matryoshka doll

A set of Russian wooden dolls, of decreasing sizes, nested one inside another. Also known as a Russian nesting doll or babushka doll.

The first Matryoshka dolls were designed in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin and Sergey Malyutin. Their inspiration is not clear, but it is believed they may have been inspired by Japanese daruma dolls or fukuruma nesting dolls.