FALSE SYMBOLS OF RUSSIA

What are false symbols of Russia?

There are some things that are considered to be Russian symbols and are really popular among foreigners that visit Russia. They buy these things as souvenirs and bring them home to always keep Russia in their houses and hearts.

The only problem is that these things are usually never used by Russian people nowadays. Most of them don’t have them in their houses and have never had before.

The first vivid example is Matryoshka

It is also known as a Russian nesting doll.  It is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin and designed by Sergey Malyutin who was a folk crafts painter. There is a museum of matryoshka in Moscow. There are lots of amazing beautiful dolls there. Matryoshkas could be a real treat for kids, but unfortunately most Russian people don’t buy them for their children, maybe because usually you can’t find a matryoshka in kids stores in Russia – only in souvenir shops, where they cost a fortune.

A samovar (literally “self-boiler”) is a heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water in and around Russia as well as in other countries: Central Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, Iran, Kashmir and the Middle-East. Since the heated water is typically used to make tea, many samovars have a ring-shaped attachment (Russian: конфорка) around the chimney to hold and heat a teapot filled with tea concentrate.

Though traditionally heated with coal or charcoal, many newer samovars use electricity to heat water in a manner similar to an electric water boiler. Antique samovars are often prized for their beautiful workmanship.
Nowadays there are not so many people that have samovars at home. Usually if they do, those samovars were left after their grandparents and are never used anymore. Now people use electric kettles to boil water for tea, though samovar would make this process much more interesting and traditional.

Most people in the world imagine bears and vodka when they think of Russia, right? Vodka is true, but bears… Of course there are bears in woods in Karelia or Siberia. But bears do not walk around centers of Russian cities, and we don’t keep them at home as out pets: it’s too dangerous!:)

Though some symbols of Russia are already too old and outdated, they all are nice and interesting. But if you want to know more about real Russia, come to us this winter or any other time, learn Russian and have fun! Apply for a Russian language course