistry and woodworking that combine in their creation.
I have worked a wood lathe, and know how hard it can be to hollow out a bowl. I was therefore curious to know if this book would reveal how this is done, and with such precision to make the dolls’ walls so thin. Of course it must be thanks to mechanical lathes with built-in micrometers, I thought.
But then, there on page 27, is a beautiful photo of a woman working a matryoshka blank on a lathe without the aid of any computers or micrometers. She has been doing this for 30 years, the caption attests, “producing precise, small nesting doll blanks using only her years of experience to assure a fit.”
The secret of how a linden tree is turned into a perfectly-fit doll is in fact revealed in simple, easy-to-understand diagrams and photos. The exacting process for finishing and painting the blanks is also shown, and Ertl and Hibbern offer insightful portraits of the lives of both matryoshka artists and merchandisers.
Throughout, the volume is marvelously illustrated with examples of sets portraying everything from politicians to saints, pictures of craftsmen at work and the towns in which they live and labor.
This book is clearly a labor of love for the authors and it comes off masterfully, giving us a most complete portrait of this important art form. – PR
The New Romantic
Alexander Selin
Glas, $17.95
Take a pot, mix in some Gogol, a healthy dose of Chekhov and a pinch of Kharms and you might end up with something like the writings of Selin. Short, aphoristic tales full of offbeat humor, fantasy and piercing commentary make this a great volume to haul along to the coffeshop to read with an espresso.
The Winter Queen
Boris Akunin
Random House, $19.95
Pity Erast Fandorin, the young hero of Akunin’s detective series. Hugely success-ful and famous in Russia, he now must start over and make a name for himself in America. But he is vital, resource-ful and completely like-able. Surely it’s a fore-gone conclusion? The Winter Queen (published as Azazel in Russia) is the first in Akunin’s lengthy series (at least four will be published by Random House) and is part detective novel, part international thriller. But what really makes it work is Akunin’s wry tone and penchant for historical detail. Oh, and the fact that Akunin is not his real name. It gets that whole Le Carré thing working for him.
Putin’s Russia
Lilia Shevtsova
Carnegie, $19.95
It is so hard to keep track of near history – those last 10 years that have not yet made it into history books but which we are supposed to remember vividly, because we lived through them. Thankfully, Shevtsova does the work for us, freeing up vast realms of memory for important things like song lyrics and internet passwords. As with her previous work, Putin’s Russia is an illuminating description of the workings of Russian politics through case study, in this instance, Putin’s rise to power.
From Nyet to Da, 3rd ed.
Yale Richmond
Intercultural, $21.95
Richmond’s book has long held an esteemed place on our bookshelf. It is an insightful look at Russian character and behavior that will never go out of date. Wait a minute, then why a new edition?! Those publishers, will they stop at nothing to sell more books? Well, Richmond has updated his prognos-tications for Russia with consideration of recent events. Besides, a new edition is always a good excuse to go back and re-read a classic, which this book certainly is.
The Other Side of Russia
Sharon Hudgins
Texas A&M, $34.95
On the one hand, time has dated some of the highly per-sonal tales in this descrip-tion of an American couple’s life in Siberia in the early 1990s. On the other hand, Siberia has changed less than western Russia in the past decade. And then, some things are timeless. A great read for someone going to live in Russia long-term, or someone adopting a Russian child.
– PR
Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.
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