Featured Thrift Find - Hand carved(?)/painted Russian Santa Claus w/Cyrillic signature(?)

I found this guy at my local thrift store yesterday, It appears to be at least partially hand painted (are the scenes hand painted or prints?)

And while it looks like carved wood from the bottom, it doesn't really feel like it? Maybe it has a shellack or other type coating?

If you look at the beard there is a small hole with space under it - could it be a piece that was added/glued on?

Finally - there is something written with what appears to be Russian Cyrillic letters; maybe artist's signature?

Any thoughts on it?
Thanks all!

 

He is Ded Moroz, Grandfather Frost, a figure from Slavic mythology. The snow crystals on his coat are a symbol of frost.
More recently he came to be associated with Father Christmas or Santa Claus.

Looks like he could be a resin cast of a carved original.

 

Maybe not - I noticed a hole in his hand for a cane(?) and enlarged it, it looks like wood?

 

Isn't it a bit blobby for wood? Usually you would drill a hole in wood, and it would have straight sides.
Do the edges feel like wood?

 

Thanks to AJ's ID of "Ded Moroz" one can find other similar versions online. Sellers seem to be advertising ones that look a lot like this as wood. Good to check the edges though.

 

Isn't that a knot showing through on the base? To me he looks like wood. And he is very nice, I like him!

 

It is probably wood, but I can't tell for certain. However, I do know that that type of carved wooden Santa from Russia first became popular in the U.S. about 20 years ago. I bought a new one from a Russian seller via eBay for my mother in about 2001 or so. She recently was dispersing some of her many Christmas decorations and offered it back to me. I took it and love it! It is a very light weight wood.

I don't have time right now to look at the Russian writing. The last line says [something] followed by NIKITINA.

 

It is indeed the Russian Santa, Ded Moroz, we used to celebrate him for 45 years, when Santa was banned as associated with capitalism and the church

There are Russian folk motives and scenes painted on it. Ded Moroz was always accompanied by Snegurochka - Snow white

How high is it? Does it have a hole or a loop on the top of the head? It looks to me like Christmas tree hanging decoration - елочная игрушка Дед Мороз. Made of pressed and glued wood sawdust. It used to be a popular technique in USSR apart from glass. There were also figures of Dad Moroz not for hanging but for putting at the foot of the Christmas tree, i.e. without a loop for hanging.

https://www.morozko-shop.ru/dir_elochnye-snegoviki-ded-moroz.htm

https://market.yandex.ru/product--e...arabanom-i-igrushkami-europa/1752708831?cpa=1


The inscription says:
G. Sergiev
likely Moskva (Moscow)- not sure
avt. (author) Nikitina (exactly as Figtree3 said)

It is a recent item, IMO, in the style of the old USSR decorations. The vintage ones are less colourful and less sophisticated.

 

Journey didn't mention the size, but he looks quite big, too big to hang in a Christmas tree. My guess is about 40 cm, thereabouts.

 

If that big then a doll for Christmas tree decoration, to be put at the foot of the tree. Can be of different sizes.

 

Sweet.

 

I'll check edges when I get home.
Not an ornament - as tall as a Barbie at least.

 

The drilled hole looks to me as if the figure is made of small wood chips (or sawdust??), pressed and glued. Is it heavy? These are usually heavier than the ones made of solid wood.

But it really looks like the ones they claim are made of wood and hand painted, like these:

https://www.livemaster.ru/item/23959825-podarki-k-prazdnikam-ded-moroz-iz-dereva-raspisnoj
https://www.livemaster.ru/item/4625...ki-ded-moroz-i-snegurochka-ded-moroz-ruchnoj-

And they all seem to have a stick/cane in one hand, which apparently this figure also had and it went missing as mentioned by journey.

Studio Ded Moroz with plenty of similar figures - all presented as made of carved solid wood (specified lime-tree) and acrylic hand painting:

https://www.livemaster.ru/studiya-deda-moroza

 

A lot of similar ones can be found on eBay in a search for
carved Russian Santa -- Not all of the results are that type, but many are. There are probably some under Ded Moroz also, but on the U. S. eBay people would relate better to Santa. Many are decorated differently, of course. I love mine, but it's stored away right now so I can't photograph it.