“Nu Pogodi”, often translated as “Well, Just You Wait!” and ”I’ll Get You” is a beloved Soviet cartoon, similar in style to Tom & Jerry and Roadrunner. The main characters are a Hare “Zayats”, which is constantly being preyed upon by the Wolf (Volk) who resorts to comically diabolical schemes. Several other minoir characters are also introduced throughout the series.

Unlike Roadrunner, Nu Pogodi places a greater emphasis on various real-life situations and locations. The characters are anthropomorphically drawn, with human-shaped bodies. Unlike Tom & Jerry, The Wolf and Hare often walk on two feed and occasionally converse with each other.

20 Episodes were made between 1969 and 2006 -- 13 between 1969 to 1980, and 7 between 1984 and 2006.

Following the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1990, this cartoon received its first exposure to many Western audiences.

For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu_pogodi

Sometimes, the best gift or artwork is the one that you make yourself.

The Do-It-Yourself website Instructables.com, has a fantastic compilation of guides on how to make your own imitation Fabergé Eggs. Some of the beautiful imitation Faberge Eggs include:

“Imperial Red” (shown above), “Lilies of the City”, “Silver Pendant Egg”, “Blue Bird of Happiness”, ”Paradise Bird Egg” and “Metallic butterfly”.

The Fabergé egg  is considered a masterpiece of the art of jewellery, and is strongly associated with opulence and luxury. The original Fabergé eggs were made with  precious metals and hard stones,  decorated with enamel and gem stones. In total, 105 original Faberge Eggs were created by the Peter Carl Faberge and his assistants between 1885 and 1917. Today, only 69 are known to survive.

Although Fabergé eggs are prominent in popular culture, appearing in TV and movies, not many people know that they originated in Russia, instead assuming by the name of jeweler Fabergé that they are French.

The story of the Fabergé egg began in Czarist Russia. As part of Easter celebrations in Russia (and other republics that follow the Orthodox church), there is a tradition to paint and decorate hens’ eggs.

During Easter in 1885, the Czar Alexander III of commissioned the jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé to create the first Fabergé egg as gift to his wife Czarina Maria Fyodorovna to celebrate their 20th Wedding Anniversary, which also happened to fall in Easter.

From the outside, this egg looked like a plain egg of white enameled gold, but it opened up to reveal a golden yolk inside. The yolk itself had a golden hen inside it, which in turn had a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside, reminiscent of the Matryoshka nesting dolls.

Empress Maria was so delighted by Fabergé’s jeweled egg that Czar Alexander appointed Fabergé to be a “Court Supplier” and commissioned an Easter gift each year thereafter, stipulating only that the jeweled egg it be unique and contain a surprise. His son, Nicholas II of Russia continued the tradition, annually presenting an egg each spring to his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna as well as his then-widowed mother.

Twenty-four eggs were made and presented to Czars Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia. A further two eggs were planned but not delivered, the Constellation and Karelian Birch eggs of 1917. The work was carried out by an entire team of artisans under Peter Carl Fabergé, among them Michael Perkhin, Henrik Wigström and Erik August Kollin.

The Imperial eggs enjoyed uttermost fame and Fabergé made some 15 known eggs for just a few selected private clients, such as the Duchess of Marlborough, the Nobels, the Rothschilds and the Yusupovs. Among them is a series of 7 eggs made for the industrialist Alexander Kelch. In addition, 8 other jeweled eggs were also made, but they were not as extravagant as the Imperial eggs, and not as unique, often repeating designs that originated with the Imperial eggs.

The original Fabergé eggs are tightly held and are seldom traded, so they are very hard to obtain. The last big purchase was made by the Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg who purchased 20 eggs from the Malcolm Forbes collection for $120 million. The largest public collection is in the Kremlin Armory museum. The rest are in the hands of various other museums and private collectors in the USA, UK and Switzerland and Monaco.

Due to their fame and originality, Fabergé eggs have been widely imitated by jewelers around the world. Although they are not the originals, they are nonetheless very beautiful. Many ornate and intricate designs have been created, and they are priced in reach of most collectors and admirers of fine jewelry.

Due to the extremely Cold Winter climate in Russia, especially in the Siberia region in the North, fur coats and other clothing have become a mainstay of life in Russia. Their association with Russia is strongly ingrained in popular culture - movies and television programs depicting Russia or Russian characters, often feature beautiful Russian woman adorned in fur coats, or wearing fur hats.

This article discusses the history and importance of fur, and the qualities of Mink and Sable fur - used to make the finest quality fur coats and jackets.

