Russian Souvenirs: What to Buy, Where and How Much They Cost

Which souvenirs should you buy in Russia? The ones almost nobody can resist bringing home are matryoshkas, the hand-painted Palekh lacquer boxes, the blue-and-white Gzhel porcelain, a fur hat (ushanka), a Pavlovsky Posad shawl, amber from Kaliningrad, malachite from the Urals, caviar, vodka and Cheburashka plushies. Here I’ll tell you what’s really worth it, where to buy it cheapest, what it actually costs and what you won’t be able to take out of the country.

Where to buy souvenirs in Russia

There’s a bit of everything, from the street stall to the department store with boutique prices. For value for money, this is the order I’d recommend:

• The Izmailovo market (Vernisazh), in Moscow (Partizanskaya metro). It’s the place with the widest choice and the best prices, especially if you haggle. Matryoshkas, lacquer boxes, hats, Soviet memorabilia, coins… almost everything is here.
• Arbat Street in Moscow and the stalls in the tourist areas. It’s handy and central, but you’ll pay quite a bit more than at Izmailovo.
• The GUM and TSUM, in Moscow. For good Gzhel pieces, porcelain or jewellery, not for bargains. Worth stepping inside even just to look.
• The shops of the big museums (Hermitage, Tretyakov, the Kremlin, the St. Petersburg palaces). Guaranteed quality and lovely reproductions, at museum prices.
• Supermarkets and food shops. For caviar, vodka, chocolate and sweets they’re much cheaper than any souvenir shop.
• The airport duty free. I’ve left it for last on purpose: it tends to be the most expensive of all.

If you’re going to be in Moscow and want to plan a shopping afternoon, I tell you all about it in my guide on how to go shopping in Moscow.

Wooden souvenirs

Matryoshkas

It’s the Russian souvenir par excellence and, almost certainly, the first thing you’ll bring back. The matryoshka is that set of hollow wooden dolls that nest one inside the other; the first one was made around 1890 and it has been the symbol of the country ever since. The usual ones are sets of five pieces, though there are sets of three and also of twenty or more (some have been carved with as many as seventy-five).

The big production centres are Sergiev Posad and Semyonov, but they’ll sell them to you anywhere. Besides the traditional ones, you’ll find matryoshkas with the faces of politicians, footballers or film characters. It’s a light, cheap keepsake, something you’ll appreciate when it’s time to pack the suitcase.

On price: a simple five-piece matryoshka can be found from around ₽500–1,500 (€6–18). A hand-painted one with a good finish starts at about ₽2,000–4,000, and the ones signed by an artist can cost tens of thousands. My advice: check that the painting is clean and that the pieces fit together well; that’s what tells a good matryoshka apart from a cheap knock-off.

Khokhloma

These are the wooden spoons, bowls and plates painted in red, black and gold with plant motifs. The style was born in the 17th century in the Nizhny Novgorod area and Russians still love it so much that you’ll see it even on phone cases. It’s light and cheap (a spoon costs a few hundred rubles), but bear in mind the lacquered wood is decorative: don’t use it for soups or hot drinks.

Palekh lacquer boxes

If you’re after something with a bit more presence, look at the hand-painted papier-mâché lacquer boxes. The most famous are from Palekh, a village in the Ivanovo region, along with those from Fedoskino, Kholuy and Mstera. They usually depict scenes from folk tales on a black background and many women use them as a jewellery box. The genuine, hand-painted ones aren’t cheap (the small ones start at several thousand rubles and the artist pieces cost far more). Watch out for the printed imitations sold for a few hundred: up close the brushwork gives them away.

Clothing, footwear and accessories

The Russian hat: the ushanka

The earflap hat is the keepsake most associated with Russia. There are two kinds: the touristy synthetic-fur versions, which keep you barely warm but look great in the photo (from around ₽1,500–2,500), and the real rabbit- or lambskin ones, much warmer and pricier (from ₽4,000–6,000 upwards). They also sell army-surplus military hats, cheap and hard-wearing. If you’re travelling in winter, it’s not just a souvenir: you’ll genuinely need it.

Pavlovsky Posad shawls (and Orenburg ones)

The Russian shawl has been in fashion among Russian women for over two centuries and is still a gift that lands well. The best known are the Pavlovsky Posad ones: fine wool printed with big bunches of flowers on a red, black or cream background. You’ll find them from around ₽1,500–3,000, and quite a bit more for the large pure-wool ones. If you want something more special, there are the Orenburg shawls, knitted from goat down, so fine that the small ones can be pulled through a ring. They weigh nothing and keep you incredibly warm.

Felt boots: valenki

Valenki are the boots made of felted sheep’s wool worn out in the Russian countryside for dry cold. The traditional ones are grey and, to be honest, pretty ugly; the modern ones come embroidered, in colours and with a rubber sole so you can wear them on the street (from around ₽1,500–3,000). As a souvenir they’re bulky, but the small decorative versions, shaped as a keyring or ornament, are a nice alternative.

Sportswear

Ice hockey and football are the sports that move the country, and you can tell in the shops. Hockey jerseys, especially the national-team ones with «Россия» across the front, are a classic among tourists. You’ll also find football kits, scarves, keyrings and fridge magnets of the clubs and of the big events Russia has hosted. And there are still retro souvenirs of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, with their Misha bear, which are rather charming.

Soviet-era memorabilia

USSR memorabilia has plenty of fans. Military hats with the red star, belts, badges, medals, Pobeda or Vostok watches, reproduced propaganda posters, old banknotes and coins… At Izmailovo there are whole stalls devoted to this. A tip: old coins and banknotes are cheap and curious, but if you come across something that looks genuinely old or valuable, read the customs section carefully before buying it.

