Former Soviet Union: Journey to the Source: Russian Dolls

NEAT LITTLE stacks of nesting dolls are carefully put together in various countries but the best-known tend to come - lovingly - from Russia. Traditionally, the dolls were carved by grandfathers and painted by grandmothers when a grandchild was born (hence their Russian name matryoshka or "grandmother") and the largest doll would typically represent the family's living matriarch. Since most sets are female (the childbearing sex), they are usually thought of as fertility symbols (which may explain why recent sets include one of Bill Clinton and his women, see right).

Nesting dolls were first made about 1,000 years ago in China; in the late 1800s a Russian artist, Sergei Malyutin, designed the first Russian set. Soon he had teamed up with the master carver Zveydochin (who cut and lathed the dolls for Malyutin to paint), and Russia's place in doll history was settled.

The dolls are made from lime wood, which is light but durable, and decrease in size down to the smallest (known as the "seed") which is always a solid figurine (in the early Chinese sets, the smallest doll was a single grain of rice). Some are a series of lookalike figures. Others include characters from Russian folklore. But, in general, the more figures included in a set and the more detail there is (hand-painted designs, wood-burning, lathe work, carvings and inlays, use of mother-of-pearl and gold leaf and so on), the more valuable the set becomes.

Today, although most visitors visit the town of Zagorsk (70km north of Moscow) to admire the blue domes, gold spires and patterned buildings that make up its famous monastery, dedicated doll fans can also visit the Zagorsk Museum of Toys to see an original Malyutin/ Zveydochin nesting- doll set.

Zagorsk craftsmen have been making doll sets by hand since the 14th century. In the 1920s, a major production centre opened in Zagorsk and, ever since the late 1950s, when Soviet dolls became popular in other countries, this has been a prime place to buy them. So, if you're inspired at the museum, ask for directions to the town's two doll factories.

Both factories are open from 8.30am to 5pm (closed 12noon to 1pm) every day except Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and you can expect to pay up to $15 (about pounds 10) for a decent-sized set (or up to $10, out of season). A well-made set here would cost you pounds 6 less than if you waited until you returned home and bought a set (Snow White and the seven dwarfs are in stock at the moment) at Karavan, 167 Lordship Lane, London SE22 (0181- 299 2524).

So, fill your suitcase with 48 sets while you're in Zagorsk, flog them to friends in the UK, and spend the profit on Bridge The World's (0171- 911 0900) current return fare of pounds 287.30 to Moscow (via Prague) on Czech Airlines, to check out this year's Pushkin anniversary celebrations in St Petersburg.

Rhiannon Batten