A Brief History of the Fur Trade in Russia

Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major supplier of fur-pelts to Western Europe and parts of Asia. Fur was a major Russian export as trade developed in the early Middle Ages, first through the Baltic and Black Seas. With the development of railways, Russia traded through the European city of Leipzig (Germany).

Originally, Russia exported a majority in raw furs of the pelts of martens, beavers, wolves, foxes, squirrels and hares. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Russians tamed Siberia, a region rich in many mammal species, such as Arctic fox, lynx, sable, sea otter and stoat (ermine). In the search for the prized sea otter (pelts first used in China), and, later the northern fur seal, the Russian Empire expanded into North America, notably Alaska. Between the 17th and second half of the 19th century, Russia was the largest supplier of fur in the world. The fur trade played a vital role in the development of Siberia, the Russian Far East and the Russian colonization of the Americas. To this day sable is a regional symbol of Ural Sverdlovsk oblast and Siberian Novosibirsk, Tyumen and Irkutsk oblasts of Russia.

Because mink fur makes the flattest coat, a mink coat or mink jacket is most flattering fur on the female figure. Less bulk is generally interpreted as more feminine, and is considered more comfortable.

Minks come in a variety of colors, ranging from black, to dark brown (mahogany), medium brown minks ( lunarine), and light brown minks (demi-buff).

Mink coats and mink jackets make very light, soft, flat, and supple clothing. Minks can form a regular part of a  wardrobes – mink coats can be worn with everything from jeans to gowns. Mink jackets and mink coats are considered to be able to conform to call kinds of lifestyles. For a coat that will go with literally everything, choose a basic black mink coat.

An important thing to note when purchasing a mink coat is the difference between male and female skins. Male mink skins are large than that of females, so the equivalent patterns can be manufactured using fewer skins, if male skins are being used. Female skins are flatter, silkier, softer, and have a shorter nape, so the thickness of the leather is thinner.

An average female mink coat has approximately forty-five to fifty skins, and an average male mink coat has approximately thirty-six to thirty-nine skins.

Minks hold value longer than any other fur coat, mostly because they are a substantial item. Minks have held value for over twenty-five years. Mink fur can be used in other fur coats, such as leather or shearling coats. Mink fur is known for it’s versatility.

Mink coat care is similar to other methods of fur coat care – store your mink coat in April or May with a professional furrier, and in November, remove it from storage. The storage facility should be between 48-50 degrees, with a similar humidity level. Mink fur care and cleaning should be done seasonally, or if the mink coat gets rained on or spilled on during the winter.

The sable is an animal that is part of the weasel family, native to Europe, Asian and America. The term ‘Russian fur’ commonly refers to sable fur.  A sable coat is traditionally made up of soft wool topped by a dense coat of fur, and then topped again by an even longer coat of hair. Its warmth and practicality makes sable coats indispensable.

A sable coat is one of the most coveted types of fur coat in the fur industry. Sable comes from Russia and is typically extremely expensive. There are Canadian and American made sable fur coats, but Russian sable fur coats are more expensive than their North American counterparts, due to a tighter supply of sable skin. The most valuable sables are Siberian fur and Russian fur.

Sable fur coats are known for their silkiness and their rarity. Russian fur is generally rare, well made, and widely prized. Russian sable fur coats in particular are known for their silky quality and light weight,  but will still keep you warm. Authentic Russian sable fur coats are seen as a symbol of status due to their rarity.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_trade
http://www.furcoats.info/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Siberia

Like cultures all over the globe, Russians have been collecting, playing with, and displaying toys for their entire history. Russian toys are unique, however, in that they have had influences from a wide variety of cultures and religions. Because they are the most abundant natural materials in Russia, wood and clay are the two most common ingredients of traditional Russian toys. Other than this, there are no hard and fast rules or themes.

Prehistoric Russian Toys: Few toys exist from prehistoric Russia, but they all follow a similar pattern to prehistoric toys found throughout the world. Simple musical instruments such as rattles and whistles have been found at archaeological sites as well as figurines of humans and animals that may have been rooted in religion and spirituality.

Slavic Era: Russia’s first existence as a nation and a culture was under the control of the Slavs, which are first recorded in the area before the first millennium AD. The early toys of this time were often in the shape of birds and other animals which had agricultural and/or seasonal significance. Penny whistles were popular as they were part of the worship of the Slavic god Yarilo. Simple wooden rattles and other early musical instruments were popular among adults and children alike.

