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'10 Dictators and Rulers' |
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| Size: approx. 9.2' Metric: 23 cm Consists of: 10 pieces Finish: glossy (lacquer) Availability: ships within 10-12 business days Origin: Russian Federation PRODUCT DETAILS: This one-of-a-kind nesting doll, painted in the genre of political satire, takes you through the history of the world in the faces of world's most famous dictators. These are: Vladimir I. LENIN (1870-1924) [Founder of the Communist Party in Russia and the leader of the Russian Revolution] Joseph V. STALIN (1879-1953) [Dictator of the Soviet Union for nearly a quarter of a century. His rule is infamous for his use of police terror and the frequent mass murders of his own people] Adolf HITLER (1889-1945) [A man many people consider the embodiment of evil, Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany, started World War II, and instigated the Holocaust] Benito MUSSOLINI (1883-1945) [Fascist dictator of Italy for over twenty years, led his country into World War II. Near the end of the war, Mussolini and his mistress were executed by Italian partisans] Saddam HUSSEIN (1937-present) [Became president and dictator of Iraq in 1979. Find out more about this declared enemy of the United States and his rule over the Iraqi people] Idi AMIN (1925-present) [Dictator of Uganda from 1971 to 1979, is notorious for being one of the bloodiest dictators of the 20th century. Responsible for the torture and murder of approximately 300,000 Ugandans] Augusto PINOCHET (1915-....) [Military dictator who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990] Fidel CASTRO (1925-....) [Dictator of Cuba, transformed his country into the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere] Josip B. TITO (1892-1980) [President of Yugoslavia, who established a Communist state independent of the USSR after World War II] Mao ZEDONG (1893-1976) [Ruled China from 1949 until his death in 1976. Was also the key founder of the People's Republic of China in 1949] |
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'A Couple' Sculpture |
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| Size: approx. 4' x 3.2' x 2' Metric: 10 x 8 x 5 cm Nature: cobalt painted porcelain Finish: glazed (glossy) Availability: ships within 7-15 business days Origin: Russian Federation Product Details As all Gzhel works this charming tiny porcelain sculpture was first created in a plaster form being cast from liquid porcelain mass. After the first burning the form was painted by cobalt. The background was kept white. Then the painting was covered by glaze. Glaze fused and made the surface of the work glassy, giving cobalt its blue colour. This is a top quality Russian Gzhel porcelain work that would make a fancy gift to anyone. MORE INFO / RELATED STORY: GZHEL PORCELAIN Gzhel porcelain decorated with fancy blue painting has acquired wide popularity in the whole wide world. Its value consists in its uniqueness and decorativeness. Gzhel ware is decorated with flowers, leaves, bunches and garlands of flowers. They are painted with the only colour - blue cobalt, which is sometimes laid wide and rich dab and other times in hardly noticeable touch of the brush. Touches of different intensity create a rich, bright and very impressive picture. The history of Gzhel porcelain began in the seventeenth century. The porcelain took the name 'Gzhel' after the village Gzhel which is situated in Moscow region. The first documentary evidence about the village dates back to the 1339 ecclesiastical charter of the Russian tzar Ivan Kalita. There, at the distance of 60 km from Moscow people had been long engaged in pottery. Archaeological discoveries confirm the existence of pottery on Gzhel territory since the beginning of the fourteenth century. Gzhel crafters have always made not only table-ware, but also small genre sculpture. These works depicted animals and people in action. From time to time entire scenes of rural or urban life were depicted in such sculptures. For example: traditional tea-drinking, beauties walking or sitting at work, hens, roosters, birds and so on. All works have a uniting feature - hand-made fancy blue painting on white background. They are all truly hand-made! The artist paints every cup or vase with a brush. That is why there are no two similar works, each one being really unique and keeping the style of its creator. Gzhel craftsmen are true artists that join talent and centuries-old experience of their predecessors. However, hand-made works are labour-intensive. They always come in small numbers, which often cannot meet the demand. Even in Russia not many people have Gzhel ware; and collectors are very proud of their collections. The original ware has the hallmark 'Gzhel' which confirms its authenticity and quality. All Gzhel works are created in plaster forms being cast from liquid porcelain mass. After the first burning the form is painted by cobalt. Usually the background stays white. Then painting is covered by glaze. Glaze fuses and makes the surface of the work glassy, giving cobalt its blue colour. Ornaments of gzhel items are normally based on plants and flowers (roses are the most widely distributed kinds of gzhel patterns). Modern Gzhel art is charming, cheerful and original. It soaks up the beauty of Russian nature and reserved, strong and expressive spirit of Russian people. Today Gzhel is going through its golden age. There appear magnificent works with their mysterious dark blue shades floating through the light field. Fabulous patterns, garlands, free touches coupled with subtle drawings - all of this makes Gzhel ware original, decorative and attractive. It is nice to use Gzhel tableware. It has become very popular lately. Many collectors have been collecting it. White and blue articles decorate houses in different parts of the world. In our age of stamped fashion the thirst for original things - made not by a machine but by man's hands - continuously increases. The value of such things will undoubtedly increase with time. |
