The return of the Brest matryoshka doll

An entrepreneur from Brest restores art crafts and traditions of a souvenir factory

‘Miracles — one can find them right here!’ — says the entry in the guest book of the Brest Matryoshka store. It’s hard not to agree. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, about 2,000 people worked at Brest Souvenir Factory Slavyanka. After that, communications were lost and the enterprise began to fade. Attempts to bring production back to life did not bring success. Until Vladimir Vostrikov from Brest got down to business. He not only revives the glorious traditions of the factory, but also teaches art crafts to everyone.

When introducing Yuri Nazarov as new head of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate, Aleksandr Lukashenko outlined one of the tasks — the revival and preservation of art crafts, “These enterprises are unique from the point of view of history, originality, and human skills. However, in modern conditions it is insufficient to preserve the manufacturing of products of arts and crafts in its original form. It is necessary to modernise it, constantly work to master the manufacturing of new products that enjoy demand. Experience and traditions should be passed on to our kids.”

Mother’s work

Vladimir Vostrikov

In the turning shop, there is a thick smell of alder in the air. The painting area smells of paint. In the foyer of the production building on the shelves are matryoshka dolls from small to large. There are many photographs on the walls, which depict the history of the Brest Souvenir Factory. The 34-year-old director and founder of ViViTrek LLC, Vladimir Vostrikov, is no stranger to a souvenir. Here, his mother Alla Vostrikova painted matryoshka dolls for a quarter of a century. 
“After graduating from BrSTU with a degree in information technology engineering, I created my own business, but all the time I thought about these matryoshka dolls. I believed that something could be done in this direction. Once I collected online and offline store contacts all over the world and sent a commercial offer. So, in 2014, I started a business with matryoshka dolls. I bought some of the equipment and machine tools for souvenirs, and last year I bought a production building from a woodworking enterprise. Since 2021, ViViTrek has been a resident of the FEZ Brest. Today we employ 57 people,” admits Vladimir.

From matryoshka to straw

The young entrepreneur plans to register the Brest Souvenir Factory brand in the near future, because the enterprise has developed a special Brest style of painting and production technology over the decades. And then — the revival of such art crafts as woodcarving, straw inlay and others.
There are no problems with personnel. The masters of painting are colleagues of Alla Vostrikova, who have devoted the souvenir for more than one year. Adjusters and turners — from the same place. Young specialists are graduates of the Kobrin State Polytechnic College.  Experienced craftsman Tatyana Logvinova admitted that returning to painting matryoshka dolls was a great joy for her, and she puts her soul into her work, “We all try to make our dolls evoke only good emotions.”
Vladimir highlights that the modern Brest matryoshka is known in almost all countries of the world, “We exhibit on various marketplaces, ship from our warehouse, use logistics centres in different countries of the world. 90 percent of sales are the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Poland and Canada. Both private traders and wholesalers buy our goods. If we consider a matryoshka doll as a souvenir, then there it is, foremost, a toy or an element of decor.” 

 It’s time to restore the ancient glory

Alla Vostrikova

 The sanctions imposed on Belarus did not affect the work of the enterprise.
“We have everything for production: wood, paints, we buy only brushes in Russia,” explains Vladimir.
Undoubtedly, the difficult situation in the world has left an imprint on the enterprise. However, the young and creative team found a way out in expanding the range. Today, the factory produces about 300 types of matryoshka dolls. Snowman, Santa Claus, St. Patrick, cartoon characters — what we just did not see. Attention was drawn to toys in regional Belarusian costumes. One of them is a painted doll in a namitka [the name of the original headdress of the Malorita national dress].  
“Artistic sets of Polesie folk dresses are very expressive, saturated with colours. Here, we decided to try it. We offer these dolls to the regions for souvenirs, but they are also in demand among foreign buyers,” Vladimir adds.
Brest matryoshka dolls today can be bought not only on online platforms, but also in a store that the company rents in the building of a former souvenir shop. Vladimir clarifies, “It’s not actually a store. This is a small piece of coal for the revival of the life of the factory, and if all our plans come true, glory will return to the Brest souvenir.” We found the seller, the same Alla Vostrikova, while painting toys. Alla said that initially the matryoshka was varnished with hands — they put their palms into the varnish and clapped the doll on the sides, now varnishing is done with a brush. She drew our attention to the racks with old products and photographs, “Lots of stuff has been posted here before. We collected a minuscule. When the buildings and all the property of the Brest Souvenir Factory Slavyanka were transferred to the balance of the Slonim Art Product Factory, 6,000 product samples remained. Fortunately, they did not disappear, they were acquired by the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park”.
  In the store, Alla Vostrikova conducts master classes in painting for everyone. Tourists come here. The service is in demand, and evidence of this is the entries in the guest book. I wonder how the craftswoman herself perceived her son’s plan to revive the Brest matryoshka. She does not hide — she dissuaded him, “We all tried to dissuade him, but he did not back down. As a result, the whole family was involved in this business. The niche is exclusive, does not bring quick income. The Head of State recently noted that art crafts are a unique phenomenon. So it is. Everything that we know, experienced craftsmen know, must be passed on to children. It is good that the state gives the opportunity to engage in such a business not only under the auspices of Belkhudozhpromysly, but also to private traders.”

By  Valentina Kozlovich
Photos by Pavel Bogush