Political Nesting Dolls.
The Russian Shop / Maison Russe
1720 Ogden Ave
Lisle IL 60532
1-800-778-9404

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Yeltsin. Yeltsin dressed in green with Russian tri-color and "Reforns" folder, Gorbachev with Soviet flag and "KPCC" folder, Brezhnev and medals, Stalin in grey with pipe and Lenin in bright blue. A pleasing treatment and nicely painted set. Moscow: Sergiev Posad, late 1990s. 5 nest, 7" to 1 5/8". 1/2". [#PD-20] 1 only.
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Yeltsin "Friendship" Doll. A nice array of all painted dolls. Yeltsin with Russian and American flags, Gorbachev (CCCP), Brezhnev with oversize medal, Stalin in fatigues, and Lenin in black suit.
Moscow: Sergiev Posad, late 1990s. 5 nest, 4 1/2" to 1 1/2". [#PD-18] 1 only.
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Yeltsin. A nice array of all painted dolls. Yeltsin with Russian flag, Gorbachev in red suit with hammer/sickle, Brezhnev in brown with military stars, Stalin in fatigues and pipe, and Lenin in black suit with red ribbon. Moscow: Sergiev Posad, late 1990s. 5 nest, 4 1/2" to 1 1/4". [#PD-21] 1 only.
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Gorbachev. On the front is a street sign with the work "Perestroika". On the back is a banner (in Russian): "Ex-president". Gorbachev has both arms raised up over his head as if to signify "under arrest". A youthful Yeltsin carries a club and the Russian flag, Brezhnev holds a quill dripping ink and a decree marked "Tselina (Virgin Lands Campaign)" - a political program designed to farm steppe lands, Khruschev with an ear of corn (he held up the corn during a tour of the USA in October of 1959 - memorialized on a cover of Life Magazine), and wearing a peasant shirt signifyng his Ukrainian heritage, Stalin in blood-stained military clothing holding a hatchet (signifying his reign of terror), and Lenin in red with hammer and sickle. Rounding out the set are Russia's Imperial Tsarist predecessors: Alexander III, his son, Nicholas II, then Catherine the Great and finally a tiny Peter the Great. An imaginative set from the early 1990s. A few condition issues, on the first doll, include a paint chip right above the "P" in Perestroika, a small chip on the banner, and a lacquer bubble on the head. Otherwise excellent. Fully painted in Moscow circa 1991-92. 9" to 3/4", 10 nest. Sorry, this doll set is sold.
Closeup | Closeup
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Political Leaders of the USSR and Russia.
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Newly elected (since March 2008) third, and current, Russian President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (who is also a British hard rock fan), his predecessor - the serious "emotion-collector" and judoist, Vladimir Putin, followed by the tipsy Boris Yelsin, the dapper Mikhail Gorbachev and the personality cult target, Leonid Brezhnev. Medvedev's image is on the white, blue and red Russian flag. The names of the Presidents and General Secretaries are written in Russian. Partially painted, faces are silk screened. Excellent condition.
Made in Moscow. 5 nest. 6" down to 1 1/2". [#PD-LKR6A]
Leaders of the Free World.
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A world political nesting doll. Head doll is President George Bush the 1st, followed by Prime Minister Sir John Roy Major (Great Britain), Chancellor Helmut Kohl (Germany), President Francois Mitterrand (France), Prime Minister Martin Brian Mulroney (Canada), President Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (Italy), and Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (Japan). Fully painted, including flags.
Made in Moscow, 1993. 7 nest. 8" down to 1". [#PD-PR] 1 only.
Closer view | Closer view | Backs of dolls

Perestroika.
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Perestroika. Not just a doll, but a statement! This genuinely one-of-a-kind political doll was painted during the early days of Perestroika (Rebuilding) and Glasnost (Openess). Fronts of each doll have portraits of Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Leonid Brezhnev, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Illyich Lenin. Beneath Yeltsin is a tri-colored map of Russia that signifies the change from Communism to Democracy. The fun begins when the dolls are flipped around. Yeltsin's doll shows a 1-ruble note going up in flames, surrounded by falling ashes, signifying the currency devaluation. Gorbachev's doll has a picture of a television, which everyone watched 24 hours a day during the early 1990s for political information. Brezhnev's doll has a bottle of Stoly (Stolichnaya Vodka), with the (Russian) slogan: "Everything for the good of the citizen", signifying the hundreds of vodka vendor stalls that sprang up in the streets overnight, Stalin has red barbed wire star for the gulag concentration camps and Lenin's doll has a red flag. All dolls are fully painted. Excellent condition. Signed by the artist.
Rostov on the Don, 1992.
5 nest. 6 1/2" down to 1 1/2". 1 only. [#PD-Y12]
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Gorbachev with Lenin and Stalin.
Politically incorrect rendition of Gorby doll. Gorbachev is decked out with sash with title "President?" of the Communist Party, Stalin with his pipe hiding a bloody hatchet, and Lenin points to the first Soviet newspaper "Iskra" (i.e., "Spark"). Uncommon version.
Moscow: Sergiev Posad, 1990. 3 nest, 4 3/4" to 2 1/2". Sorry, this item is sold. Closeup | Back of Dolls


All dolls shown here are subject to prior sale.

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The Russian Shop / Maison Russe
1720 Ogden Ave
Lisle IL 60532
1-800-778-9404