Authentic Soviet‑era Matryoshka set, made in the USSR before 1991.

The label on the bottom — “MADE IN USSR” with the ornate gold border — is the classic export sticker used on official Soviet handicrafts sold to Western markets.

The handwritten number next to “APT. C.10‑4456” is a factory or artist batch code, which is typical for:

• Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad) workshops

• Semionovo workshops

• Other state‑run folk‑art factories

• Has 11 pieces - smaller dolls do not open and this is not traditional nesting doll set. This is very rare.
• Paint is crisp and in tact
•  It is authentic USSR and not modern Russian
• It is a larger set with 11 pieces
• It has the original export label on it. 
• It is painted with lacquer
• Carved from linden wood. 

Matryoshka dolls were invented as a concept — not as a toy

Matryoshka (nesting dolls) were created in the 1890s as a form of artistic folk symbolism, not as children’s playthings.

They were designed to represent:

• Motherhood

• Family lineage