The nation's Industry and Trade Ministry recently announced that the government will spend up to $28.4 million for the Kremlin and state agencies to purchase large quantities of nesting dolls and Russian hand-painted dishes to give as gifts.
The move is aimed to help the native craftsmen whose sales have plunged in the financial crunch.
And it comes as Russia struggles with declining oil prices, growing unemployment and the global economic crisis. A sign of the country's woes is the plummeting number of Russian billionaires on Forbes' list of the richest people — 32 from 87 a year ago.
The government handout is good news for Yulia Kolesnikova — whose family has been making nesting dolls for generations. When the economy was humming, she never wanted Russia's army of bureaucrats and tax inspectors to look at her business. After months of sagging sales, she hopes the promised bailout can salvage her business.
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