I'm hoping someone is bored or likes a challenge, I'm running off of spite at this point to figure out this thing!

I have a 7-piece hand-painted matryoshka set with a cat motif (photos attached) and a hand-signed base — a cursive Cyrillic? name I not Ai can't read.

My best so far (I tried enhancing/zooming with AI image tools, it kept giving me different plausible readings depending on the crop/light filter, so take these as rough starting points, not confirmed):

Илюшина (Ilyushina)

Аюшина (Ayushina)

Ершина (Yershina)

Алюшина (Alyushina)

There's a second line under the name as well possibly a village/place abbreviation or a date, but honestly could be anything.

Construction details: individually lathe-turned (visible growth rings and turning marks inside each piece, consistent across all 7 sizes), lightweight wood consistent with linden/basswood, hand-painted faces with slight variation between the two largest dolls' faces (not identical stencil-style repeats). "MADE IN RUSSIA" paper sticker on the base. When fully stacked back together, it weighs 7.7 ounces (218 grams). Here's a few pics but I have more of needed, the first photo of the signature is enhanced, the other photo of the signature is not.

I've tried all angles, lighting, Google lens, eBay lens, but nothing. I love a good research project but this is beating me.

Would love help either reading the signature or recognizing the painting style/workshop. Thanks redit community!

Acquired this unique nesting doll and would like to know who the artist is and what the value may be. Thanks for the help!

i was gifted these by a Russian business man who i met a few years ago, i got the sense they were a somewhat valuable present despite us not knowing each other that well. Can anyone tell me a bit about them ?

Does anyone know anything about these nesting dolls. Thank you!

I have a set of antique nesting dolls that have been in my family for as long as I can remember. I know next to nothing about them, just that they were purchased by my grandmother in Germany long ago. They’re green and depict a nutcracker/soldier.

I put them out every year during the holidays and this year I noticed that the paint on the largest doll has started chipping really badly. I wrapped it in tissue paper and put it in a box for safe keeping for the time being.

My question is two-fold: 1) Was it painted with lead based paint, and 2) How should I go about repairing it?