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'A.S. Pushkin - Tsar Saltan' |
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| Size: approx. 6.5' Metric: 16.25 cm Consists of: 5 pieces Finish: glossy (lacquer) Availability: ships within 5-10 business days Origin: Russian Federation PRODUCT DETAILS: As all of our nesting dolls, this one is handcrafted in the heart Russia. It is handturned from linden wood and then handpainted by a professional nesting doll artist. It is a typical nesting doll, and each smaller piece of the set fits into the next larger one. Each doll is coated with 3-5 layers of crystal clear lacquer, and the largest one is signed by artist. Each doll in this set displays miniature-scenes based on the famous 'Tsar Saltan' fairy tale. MORE INFO / RELATED STORY: 'TSAR SALTAN' (Russian Fairy-Tale) Once upon a time in a far away land Tsar Saltan sat listening to the future plans of three sisters. One of these sisters said that she wanted to give birth to a great warrior, and employ the other two sisters in her charge. Tsar Saltan decided to marry this sister, making the other two sisters become very jealous. These two women decided to do everything they could to make the married sister's life unhappy Tsar Saltan soon went away to war. During his absence his queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Gvidon. It looked as if her dream of the future were beginning to be fulfilled, but her evil sisters wrote to the Tsar and convinced him that his son was an evil monster. Believing their ridiculous story, the Tsar then ordered that his wife and son be sealed in a barrel and cast into the sea. The barrel drifted for many years, finally washing ashore after Prince Gvidon had already grown into a man. On this shore Prince Gvidon performed his first great task; he rescued a swan being attacked by an evil magician. Having been saved, the swan then turned into an enchanting princess who promised to help Gvidon find his father. The Prince then became ruler of the land that he had washed ashore upon, and his kingdom became famous throughout the world. One day a merchant ship en route to Tsar Saltan's country passed through Prince Gvidon's magnificent land. On arrival to Tsar Saltan's country the merchant told the Tsar about his son's great land. Tsar Saltan made plans to travel there, but the evil sisters talked him out of it. The next time the merchant passed through the kingdom of Prince Gvidon he saw the Magic Squirrel which lived in a crystal cage that Prince Gvidon had built for it. Again the merchant arrived home to tell Tsar Saltan of his son's magical land, but again the evil sisters interfered. They told the Tsar that he should instead go to the land where one can see 33 warriors and Chernomor rise from the ocean. The Princess Swan explained to Prince Gvidon that these warriors were her brothers, so when the merchant passed through the land a third time this feat was performed for him. Having heard this story the wicked sisters dissuaded the Tsar once more from traveling to his son by telling him that it would be more worth his while to find the Magic Princess with the Sea Star above her head. Prince Gvidon was sad when he discovered once more that his father would not come to see him. Little did he know that the Swan Princess and the Magic Princess were one in the same! The merchant then returned home a fourth time to inform the Tsar that his son had married the Magic Princess. The Tsar then immediately set sail for Gvidon's kingdom where the family was reunited. They lived there happily ever after. |
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'Admiral's' Mechanical Watch |
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| Type: military watch Case: stainless steel with chrome plating Displays: hours, minutes, seconds, date Details: 18 mm band width; mechanical 2414 movement (17 Ruby jewels), 1' (24 mm) movement caliber; waterproof 2 ATM (20 m or 67 ft) Availability: ships within 5-7 business days Origin: Russian Federation Product Details For years ''Vostok'' Chistopol factory has been the official supplier of the Soviet and Russian army. Commanders (komandirskie) men's wrist watches - one of which you see above - are famous for being robust, functional and extremely reliable. Manufacturer is ISO-9001 quality certified. Complaints pertaining to the functioning of this product are accepted only within 10 business days of its receipt. Factory defected items will be replaced - no questions asked. |
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'Aeroflot' T-Shirt |
