Are you keen on arts and history of arts? Or probably looking for an original gift or an authentic souvenir from Russia? Or just wondering what Russia has to offer in the realm of visual art? With us you can become a real connoisseur of Russian art!

===All articles in the order of post date ===

Read about the development of various styles, genres and movements in
Russian fine arts, sculpture and architecture:

History of Russian fine arts, Russian Avant-garde Art
Russian Sculpture, Russian Sculpture: History Outline
Russian Style in Architecture – What is it?, Architectural Decor of Old Russia
Perm Animal Style, Church White Stone Carving

Folk Arts and Crafts

The vast and varied land of Russia has always been rich in distinctive folk arts and crafts that are rooted in old traditions of family handiwork and country handicrafts. Later there appeared cottage crafts working for the market, along with private workshops involved in the capital market and infrequently failing competition with factory-made goods. The late 19th- early 20th century saw the revival of folk useful arts, with the policy of contrasting them with mass industrial production of household items. Some arts and crafts in Russia are developing with support of the state today. Here is a colourful array of traditional decorative and applied arts of Russia.

Lubok, the Art of Old Russian Comics, Izrazets - Russian Glazed Tile, Rostov Finift’ – Russian Enamel Painting, Gzhel Ceramics, Skopin Ceramics
Palekh Miniature and Fedoskino Miniature,
Khokhloma Painting, Gorodets Painting, Zhostovo Painting, Lipetsk Painting Ornaments, Mezen Painting on Wood, Polkhov-Maidan Painting,
Talashkino Carving and Painting Workshops, House Wood Carving, Bogorodskoe Wood Carving, Abramtsevo-Kudrino Wood Carving,
Kholmogory Bone Carving, Chukotka Bone Carving,
Kasli Iron Casts, Ural Malachite, Dyatkovo Crystal-Glass,
Orenburg Downy Shawls, Pavlovo-Posadsk Print Shawls, Yelets Lace, Kukarka Lace, Vologda Lace

Special place here belongs to traditional Russian toys that can also make stunning artistic gifts. Being an indispensable part of family life, and, more than that, being originated as magic and ritual tools, toys have embodied the creative spirit of Russian people. Toys included all kinds of wooden and clay figurines (the latter could also be whistles at the same time): horses, bears, lions, goats, sheep, birds, cockerels, dogs, cats, people, and fanciful creatures; straw and fabric dolls, small wooden and clay vessels, dishes, huts, etc. One of the first toys was the ball made of fabric and holding little bells inside. In the tsars family boys at the age of one year were given a wooden horse with a saddle, bridle, and stirrups. This tradition was probably a remnant of the rite of seating on back of a real horse. Later the prince was presented with drums, banners, swords, etc. Princesses would play dolls and dress them in various outfits. The first Toy Museum in Russia was open in 1918 in Moscow, and in 1931 it moved to Zagorsk, i.e. Sergiev Posad nowadays. In Saint Petersburg there is the Toy Museum open in 1997.

Learn about the most interesting kinds of Russian toys:

Nesting Doll Named Matryoshka,
Wooden Bogorodskoe Toys, Dymkovo Toys, Filimonovo Clay Toys, Abashevo Clay Whistles,
Zhbannikovo Clay Toys, Kargopol Clay Toys,
Traditional Russian Folk Doll, Wooden Bird of Happiness, Petrushka and Vertep: On Traditions of Russian Puppet Theatre