Byzantine Era: While the rest of the world was immersed in the Dark Ages, Russia was enjoying a rich and flourishing culture. Russians during this era had toys that could be made at home with simple materials and the skills that were common at that time. A popular toy from this era was a plain wooden statue or figurine depicting a figure or scene from popular folk tales. These were highly detailed and usually unpainted. Toys made in this ancient tradition are still being manufactured, most notably by craftsmen in Bogorodskoe.

Czarist Era: Dymkovo, small painted clay toys named after the town where they were originally made, date back to the Czarist period of Russia and are also still made in modern times. They are notable because high quality dymkovo can be made at home by laymen. They typically are bright colored, simple, and feature characters and objects from nineteenth century Russian life.

Nesting shapes became popular during this time, both as figurines and as toys. Ornately decorated eggs, apples, and other shapes were common. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, there was a resurgence of interest in traditional Russian crafts, which led to the creation of a ‘national toy’, the Matryoshka, which was ironically modeled after a Japanese nesting doll of similar design.

Communist Era: While many handicrafts were discouraged, others flourished. The simple wooden toys of eras past regained popularity and were now made to have moving parts. Bears were common, and were often shown eating at a table and performing other typically human activities.

Modern Era: In an increasingly global economy, Russian children, like children everywhere, are playing with the commercialized toys marketed and sold by global companies. Toys based on Russian television programs are especially popular. However, the fall of the Soviet Union has resulted in a resurgence of folk craft and increased interest in traditional Russian arts and crafts. This, combined with a worldwide demand for Russian toys and memorabilia, is sure to result in a resurgence of distinctively Russian toys. 

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Slav
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slav
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymkovo_toys
http://www.kolinskyartbrushes.com/dymkovo-figurines/

http://www.artrusse.ca/bogorodskoe_en.htm

Perhaps the best known Russian toy, matryoshka, or wooden nesting dolls, are a relative newcomer to the world of Slavic toys. Although nesting toys in the shape of an egg or ball have been popular in Russia for centuries, nesting dolls first came to the country as a souvenir from Japan in the late nineteenth century. Since then, matryoshka have become one of the most beloved symbols of traditional Russian culture.

Like the egg shaped toys preceding Matryoshka, nesting dolls are traditionally made with a lathe with the inner most doll created first. They are then painted, usually to resemble women and girls in traditional Eastern European dress. However, not all matryoshka are feminine. Nesting dolls have been made to resemble birds, characters from popular folk tales, and even Communist leaders of the twentieth century.

The most remarkable feature of matryoshka is usually the elaborate painting. Regardless of the theme or type of characters, Russian nesting dolls are painted in vibrant colors, then heavily varnished. The designs are usually reminiscent of traditional agrarian Russian culture.

The name ‘Matryoshka’ has its own colorful history. At the time that nesting dolls became popular in Russia, Matryona was a widespread female name, with Matryoshka the most common nickname. In addition, the name Matryona comes from ‘mater’, the Latin word for mother. Because the dolls had a maternal theme, with several females nested inside each other, this name took hold in Russia and is now internationally recognized.

During the Soviet era, traditional matryoshka dolls became rare enough to be almost an endangered species. The government did not allow the sale or display of handicrafts. Although there were matryoshka factories, the dolls made there had to be manufactured in an efficient, assembly line manner that took the warmth and uniqueness from this traditionally handmade toy and made more traditional, complicated designs impossible. Although some toys were illegally made and exported throughout this time, handmade and hand-painted nesting dolls from Russia were not commonly available until after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Matryoshka dolls have a variety of uses in the modern world. They remain beloved toys for children and the young at heart all around the world. Nesting dolls can also make a quaint yet cultured addition to home decoration. They have been used as promotional items from companies and even as invitations to weddings. Matryoshka bring a distinctively Eastern European flavor wherever they appear.

Matryoshka dolls have become not just a recognizable symbol of old Russia, but a metaphor as well. The word ‘matryoshka’ is often used to describe like items neatly nesting inside each other, such as makeup kits or storage containers. They have made their mark in every field from astroengineering (“The Matryoshka Brain”) to children’s television (“Higglytown Heroes”). This may be due to the enduring nature of a nesting doll. Like these distinctive nesting dolls, we all have multiple layers just waiting to be discovered. Perhaps this is the true reason matryoshka nesting dolls have captured hearts all over the world.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matryoshka

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Matryoshka-Doll.html

http://www.angelfire.com/art2/petrikovka/matryoshkahistory.html

The Soviet military became a force outside its own borders when it captured Berlin in World War II, delivering a death blow to the Nazis. Suddenly, the symbols and weapons unique to the Soviet defense became objects of fascination throughout the rest of the world. Almost overnight, the Soviet Union emerged as a formidable and even frightening world power.

