Understanding Russian Culture in Its Myriad Forms

When you talk of a certain community or a nation, you are immediately enchanted by their well-preserved culture and tradition. Such is true with a mammoth called Russia. With a plethora of cultural practices, art forms and traditions hovering around the nation, Russia has lots to offer. Whether it is the theater, history, architecture, art forms, the famous Russian nesting dolls, the local customs and traditions, the dressing style, or the folk dance, the list is endless. A true Russian culture enthusiast celebrates elements of this rich culture in more ways than one. Let us have a brief look on the valuable elements of the rich Russian culture:

The Theatrical culture:

During the Soviet times, the theatrical culture emerged and evolved rapidly. Russian artists were spread around with immense talent in different forms of theater such as the Muppet Theater, Youth Drama, Musical and Opera and so on. Live performances were a supreme favorite of the Russians. Movie theaters also developed interest amongst the Russian admirers of visual art; however, while they termed movie theaters as 'cinema' it is the live performances that were termed 'theater'.

The Culture of Education:

Trust the Russians and their high regard for education that it is a culture in itself. In fact book reading is a favorite past time among most Russians. The books too are very cheap and commonly available. With master writer s like Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, and Maxim Gorky you can't really blame the Russians for their love for books.

The Culture of Community Work:

Community work forms a major part of the Russian culture. People from different social strata are encouraged to contribute their two bits to the society. The community work is often rewarded with lifestyle incentives based on the community service they people delve in. Incentives could include free or cheap travel allowances, availing goods that are deficit and gaining better accommodation facilities from the government.

Handicrafts:

There's nothing quintessentially Russian than a series of Russian Dolls neatly stacked one inside the other. The handmade dolls feature multiple figurines of decreasing sizes perfectly fitted within each other and can only be crafted by skilled Russian artisans with years of training and experience. The dolls have become an integral part of every tourist visiting Russia.

These are just some of the things that have collectively managed to shape the average Russian intellect. And if you're looking for proof, speak to an average Russian on the street; you'd be surprised with his knowledge.

Russian culture interests many around the world, especially because of the ancient significance it hones even in the modern times. The perfect example of the same is the undying fame of Russian dolls. The author has written many articles on Russian nesting dolls and Russian culture.

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Russian Dolls and Their Popularity in Russian Culture

People who are interested in art and in collecting varieties of artistic things will undoubtedly be attracted to Russian art, culture, history and Russian craftsmanship. Russian culture includes within itself Russian literature, Russian philosophy, Russian folklore, and Russian art. Russian art includes architecture and making of handicrafts. Among Russian handicraft, Russian nesting dolls rank first. Also known as "Matryoshka", these nesting dolls have a common feature of following a particular theme. The theme may range from the peasant girl (in her traditional dress) to any modern day character.

Vasily Zvyozdochkin, a doll maker and a craftsman, was the first to introduce these handmade dolls. The concept of nesting dolls is to place one doll inside the other in a nested fashion, until there is a tiny little doll inside. Since these are placed one inside the other, every doll can be separated and the separated doll contains a similar doll but in a smaller size.

Although these dolls are synonymous of Russian culture, there are several other handicrafts that are presented as popular Russian souvenirs. Prominent among them include Baltic Amber, Lacquer Boxes, Christmas decorative and even Khokhlomas.

As we all know, Amber is a popular material used in making highly sought after jewelry. The specialty of Amber is that each piece of amber is truly unique and when you rub the amber, it emanates light. There's hardly a Russian woman whose collection does not contain amber jewelry. Everything right from earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces are made from Baltic Amber.

But if you are not a fan of amber jewelry, there's a wide variety of things to choose from. For example, you could choose from Faberge eggs, lacquer boxes, ceramic figurines, Cheburashka dolls or many other unique Russian collectibles. Thanks to the internet, there are hundreds of online retail shops in the United States that sell Russian souvenirs. Choosing from a US company has its own advantages. These online stores with their base in the United States are often established by Russian artisans and hence assure of quality. In addition, if you would like to gift these to friends and family member, these companies also provide gift-wrapping service.

Therefore, the next time, you are looking for a gift for a wedding or a birthday; do not look further than an online shop that sells Russian handicrafts. Due to the late entry of Russians to the globalization process, there's very little information about Russia, that's known to the world. But it's the Russian dolls that continued to the beacon for popular Russian culture.

Due to the late entry of Russian to the Globalization process, Russian culture was not known to foreigners. However, Russian dolls have now become a familiar one to foreigners. The author is an art lover and has written many articles on Russian nesting dolls and on Russian gifts.

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The True Treasure of Russian Culture

Russian culture is a mixture of Russian art, literature, philosophy, paintings, humors, handicrafts, music, etc. Russia's delayed participation in the globalization process held back its popularity in many other countries. Russian art and paintings include within it various gift items, handicrafts, etc., in which Russian nesting dolls need special mention. One will never miss the nesting dolls of Russia in any exhibitions conducted worldwide.

The peculiarity of Russian nesting dolls are that, they are of small size, and one will find similar but small sized dolls kept one inside the other. So one can remove or separate one doll from the other to find a similar but decreased sized doll. The number may vary and there is no hard and fast rule about the number of dolls to be placed one inside the other, but usually, they follow odd numbers like five or 7 etc. However, the numbers can go up to hundreds. They are also termed as 'Matryoshka". It was named after a female peasant "Matryona" and one will never miss,nesting dolls of peasant woman dressed in the traditional dress.

The first Russian doll was made in Sergiev Posad by Sergei Maliutin and Vassilliy Zviozdochkin. Earlier wood was used in preparing these dolls and the images were painted on those wooden dolls. Another specialty in these dolls is these Russian dolls do not have carved hands; they are only painted on the doll. These dolls are almost cylindrical and they have a top (head region) rounded and they diminish at the bottom. It is a Lilliputian or a pocket-sized form of matryona. One can also find Russian dolls that range from characters of fairy tale to political leaders of Soviet Russia, musicians, film stars, varieties of animals etc.

These Russian nesting dolls are also used for gifting purpose. Russian gifts are gifted for wedding functions as presents, for house warming functions etc. These are considered as perfect gifts, since they are considered as a symbol of richness and motherliness. Children use such hand-made dolls as toys. Russian gifts pattern include within itself variety of items. They include amber jewelry,Christmas ornaments, handmade dolls, Lacquer Boxes, Baltic Amber jewelry etc.

Russian amber stones are considered precious and auspicious by Russians and they believe that the amber stones possess magical powers. Almost every woman in Russia will have Russian amber jewelry in her jewel collection. Amber is considered the living gemstone of nature. When amber stones are burnt, it will give rise to pleasant odor. Amber stones are used, in preparing perfumes. The level of succinic acid present in Baltic amber, determines its quality. Due to these properties, amber jewelry and Baltic amber are considered worth gifting.

Russian Culture stores within itself many traditional values of Russian art. One can find US company carrying on with the business of selling Russian gifts and they do carry on gift wrapping service. The author is himself an artist and has done researches on Russian art and has contributed to a greater extend literally.

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