Great Russians, popular White Russians, Little Russians, Red Russians............

ʻ The common use of the term "nationality" instead of "race" in public discussions has created an endless
amount of confusion in the public mind, if not of absolute misinformation.ʻ

This quote is taken from a U.S. Immigration Commission Dictionary for the years 1907-1910.
It is more true today than ever before as people flit around the globe in a matter of hours, many of
them clueless as to their own history, let alone the history of the nations to whom they swear an
allegiance.

The little girl with the red & white print headscarf has a label which denotes her as representing an
ethnic Russian, Velikorusska. Velikorussians are also known as Muscovites or Russkiye. The archaic
term for this group of peoples is Great Russians.

The doll with the brown headscarf is a representative of the peoples known as White Russians. Her
label reads Belarusska.

The Great Russians belong to an East Slavic ethnic group whose origins are still argued and debated.
There is agreement, however, that very early on in their history, these people popular were mixed extensively
with Finno, Tataric and Mongolian elements.
White Russians, according to ethnographers have retained more of their Slavic roots, forming a distinct
ethnographic region roughly corresponding to western Russia and present day Belarus.

These tiny, just 6" stockinette dolls were made in the Soviet Union. They are but a fraction of the dolls
produced, representing various regions and peoples of the former Soviet Union. Throughout the long
history of this region of the world, various tribes and indigenous peoples have not been recognized,
except for intermittent periods of time and interestingly enough, many of them can be found
in these Soviet made dolls.

Little White Russian has the initials of
a former
owner marked on the back of her overcoat, seen above. Both wear bast shoes, still in fine condition.
These dolls represent an arm of the social movement which was sweeping the globe during the 1920s
and 30s. Inspired by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, artists, regardless of their media, style or
subject matter, aligned themselves with the poor and
disenfranchised, opposing fascism and fighting for racial and social justice.

With their rosy cheeks and bright red lips, these two are quite adorable and below the surface,
make powerful statements about their time !

Past time seekers may view more here ~ www.etsy.com/shop/KaLimaNanea

Thanks the visit.