Photo:Maria LosevaA unique exhibition of Christmas tree decorations from the private collection of Elena Polosukhina has opened in Volgograd. Elena Ivanovna is a pediatrician with 40 years of experience, and for a long time she was in charge of Volgograd Children's Clinic No. 15. Neither patients nor colleagues had any idea about her unusual hobby - collecting such old Christmas tree decorations. Today, the unique collection contains more than a thousand icicles, balls, snow-tree characters, Father Frosts and Snow Maidens.
A photo: Maria LosevaA hobby came about thanks to the "accident" - when moving to a new apartment, the glass Shamakhan queen, the favorite Christmas tree toy of Elena Ivanovna's daughter, broke. She began to search for the same in Volgograd flea markets, plunged into this forgotten world of childhood and could not tear myself away.
Photo: Maria Loseva Now in the collection of Elena Polosukhina about one and a half thousand antique Christmas-tree toys. The oldest of them refers to 1912, the most "new" to the 70-ies of the last century.
Photo: Maria LosevaDrevolutionary Russian toys remained in single copies. In addition to glass, in Russia did cotton toys, which are now very much appreciated by collectors.
A photo: Maria LosevaAt 1935, the celebration of Christmas and New Year was banned. Since the beginning of 1927, the New Year tree saw an ideological threat to Soviet power. Not soon New Year, Christmas trees and the release of Christmas toys returned to the life of Soviet people.
Photo: Maria LosevaIn 1935, December 28, in the newspaper Pravda, an article appeared: "Let's organize a good Christmas tree for the New Year!" From that moment, the "rehabilitation" of the New Year's holiday began.
Photo: Maria Loseva
Photo: Maria LosevaThe toys made of cloth, cotton wool, paper were produced. And puppet faces were made from papier-mâché. Plastic parts appeared after the war.
Photo: Maria LosevaIs an antique heron.
Photo: Maria Loseva The red hat and the Gray Wolf belong to the 1930s.
A photo: Maria LosevaAt the time of the Soviet period, the theme of Christmas decorations goes beyond Christmas. Angels and Christmas stars are replaced by toys of ideological social and social nature - children in national costumes, sportsmen, pioneers, etc., on the Christmas tree.
A photo: Maria Loseva After the war on January 1, it again became a day off (this happened in 1947). A Christmas tree again became peaceful. The production of Christmas decorations is completely restored by 1946.
Photo: Maria LosevaShchelkulchik bought in our time at the Mariinsky Theater. This is a rare toy in the collection of Elena Polosukhina - author's work.
Photo: Maria LosevaV 1949, on the anniversary of Alexander Pushkin, was released a series depicting the characters of the poet's tales. In the 1950s a new technology was launched - toys on clothespins.
Photo: Maria LosevaDedov Morozov at Elena Polosukhina not one ten. "When I take them all out of boxes, we get a grandfather's parade."
