St. Petersburg Doll Museum

In St. Petersburg in 1991, graduates and teachers of the Art and Graphic faculty of the A. I. Herzen Pedagogical Institute united and came up with an idea to produce dolls, which was very new and unusual for that time. Galina Varenyuk, who also graduated from a post-graduate course at the Moscow Research Institute of Art Education, performed as the organizer and artistic director of the workshop. The company developed and successfully produced dolls, it began to make porcelain and other dolls; the owner always called this a “funny craft”, which prospered, and its production range expanded. The director formed an extensive library on the history of dolls and costume, as well as the collection of authors’, antique, and national dolls from all over the world. Then, in 1998 Galina Nikolaevna decided to create the St. Petersburg Museum of Dolls on the basis of funds from the doll trade and her own private collection, and then registered it.

In May 1999, the official opening of the St. Petersburg Doll Museum for visitors took place. Its collection at that moment was about 1000 items. It was one of the first private museums in the country.

The museum hosts excursions, children’s educational programs, quests, masterclasses, and children’s clubs. It also organizes birthdays and holidays, as well as various thematic exhibitions.