Nesting dolls and T-shirts showing Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are selling fast in Moscow souvenir shops ahead of the leaders’ first meeting since Trump’s return to office, scheduled for Friday in Alaska.
In one central shop, shelves are lined with versions of the nesting dolls in multiple sizes. Manager Yulianna Igonina said customers often request demonstrations of how the dolls open to reveal smaller figures inside.
"Yes, they buy them very often," said Yulianna. "We have them in different shapes and formats, not only like this, but also smaller and larger ones. And this one (pointing to a Putin nesting doll) is especially often asked for, and foreigners especially like it when we take them apart and show what's inside."
Collectors say such items gain lasting value from political milestones. Valery Arkhipov, president of the Union of Collectors of Russia, pointed to memorabilia from past U.S.-Russian events, including sealed cigarette packs, commemorative sweets, and books from the 1975 Soyuz-Apollo space docking.
"The most interesting souvenirs, I think, are those related to space. Firstly, it is Soyuz-Apollo. In 1975, our people together with the Americans launched Soyuz and Apollo, there was a docking in space, and thanks to this, a lot of souvenirs were released. In fact, there were a lot of them. They are not as rare as, say, Olympic souvenirs, but be that as it may, they are also not often found. These are, for example, sealed packs of cigarettes, or this kind of candies that were released, or a huge number of books dedicated to this event," Arkhipov explained.
“There has always been interest in souvenir products dedicated to Russia and the USA,” Arkhipov said, adding that summits often inspire material prized by collectors, from printed programmes to photographs and magazine clippings.
Arkhipov’s collection also features rare Olympic keepsakes and a variety of items marking Cold War-era cooperation in science and sport.
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