Metal gifts

Samovar

The samovar is that metal urn used to heat the water for tea, and it has become a symbol of Russian hospitality. The samovar city is Tula, south of Moscow, where they’ve been making them since the 18th century. Today the everyday ones are electric (from around ₽3,000–5,000), while the old coal-fired ones and the collector’s pieces can cost a fair bit. They’re bulky and heavy for a suitcase, so a lot of people go for a miniature samovar, purely decorative.

Zhostovo trays

The metal trays from Zhostovo, a village near Moscow, have been hand-painted with bright bunches of flowers on a black background since 1825. The large ones are a beautiful decorative piece to hang on the wall; the small ones are easier to carry home. As with the Palekh boxes, check that the painting is done by hand and isn’t a transfer.

Porcelain

Gzhel

The porcelain from Gzhel, an area southeast of Moscow, is instantly recognisable by its cobalt-blue painting on a white background. There’s everything: teapots, vases, figurines, little bells… A small figurine starts at around ₽800–1,500 and the large pieces climb quickly. If you’re after fine porcelain in a different style, in St. Petersburg there’s the Imperial Porcelain Factory (the former Lomonosov), famous for its tableware with the «cobalt net» pattern.

Stones and minerals

Amber from Kaliningrad

Russia is the world’s largest source of amber: the vast majority comes from the Kaliningrad region, on the Baltic coast. It’s sold as necklaces, bracelets, earrings and figurines, in shades ranging from pale honey to almost red, and the pieces with an insect trapped inside are the most prized. A simple pendant or bracelet starts at around ₽1,000–2,000. Important: always ask for the shop receipt, because taking amber out without proof of purchase can cause you trouble at customs (I explain below).

Malachite from the Urals

Malachite is that intensely green stone with veining that’s mined in the Urals. It’s made into boxes, pendants, cufflinks, coasters and figurines (small pieces from around ₽1,500–3,000). A trick so you don’t get fobbed off: real malachite is cold to the touch and its veining is irregular, whereas the resin imitations are light and have a pattern that’s a bit too perfect.

Food and drink

Caviar

Caviar is the foodstuff tourists take home the most, but here you need to be careful. Red caviar (salmon) is affordable and delicious: a 100 g jar costs between ₽400 and ₽800 (€5–10) in any supermarket, and it goes into your suitcase without trouble within the limit for animal-origin products. Black caviar (sturgeon) is another story: it’s hugely expensive and, above all, the European Union has banned importing Russian caviar since 2022, so even though Russia lets you take out up to 250 g, you won’t be able to bring it into the EU. If you want to take caviar home, make it the red kind.

Vodka

The national drink. In the supermarket a decent bottle starts at around ₽400–700, far less than you’d pay abroad. The best-known brands are Russian Standard, Beluga or Stolichnaya, and you’ll also find flavoured vodka (lemon, honey-and-pepper, cranberry…). Remember the customs limit: up to 3 litres of alcohol per person go through without declaring; above that you have to declare and pay.

Beer

Beer is also drunk a lot in Russia. The best-known brand is Baltika, founded in St. Petersburg in 1990 and famous for its numbered range from 0 (alcohol-free) to 9 (the strongest). After the Danish company Carlsberg pulled out of the Russian market, the brand returned to Russian hands. A can costs a little over ₽100 and, if you like trying new things, in recent years lots of craft breweries with quirky labels have appeared that make a good gift.

Sweets and chocolate

For me, these are some of the gifts that work best and come out cheapest. The most typical is zefir, a kind of soft meringue made with fruit purée, egg white and sugar; it has no dairy and is light. Its cousin is pastila, similar but denser. In chocolate, the Alyonka bar (with the face of the girl in the headscarf) is a real icon, as are the ones from the Krasny Oktyabr factory. And if you pass through Tula, its pryanik (a spice bread filled with jam or condensed milk) is the perfect edible souvenir. A box of zefir or a chocolate bar costs just a few hundred rubles.

For the kids: Cheburashka

Finding a genuinely Russian toy for little ones isn’t that easy, because the toy shops are full of international products. The exception is Cheburashka, that big-eared character born in Eduard Uspensky’s books in the sixties and made popular by the Soviet cartoons of 1969. And right now he’s more in fashion than ever: the 2023 live-action film became the highest-grossing in the history of Russian cinema, and its sequel, released on 1 January 2026, broke the record again. The result: Cheburashka plushies are everywhere (from around ₽700–2,000 depending on size) and have become one of the country’s best-selling souvenirs.

What you can’t take out of Russia (mind customs)

Buying souvenirs in Russia rarely causes problems, but there are four specific things you’ll want to be crystal clear about before you go through customs:

• Icons and antiques. Any item considered «cultural property» (as a rule of thumb, anything made more than 100 years ago) needs a permit from the Ministry of Culture to leave the country. Without it, it’s confiscated. New souvenir icons are no problem at all; the trouble comes with genuinely old pieces.
• Black sturgeon caviar. Russia lets you take out up to 250 g in a factory-sealed container with a certificate, but the EU bans importing Russian caviar since 2022. To bring home, go for the red salmon kind.
• Amber. Always carry it with the shop receipt. Taking amber out without proof of purchase can lead to hefty fines.
• Alcohol and gold. Up to 3 litres of alcohol per person go through without declaring (between 3 and 5 litres, declaring and paying). And if you fancied buying gold bars, the cap is 100 g per person.

You’ve got all the detail, with the up-to-date official figures, in my guide on customs in Russia. If you shop sensibly and keep the receipts, you won’t have any nasty surprises.

Frequently asked questions