Matryoshkas date from 1890, and are said to have been inspired by souvenir dolls from Japan. However, the perception of Nesting Dolls nested objects was familiar in Russia, having been applied to carved timbered apples and Easter eggs; the first Fabergé egg, in 1885, had a nesting of egg, yolk, hen, and chick.

In 1900, M.A. Mamontova, the wife of Savva Mamontov, presented the dolls at the World Exhibition in Paris and the toy earned a bronze medal. Soon, many other places in Russia started departmental matryoshki of various styles.