Olga becomes an ambassador
Soon, boxes began to arrive...
Olga Stepanovna Shukin (nee Nikolsky) established Maison Russe, The Russian Gift Shop, in 1972. Back then, shops that promoted the culture and art of Russia were practically unheard of (they are still a rarity). There was a shop in Toronto, one in San Francisco, and naturally, Alaska boasted a small handful (still do!) Otherwise, the promotion and depiction of Russian culture by the media throughout the West had a strong Soviet “overlay,” if you will, that concealed the true nature of the Russian people. Tension between East and West was at a peak fifty years ago, and efforts by both sides were being made to ease it. The bilateral treaty, aptly named Détente (a French word meaning release from tension) was signed by Richard M. Nixon, the first US president to visit Moscow, and by the secretary-general of the Soviet Communist party, Leonid I. Brezhnev, in May of 1972. An ice hockey team, made up of NHL professionals, played a “Summit Series” with the Soviets, exciting games being played on both sides of the globe. It was, to say the least, an interesting time to decide to open a shop specializing in Russian souvenirs.
Nevertheless, Olga decided to make a go of it, so, first of all, she needed to acquire authentic, Russian-made gift items. She needed charming nesting dolls, skillfully carved toys, fascinating Palekh lacquer jewelry boxes, fanciful porcelain figures, tea cups and teapots, even Krasnodarsky tea, among so much more. In 1972, trying to get such things directly out of Communist Russia, through the Iron Curtain, wasn't an option for her,* so she began looking for nearer connections, sending numerous letters of inquiry (via snail mail) to points in the USA, Canada, and Europe. Word of mouth helped spread the news among clubs and organizations, such as the Congress of Russian-Americans, of which Olga was an officer of the Chicago Chapter, for awhile; she had many friends at Orthodox churches throughout the North American diaspora, and it wasn't very long before boxes of goods began arriving to fill nooks and crannies in her house and garage. She bought what she could find – there wasn't a catalog to order from. Things were unique, one-of-a-kind, for the most part, which still rings true today at Maison Russe.
In 1972, Olga had four children under the age of twenty, the youngest being ten years old. She would put them to work in the summer of 1976, when she finally found a place to set up shop: a modest cape cod style house, built in 1945, situated on a roadway that had become, more and more, commercial over the years. A large doorway was created to tie two rooms together and a good friend painted the walls in the shop's main room, by hand, with golden scroll-work, to give an old-world feel (and between you and me, to make the shop appear more full). Olga was only ten years old when she fled Russia during WWII, and now she was poised to become a cultural ambassador, sharing a culture (her beloved culture) that most people in the US didn't understand. In September, 1976, Olga leaned a large sign against an enormous oak tree out front and opened the door to Maison Russe. She served tea, using hot water from a samovar, to welcome her guests.
Stay tuned. There's more to come about Olga and the shop!
The sign against the tree read: Russian Gifts and Curios
*getting things “direct” would come a bit later for Olga.