 
From the 1940’s through its collapse, the Soviet military was the largest in the world. By the 1970’s, it was the only country that boasted military strength rivaling that of the United States. This supremacy was due to two key factors: the Soviet Red Army soldiers and the superior weapons and military technology made available by the Soviet war machine.

The Soviet Army was able to maintain its size due to conscription. For many decades, every young man and many young women in the Soviet Union served at least two to three years in the military. In an empire so far-reaching, this was an impressive force. The soldiers were trained in military maneuvers and strategies as well as Soviet political philosophy.

The other strength of the Soviet military came from their weapons and military equipment. While many Americans are most familiar with the Soviet nuclear program, advances were made in almost every class of weapons. This came at a cost. During the 1980’s, 70% of the Soviet Union’s annual budget and 14% of the gross domestic product was spent on the military. However, this investment yielded some of the most impressive weapons in world history, including:

The AK-47/Kalashnikov rifle. Weapons experts estimate that more AK-47 rifles have been produced since its introduction in the late forties than all other assault rifles combined. This is a true assault weapon, with no use except taking human life. Durable, cheap, and easy to use, the AK-47 is all muscle and no mercy.

The MiG Fighter Jet. This is the best known of a huge collection of Soviet jets. Perhaps best known for its role in the American movie Top Gun, the MiG-29 is considered on par with top of the line American fighter jets such as the F-16.

Soviet Military Helicopters. Although the Soviet military had a late start in helicopter manufacturing, they quickly became second only to the United States in helicopter technology. Russians currently design and supply military and civilian helicopters to nations around the globe.

Soviet Missiles. Unlike the United States military, the Soviet Union maintained a branch of the military devoted entirely to missiles and rocketry, the Strategic Rocket Forces. This has yielded some of the most advanced rockets in the world, including the famous Katyusha Rocket of WWII and the SS-9 “Satan” that gained infamy during the Cold War for its potential as a weapon of first strike.

The fame and high quality of Soviet weapons, as well as their notable roles in battles that changed the course of world history, have made the Russian models and toys that resemble them a valued collector’s item for vintage toy collectors, war memorabilia collectors, and lovers of Russian culture. Unfortunately, the demand for these pieces of history is far greater than the supply of authentic Russian military toys.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Armed_Forces
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_army
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/494046/Red-Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-47
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG
http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Rotary/Soviet/HE19.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyusha

Sputnik opened not just an interest in space and astronomy, but a love of education and the sciences. Although the Soviet Union began as a movement of the working class, it found its renaissance in technology. The passion ignited by Sputnik was strong enough to sustain the country over a decades-long arms race. This enthusiasm was fed by the Cold War against the United States of America, which was romanticized as a competition between the opposing ideologies of communism and capitalism.

For a while, it appeared that communism was winning the battle of the brains. The Soviet Union was not just the first nation to launch a satellite into space, but the first nation to put a man, then a woman, into space through the groundbreaking Vostok program.

Among the most popular Soviet space toys were toy rockets, made to resemble famous Soviet rockets such as the highly successful Proton rockets, which have been in continual use for several decades, and the R-7 rockets.

Another giant leap for mankind made by the Soviet Union was the Soyuz program, a manned space program which has put more humans into space than any other in history. In a nation fraught with economic and political troubles, these triumphs caught the imagination and spirit of millions of Russians. A generation of children grew up playing with scale Soyuz space capsules and envisioning themselves as the next pioneer to see the Earth from the outside in.

Like the American space shuttle it imitates, the Soviet Buran space shuttle was a recognizable symbol of the country’s advances into the unknown frontier of space. As the Cold War came to a close and Soviet-American relationships thawed, the space program continued to raise national pride and stimulate interest in the sciences.

The third generation of Soviet space craft culminated in the space station Mir, which was visited by astronauts from many different nations. Mir stayed in orbit for just days short of a decade, and outlasted the transition from a Soviet space program to a purely Russian one.

The Soviet space program has been an enduring point of Russian pride, and nowhere is this as evident as in Russian toys from this era. Models can be found of almost every declassified Soviet spacecraft. The toys range from the fanciful to perfectly scaled replicas. Although the Russian space program continues, it will never have the place in society it held during the Cold War. For just a few decades in time, travel in space was a symbol of hope and triumph in a nation that yearned for both. The era may be past, but its spirit lives on in the many toys and models that enthralled millions of Russian children.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_space_program

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vostok

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_(rocket)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_spacecraft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_(spacecraft)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (March 2009)

Ivan Bakanov. Khokhloma artists at work. Palekh miniature, 1929.