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| Sizes: M (Medium), L (Large), XL (X-Large) Metric: 46-48, 48-50, 52-54 Consists of: 100% cotton Availability: ships within 5-7 business days Origin: Russian Federation PRODUCT DETAILS: This is an original Russian T-shirt. Screen printed in Moscow, Russia. Manufactured of 5.1 oz. fabric - luxuriously soft 100% cotton ring-spun yarn with double-needle coverseamed neck. The T-shirt displays the famous 'Aeroflot' logo with hammer and sickle in its core and immitation of airplane wings on the sides. The inscription says: 'AEROFLOT' (in Russian) • 'Soviet Airlines' (in English). MORE INFO / RELATED STORY: 'AEROFLOT' HISTORY History The company was founded in 1923 under the name Dobroflot and was reorganized under the name Aeroflot in 1932. International flights started in 1937, before that date they had been carried out by a joint Soviet-German airline Deruluft. During the Soviet era Aeroflot was a synonym for Russian civil aviation. One of the rare examples of Soviet commercial advertisement was Aeroflot slogan: 'Fly on Aeroflot planes!' The paradox was that Aeroflot had no competitors and it was virtually impossible for an average Soviet citizen to fly on a non-Aeroflot plane. The airline grew into what was considered by the World Almanac as the world's largest airline company. In 1976 Aeroflot carried more then 100 million passengers for the first time. Its flights were mainly concentrating around the Soviet Union, but the airline also had an international network covering five continents: North and South Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. The network included countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Cuba, and People's Republic of China. Since the 1970s some transatlantic flights were flown using Shannon Airport in Ireland as a hub, as it was the westernmost non-NATO airport in Europe. Aeroflot joined IATA in 1989. At the start of the 1990s Aeroflot was divided into hundreds of new airlines. The biggest one was the Moscow-based subsidiary responsible for international flights, which possessed the brand (Aeroflot - Soviet International Airlines). Some airline companies which were created from the old Aeroflot are now flag carriers of the newly independent countries of the CIS — e.g., Ukraine International Airlines. Smaller regional airlines which emerged out of the old Aeroflot — sometimes just one-plane operations — are sometimes referred to as Babyflots. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the decision was made to reorganize Aeroflot as an open joint stock company (the company was created in 1994 under the name Aeroflot — Russian International Airlines). The Russian government still owns 51% of the airline. During the 1990s Aeroflot was primarily focused on international flights from Moscow. However, by the end of the decade Aeroflot started an expansion in the domestic market. In 2000 the company name was changed to Aeroflot — Russian Airlines to reflect the change in the company's strategy. The transition period severely damaged the safety record of the company. There was a number of accidents at the start of the 1990s. The last one was in 1994, when an A310 crashed near Mezhdurechensk, Russia killing 75 people on board. It happened after a captain allowed his 15 year-old son to manipulate the controls of the plane while a co-pilot was not able to reach the controls properly. Nevertheless, Aeroflot managed to improve itself dramatically in a short period of time and the airline's safe flights rate is currently 99.94 percent. The company used to be severely criticized for its bad service, especially in the first half of 1990s. Although service has improved since then, the hardest part was to train attendants to deliver it with a smile. In the mid-1990s the company even had an advertisement slogan: 'We don't smile, because we're serious about making you happy'. Fleet history During the Soviet era Aeroflot had 100% Russian-made fleet. In fact, all Soviet civil aircrafts were build for Aeroflot. On September 15, 1956 Aeroflot started to operate Tupolev Tu-104 - the World's first jet airplane in regular service. The first flight with passengers was from Moscow to Irkutsk, Russia. The first international route served by Tu-104 was Moscow - Prague, Czech Republic. The Tupolev Tu-114, originally used to transport Soviet leaders, came into service in 1962 on the Moscow - Havana, Cuba route, the longest non-stop route of the airline at that time. In 1972 the first Tupolev Tu-154 began regular flights. This jet airplane is probably the most popular Russian airliner (more than 1000 of these were build in total). It is also one of the most reliable planes in the world. The latest modification Tu-154M is still in service. In 1974 Aeroflot started to use the Tupolev Tu-144 - the world's first civil supersonic aircraft on its regular route from Moscow to Alma-Ata (now Almaty, Kazakhstan). Tu-144s were retired from service in 1984. In 1980 the Ilyushin Il-86 - the first Russian-made wide-body plane -joined the fleet. Eleven planes are still in use for charter flights. In 1993 Aeroflot started to operate the Ilyushin Il-96-300 airplanes on its route Moscow-New York. The first western-made aircraft (the Airbus A310) was acquired in 1992. The company also became a Boeing customer, adding new Boeing 767 jet planes in 1994. Since then Aeroflot has also operated Boeing 737s, Boeing 777s, Airbus A320 family and the cargo version of the Douglas DC-10s. Other facts of interest Aeroflot started commercial flights to the United States in 1968. However, in 1979 these flights were suspended by the US Government in response to the Soviet intervention into Afghanistan. Direct flights from Moscow to New York were resumed in 1986. President Vladimir Putin's wife is a former Aeroflot flight attendant. She worked at the Leningrad-based subsidiary of Soviet Aeroflot (Leningrad Avia-Squadron), now Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise. Aeroflot was portrayed in Bourne Supremacy. © Copyright Wikipedia.org |
