USSR. Country of 189 peoples. Land der 189 völker

USSR. Country of 189 peoples. Land der 189 völker, a photo by Boston Public Library on Flickr.

Wonderful poster showing various ethnic groups as defined by their crafts. It would be great to see all 189 peoples, each represented with their own unique, indigenous crafts! 

С Новым годом!

Happy New Year! May 2013 bring prosperous and wonderful developments for everyone. ) The above postcard is from the wonderful tumblr blog Soviet Postcards, highly recommended if you haven't already seen it.

And here is a wonderful photo of Saint Petersburg during New Year's celebrations via RBTH.

The Matryoshka, or "Russian Doll"

On May 24 [2010], a rare Matryoshka doll display will open in Moscow’s AFIMALL City shopping center. Each of the six- to 13-meter-tall installations, which were displayed during the 2010 Russian National Exhibition in Paris, is shaped like a Matryoshka, the famous nesting doll that has come to symbolize Russian culture. [...]

Each Matryoshka design uses regional traditions such as those from Khokhloma, Gorodets and Mezen for painting on wood.

To see additional photos from the exhibition, please visit the website of RIA Novosti here.

Welcome! Where East meets West

Добро пожаловать! Welcome to my new blog, Craft & Folk Art in Russia & Abroad!

This blog will be my digital journal for further studies into Russian Folk Arts & Crafts, from historical, cultural and aesthetic perspectives, with analysis and comparative study of different styles and mediums of craft, as well as what cultural identity lies within these objects.

I decided to start this blog because while there are a few very good English-speaking blogs about Russian Art, I have yet to discover one that focuses on crafts and folk arts, which is a large and  important part of Russian culture. I hope this blog will be of use to anyone who considers themselves a Russophile, or has an interest in folk arts and crafts in general. It is intended for academic research but open to anyone.

It is always more challenging to study a "folk art" which is an organic, internally conceived element of a culture that has its roots even in pre-history, and is considered to lie outside of the realms of "Fine Art" or Art proper. This blog examines those intermediate spaces between the Arts & Crafts, where they overlap, where political history and cultural development fuse between the two, made visible by the works themselves.

In the future, I would love to have this blog be bilingual, in both English & Russian. I am currently studying Russian language and hope to make great progress in the next few months.

Thank you for your interest in my blog. I would love to hear from you, if you would like to contribute or have any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me, see my About page for details.

Большое спасибо!
A.P.