Khokhloma tableware on Soviet postage stamp

Khokhloma (Хохлома, Хохломская роспись in Russian, or Khokhlomskaya rospis’) is the name of a Russian wood painting handicraft.

It first appeared in the second half of the 17th century in today’s Koverninsky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. The handcraft was named after a trade settlement Khokhloma in the same oblast, where craftsmen had been known for making and selling their handmade goods between the 18th and early 20th centuries.

The handicraft owes its origin to the Old Believers, who, fleeing from persecutions of officials, took refuge in local woods. Even earlier, however, local villagers had experience making tableware from soft sorts of wood. Among the schismatics there were icon-painters, who taught local craftsmen this painting technology.

An original technique of painting wood in a goldish color without applicating real gold is typical for the Khokhloma. Articles carved out of wood (tableware, mostly) were usually primed with clay mortar, raw linseed oil and tin powder (nowadays, aluminum). A floral pattern was then painted on top of this coating with a brush. After that, the articles were coated with linseed oil (nowadays, synthetic oil) and hardened in a kiln at high temperatures. A combination of red, black and gold are typical colors for the Khokhloma. There are two principal wood painting techniques used in the Khokhloma, such as the so-called “superficial technique” (red and black colors over the goldish one) and the “background technique” (a goldish silhouette-like design over the colored background).

The Khokhloma handcraft seemed to be fading away in the early 20th century, but it revitalized during the Soviet times. The Khokhloma craftsmen united into artels in the 1920s – early 1930s. In the 1960s, the Soviets built a factory called the Khokhloma Painter near the Khokhloma village and an industrial association called the Khokhloma Painting in a town of Semyonov. These two factories have become the Khokhloma centers of Russia and produce tableware, utensils (mostly spoons), furniture, souvenirs etc.

Unique works of Khoklhoma art can be seen in a Khokloma Museum that was open in the factory of Semyonov in 1972. Among them there is a huge Khokloma spoon 2 meters and 67 cm large and a bowl one and a half meter large.

External links

• Khokhloma ware: folk art for the masses (English)
• Khokhloma Painting (English)

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (March 2009)

Bayan

Other names	HS#:421.221-12
Classification	Free-reed aerophone
Playing range
Right-hand manual: The Russian bayan and chromatic button accordions have a much greater right-hand range in scientific pitch notation than accordions with a piano keyboard: five octaves, plus a minor third (written range = E2-G7, actual range = E1-C#8).[1] Left-hand manual Stradella bass system Free-bass system
Musicians
List of accordionists
More articles
Accordion, Chromatic button accordion, Bayan, Diatonic button accordion, Piano accordion, Stradella bass system, Free-bass system, Accordion reed ranks & switches

	Sonata F-dur K.107 L.474 Yuri Medianik playing a piece by Domenico Scarlatti on a free-bass bayan accordion. – 460 KB.
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The bayan (Ukrainian and Russian: баян) is a type of chromatic button accordion developed in Russia in the early 20th century and named after 11th-century bard Boyan. It differs from western chromatic button accordions in some details of construction:

• Reeds are broader and rectangular (rather than trapezoidal).
• Reeds are often attached in large groups to a common plate (rather than in pairs); the plates are screwed to the reed block (rather than attached with wax).
• The melody-side keyboard is attached near the middle of the body (rather than at the rear).
• Reeds are generally not tuned with tremolo.
• Register switches may be operated with the chin on some larger models.
• The diminished seventh chord row is shifted, so that the diminished seventh G chord is where one would expect the diminished seventh C chord in the Stradella bass system.
• Converter switches that go from standard preset chords to free bass (individual bass notes) are common on the larger instruments.
• Newer instruments may feature a register, where every tone played actually produces a perfect fifth.

The differences in internal construction give the bayan a different tone color from Western instruments, and the bass has a much fuller sound. Because of their range and purity of tone, bayans are often the instrument of choice for accordion virtuosi who perform classical and contemporary classical music. Two Soviet composers of note who wrote compositions for bayan are Vladislav Zolotaryov and Sofia Gubaidulina.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: accordions

Sources

• Cherkasky, L. – Ukrainski narodni muzychni instrumenty // Tekhnika, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2003 – 262 pages. ISBN 966-575-111-5

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