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'American Presidents' (set 02) |
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| Russian nesting / stacking doll set devoted to five American Presidents and one Russian President. The first doll portrays both George W. Bush and Vladimir V. Putin. The other four display: W. Clinton, G. Bush, R. Reagan and J. Carter. The set is of beautiful quality, and would make a wonderful patriotic gift. Size: approx. 6 1/2 inches (16.25 cm). Consists of: 5 pieces. Finish: glossy (lacquer). Availability: ships within 5-7 business days. Origin: Russian Federation. As all of our nesting dolls, this 5 piece set is handcrafted in the heart Russia. It is handturned from linden wood and then handpainted by a professional nesting doll artist. It is a typical nesting doll, and each smaller piece of the set fits into the next larger one. Each doll is coated with 5 layers of crystal clear lacquer, and the tallest one is signed by artist. |
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'American Presidents' (set 03) |
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| Beautiful nesting / stacking doll set devoted to five American Presidents: G.W. Bush, B. Clinton, G. Bush, R. Reagan and J. Carter. The set is of excellent quality, and would make a wonderful patriotic gift. Size: approx. 6 1/2 inches (16.25 cm). Consists of: 5 pieces. Finish: glossy (lacquer). Availability: ships within 5-7 business days. Origin: Russian Federation. As all of our nesting dolls, this 5 piece set is handcrafted in the heart Russia. It is handturned from linden wood and then handpainted by a professional nesting doll artist. It is a typical nesting doll, and each smaller piece of the set fits into the next larger one. Each doll is coated with 5 layers of crystal clear lacquer, and the tallest one is signed by artist. |
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'American Presidents' (set 04) |
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| Russian nesting / stacking doll set devoted to five American Presidents: G.W. Bush, B. Clinton, G. Bush, R. Reagan and J. Kennedy. The set is of beautiful quality, and would make a wonderful patriotic gift. Size: approx. 6 1/2 inches (16.25 cm). Consists of: 5 pieces. Finish: glossy (lacquer). Availability: ships within 5-7 business days. Origin: Russian Federation. As all of our nesting dolls, this 5 piece set is handcrafted in the heart Russia. It is handturned from linden wood and then handpainted by a professional nesting doll artist. It is a typical nesting doll, and each smaller piece of the set fits into the next larger one. Each doll is coated with 5 layers of crystal clear lacquer, and the tallest one is signed by artist. |
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'American Presidents' (set 07) |
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| Beautiful nesting / stacking doll set devoted to 5 American Presidents: G.W. Bush, W. Clinton, G. Bush, R. Reagan and J. Carter. The set is of excellent quality, and would make a wonderful patriotic gift. Size: approx. 6 1/2 inches (16.25 cm). Consists of: 5 pieces. Finish: glossy (lacquer). Availability: ships within 5-7 business days. Origin: Russian Federation. As all of our nesting dolls, this 5 piece set is handcrafted in the heart Russia. It is handturned from linden wood and then handpainted by a professional nesting doll artist. It is a typical nesting doll, and each smaller piece of the set fits into the next larger one. Each doll is coated with 5 layers of crystal clear lacquer, and the tallest one is signed by artist. |
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'American Presidents' (set 8) |
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| Beautiful nesting / stacking doll set devoted to 5 American Presidents: G.W. Bush, W. Clinton, G. Bush, R. Reagan and J. Carter. The set is of excellent quality, and would make a wonderful patriotic gift. Size: approx. 6 1/2 inches (16.25 cm). Consists of: 5 pieces. Finish: glossy (lacquer). Availability: ships within 5-7 business days. Origin: Russian Federation. As all of our nesting dolls, this 5 piece set is handcrafted in the heart Russia. It is handturned from linden wood and then handpainted by a professional nesting doll artist. It is a typical nesting doll, and each smaller piece of the set fits into the next larger one. Each doll is coated with 5 layers of crystal clear lacquer, and the tallest one is signed by artist. |
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'Animals the Musicians' |
