Voznesenskiy District is one of the districts of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, located in its southwestern part on the border with the Republic of Mordovia and Ryazan Region, covering 130,300 hectares.
The administrative center of the district is the settlement of Voznesenskoye.
History
The settlement of Voznesenskoye is documented as far back as the 16th century. Its founder was a Mordvin named Kudin. Its original name was Oshpire. With the construction of the Church of the Ascension, it became known as Voznesenskoye. It was to these lands, in 1667, following the suppression of the uprising led by Razin, that exiles arrived on the Polhovka River Polhovka — according to legend, they were sent from the Don for participating in the peasant war, and they became the founders of Polkhovsky Maydan. The village of Polkhovsky Maydan is located in the non-black-earth belt of the southeastern part of Voznesenskiy District, formerly in the northern part of Tambov Governorate's Temnikovsky Uyezd, on lands that were poor and unable to meet the constant needs of local residents. From the early 19th century, the villagers engaged in supplementary crafts, notably woodturning, which was promoted by the annual fairs held in Nizhny Novgorod. Voznesenskiy District was established in 1929.
Crafts
The matryoshka is the best-known and best-loved Russian souvenir, a phenomenon of worldwide renown. This is acknowledged not only by foreign art critics well versed in the Russian language, history, and culture, but also by tourists — in short, by all those who are just beginning or continuing their acquaintance with Russia.
The matryoshka made in Polkh-Maydan stands apart from all others. It astonishes with the vivid costumes of its enormous multi-piece dolls. In decorating the matryoshka, the Polkhovo-Maydan craftspeople employ a variety of techniques: "flowers with outlining" — the most well-known and distinctive style, in which the design is first drawn in outline and the surfaces then filled in with color; "flowers without outlining," or "grasses" — a style reminiscent of Semyonov and Khokhloma work; "speckling" — the simplest style, executed with linear brushstrokes, curlicues, and black dots; and "little houses" — depictions of landscapes and architectural ensembles. A distinctive modular system of decoration, based on a short, pressed pen stroke and a simple brushstroke, makes it possible — despite the relative simplicity of the basic techniques and the limited range of tools — to produce ornamental motifs that vary widely in form and outline yet share a unified rhythm. The result is a springy, almost pulsating contour line, applied with light movements of the pen, which clearly delineates sharp-angled leaves and oval petals, and reveals among the foliage a smoothly curving stem.
The success of this craft is confirmed not only by the steadily growing popularity of Polkhovo-Maydan products among domestic consumers, but also by the unfailing interest they attract at international exhibitions.
The matryoshka found its permanent home on 8 June 2004 in the settlement of Voznesenskoye, in the premises of the local history and regional studies museum. The museum's exhibition allows visitors to see how the toy has changed over the course of a century. The museum's collection holds around 1,500 pieces. On display are matryoshkas made by various craftspeople with different techniques and styles — including items produced by the Polkhovo-Maydan Painting Factory, exhibits from private collections, and individual artists' works. The most popular matryoshkas, then and now, are those depicting girls and women: in Russian sarafans and headscarves, with painted aprons, in short fur coats and felt boots, carrying baskets, bread and salt. Many other highly interesting examples are also represented in all their variety. The museum's prized possession is a 50-piece matryoshka. If laid out in a row, the innermost doll is no bigger than a matchstick head, while the outermost stands about 1 metre tall. Such a doll is a great rarity; making it demands exceptional skill. But this is not the limit — local craftspeople are capable of producing an 80-piece matryoshka.
Today the painting of matryoshkas has become more colorful and varied. The artists' imagination knows no bounds. Matryoshkas have appeared in the museum featuring village landscapes depicting a crimson dawn, haymaking, the harvest, and more. And so the Polkhovo-Maydan matryoshka went out into the world in this form — and was received with joy. Kings and queens, princes and princesses, presidents, generals and admirals, and film stars all smile upon it warmly, and as for children, there is nothing more to be said.
Industry
Voznesenskiy Municipal District's industry is represented by the following enterprises: OAO Avtodetal; the Voznesenskoye Consumer Society (baked goods, non-alcoholic beverages, sausage products, fish processing); OOO Zhemchug (metal-working products); OOO Voznesenskaya Sewing Factory (manufacture of work uniforms and knitted underwear); OOO Raduga (firewood and timber); OOO Gefest (production of metal structures and metal-working products); OOO Druzhba (woodworking); OOO Kudesnik (manufacture of wooden toys and souvenirs), and others. A distinctive feature of the district is the development of cottage industry in the production of toys and folk art and craft items made from wood (matryoshkas, turned vessels, and souvenirs painted in the Polkh-Maydan style). Voznesenskiy District is considered the birthplace of the Polkhovo-Maydan matryoshka, which has become known not only throughout Russia but in many countries of the world.