The Russian word for doll is кукла, as in «Куклы лежат на кровати» “The dolls are lying on the bed.” Many small Russian girls enjoy collecting dolls and placing them out on their beds as decorations. Both I and my sister had a collection of dolls that we enjoyed playing with while we lived in Russia. Each year on our birthday my parents bought a new doll for us. «У меня было восемь кукол, а у моей сестры было двенадцать» “I had eight dolls and my sister had twelve.” Of course once we received our new dolls, we took them with us to the park and showed them off to all the other children. At the park I always thought that my doll was the most beautiful of all so I said «Моя кукла красивей твоей!» “My doll is prettier than yours!” The other girls tried to prove the same.

I remember meeting a very mean girl at the park. When I began arguing with her about whose doll was prettier, she yanked my doll out of my hands and tore its head off. I was so upset that I grabbed her by the hair and started fighting with her while screaming «Дура! Ты убила мою куклу!» “Stupid! You killed my doll!” My mom ran over to us and yelled «Перeстаньте драться!» “Stop fighting!” as she tried to pull us apart from each other. I went home and cried all day because my new birthday dolly was broken. Luckily my parents were able to repair it and the next day, they came to me and said «Сюрприз! Мы отремонтировали твою куклу!» “Surprise! We fixed your doll!”

Don's additional notes: красивей is an alternative form for the more common красивее.

The матрёшка is a traditional Russian doll that has been in the Russian culture for many centuries. These dolls are an important part of the Russian culture and I believe that most Russian families own at least one Russian doll. It has become so popular that today, these dolls are sold in the US portraying American characters. The Russian doll is a series of hollow dolls that decrease in size and are fitted into one another as they get smaller. They are hand crafted, colorful, and are rich in fine detail which adds to the beauty of the final product.

In my Russian home, my parents had a collection of the dolls which stood in an elaborate cabinet behind a glass door. My mom said to me «я люблю нашу коллекцию матрёшек», “I love our collection of the Russian dolls”. I feel proud to own these dolls today because they show our culture.