One of the oldest clay handicrafts in Russia is colourful Dymkovo figurines. It comes from the Dymkovo settlement near the city of Kirov (formerly known as Vyatka) which is the best-known center of earthenware toy production. According to many researchers, the development of the Dymkovo clay toy was related to the ritual spring holiday of Svistoplyaska (i.e. whistle-dance) which was dedicated to the sun. To take part in the celebration, one needed a clay whistle to make sounds with. The whistles were made in the shape of various totem animals, such as the bear, the goat, the sheep, the deer. Such clay whistles were made exclusively by women and girls preparing for the holiday in advance.
The most ancient motifs of the Dymkovo toys are the animals and birds. However, the Dymkovo toy trade is famous primarily for the colorful figurines of proud noble ladies, fat merchant wives, elegant gentlemen, valiant hussars, and groups of figurines depicting scenes from the circus life and open-air markets. The charmingly lively and often funny characters of the toys graphically represent the everyday life of a small Russian town in the 19th century.
The method of producing the Dymkovo toys seems also quite simple: a toy is hand molded of the local red clay mixed with river sand. The whistles are pierced with a special stick. The figurine is made by parts. Separate parts are fastened together with liquid clay, the joints smoothed away with a wet cloth. The toy is dried and baked, and then whitewashed with chalk diluted in milk. Afterwards it is painted with tempera paints over the white background. The Dymkovo toys are painted in as many as a dozen colours. They are adorned with distinctive ornaments of squares, stripes, circles, loops, or dots. These simple geometrical patterns, however, bear certain information. Thus, for instance, a wavy blue line stands for water, crossed stripes denote a curb, and a circle with a star in the middle symbolizes the Sun or other celestial bodies.
Every Dymkovo toy is handmade and unique, existing as the only copy. Every master brings in her own manner and colouring. The Dymkovo toy handicraft still has no serial production, which makes it different from other folk arts and crafts.