The first matrioshkas were made in 1898, in a children's toyshop owned by Mamontov in Moscow. Despite of the Moscow origin, the real native land of the matrioshka has become Sergiev Posad, the centre of handicraft toy manufactureand the largest in Russia, which is situated not far from Moscow. Its artists began to draw not only the well-known Matrena, but also knights, heroes of the war of 1812 etc.

Till 1917 the products of this craft gained a great popularity abroad. Matrioshkа's were represented in Paris at the world exhibition of 1900. In 1909 it had become a constant participant in the Berlin exhibition, and practically all Europeans got acquainted with it.

After the revolution the matrioshka was considerably simplified. The painting of matrioshka became solely factory-made and of the same mass character. In 1953 the main centre of matrioshka manufacturing moved from Moscow to a district in the Nizhniy Novgorod region, to Semenov city, which was famous for its woodwork, i.e. wooden utensils, spoons, salt-boxes etc. Semenov's matrioshka differed from Posad's in its bright colour and simplistic painting, this made the increase of volumes manufactured possible.

The end of the 1980's can be loosely called "the period of the second birth of matrioshka in Sergiev Posad". Owing to the highly increased flow of foreign tourists there was a necessity for the increse in the variety of forms and images, that in reality, had always been a distinguishing feature of Sergiev Posad's matrioshka from the moment of its appearance. Now every matrioshka is a product of an individual craftsman.