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| Dimensions: 4.6 x 6 x 1.2 inches (11.5 x 15 x 3 cm). Bear and Hare playing musical instruments (on the swing of the string the Bear beats the drum, while the Hare plays the rattle). The toy is made in a traditional style of the Bogorodskaya toy - hand cut from linden wood and hand assembled. Author: Oleg Isaev. Bogorodskaya toys are in many ways symbolic of Russia. In their majority, they depict bears (traditional Russian wild animal, if you want) at various tasks, pecking chicken and hares playing musical instruments. Bogorodskaya toys are excellent educational material for the little ones. Being very inexpensive - and yet, truly unique - they make wonderful affordable gifts. HISTORY: The history of Bogorodskaya toys starts from a legend. The story tells of a poor peasant family that lived in a small village Bogorodskoe (some 40 miles outside of Moscow; founded in the late 16th century) and had many kids. Their mother made a doll for them from cloth rags. But it lasted only a couple of days. The kids ripped it into pieces. So she wove one from straw. That one didn’t last very long either. So the woman took a piece of wood and cut a wooden toy for them, which the children called Auka. They played with it for quite a long time, but eventually got bored with it and their father took it to a fair. At the fair he met a merchant that liked the toy and ordered several hundred of them from him. Since then, the story says, most villagers became toy makers. |
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'Apple' Sugar Box |
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| Size: approx. 4.4' x 4' Metric: 11 x 10 cm Nature: cobalt painted porcelain Finish: glazed (glossy) Availability: ships within 7-15 business days Origin: Russian Federation Product Details As all Gzhel works this charming porcelain sugar container was first created in a plaster form being cast from liquid porcelain mass. After the first burning the form was painted by cobalt. The background was kept white. Then the painting was covered by glaze. Glaze fused and made the surface of the work glassy, giving cobalt its blue colour. This is a top quality Russian Gzhel porcelain work that would make a fancy gift to anyone. MORE INFO / RELATED STORY: GZHEL PORCELAIN Gzhel porcelain decorated with fancy blue painting has acquired wide popularity in the whole wide world. Its value consists in its uniqueness and decorativeness. Gzhel ware is decorated with flowers, leaves, bunches and garlands of flowers. They are painted with the only colour - blue cobalt, which is sometimes laid wide and rich dab and other times in hardly noticeable touch of the brush. Touches of different intensity create a rich, bright and very impressive picture. The history of Gzhel porcelain began in the seventeenth century. The porcelain took the name 'Gzhel' after the village Gzhel which is situated in Moscow region. The first documentary evidence about the village dates back to the 1339 ecclesiastical charter of the Russian tzar Ivan Kalita. There, at the distance of 60 km from Moscow people had been long engaged in pottery. Archaeological discoveries confirm the existence of pottery on Gzhel territory since the beginning of the fourteenth century. Gzhel crafters have always made not only table-ware, but also small genre sculpture. These works depicted animals and people in action. From time to time entire scenes of rural or urban life were depicted in such sculptures. For example: traditional tea-drinking, beauties walking or sitting at work, hens, roosters, birds and so on. All works have a uniting feature - hand-made fancy blue painting on white background. They are all truly hand-made! The artist paints every cup or vase with a brush. That is why there are no two similar works, each one being really unique and keeping the style of its creator. Gzhel craftsmen are true artists that join talent and centuries-old experience of their predecessors. However, hand-made works are labour-intensive. They always come in small numbers, which often cannot meet the demand. Even in Russia not many people have Gzhel ware; and collectors are very proud of their collections. The original ware has the hallmark 'Gzhel' which confirms its authenticity and quality. All Gzhel works are created in plaster forms being cast from liquid porcelain mass. After the first burning the form is painted by cobalt. Usually the background stays white. Then painting is covered by glaze. Glaze fuses and makes the surface of the work glassy, giving cobalt its blue colour. Ornaments of gzhel items are normally based on plants and flowers (roses are the most widely distributed kinds of gzhel patterns). Modern Gzhel art is charming, cheerful and original. It soaks up the beauty of Russian nature and reserved, strong and expressive spirit of Russian people. Today Gzhel is going through its golden age. There appear magnificent works with their mysterious dark blue shades floating through the light field. Fabulous patterns, garlands, free touches coupled with subtle drawings - all of this makes Gzhel ware original, decorative and attractive. It is nice to use Gzhel tableware. It has become very popular lately. Many collectors have been collecting it. White and blue articles decorate houses in different parts of the world. In our age of stamped fashion the thirst for original things - made not by a machine but by man's hands - continuously increases. The value of such things will undoubtedly increase with time. |
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