On this page you will find very interesting and unique items which are very difficult to find anywhere else, such as: Russian Religious Icons: In the world of art Russian icons represent a unique and extremely valuable phenomenon. Any Russian icon is far more than a mere visual image. They are objects of veneration treated with profound respect. The Orthodox believe that icons can bring about cures. They confide their innermost thoughts to them and look to them as source of support. We would like to introduce some examples of different types of Russian religious art. You can see here: old Russian icons, new hand painted and contemporary ones (not hand painted), etc. In the Soviet Union the Religion was practically forbidden and during the years of Soviet power a lot of valuable religious paintings were destroyed. With the coming years the authentic Russian religion paintings became more and more rare. Their value is continuously going up and original Russian religion artifacts with unusual subjects became very difficult to obtain; Russian Antique Samovars (teapot): The first mention of samovar production in Russia can be found in documents dating from the mid-18th Century. A mere half a Century later this Russian teapot glowing hot and polished to a sparkle, was an indispensable feature of every day life. It was central to any gathering, like a hot domestic sun that Russian life revolved around. The heart of the samovars is the fire-tube in the form of the jug soldered into the body. Charcoal, thrown into the tube heats the water. Samovars varied in capacity, ranging from 3 to 30 liters. The largest, manufactured in Tula in 1922, had a capacity of 250 liters, took 40 minutes to boil and kept hot nearly two days. Production of samovars was first launched in central Russian City of Tula (South of Moscow). The best of them were made by factory running by the Batashovs and Vorontsovs. Antique teapots have a trademark of the producer. At present time factories in Russia are producing new electric teapots. Some of them are pieces of real art. Those types of new ones are hand painted by very good artists and absolutely beautiful. You can see in our site different types of Russian samovars: old and new. We are trying to bring the best possible examples of that art. Russians can not imagine samovar without glass holders. Russians are big tea lovers. They used to drink very hot tea from glasses. It was impossible to keep these glasses in hand because they were so hot. Russian people started to use glass holders to "save" their hands. Glass holders can be from very simple and inexpensive made out of aluminum up to gold ones with gemstones used by the Czar family; Soviet stamps and First day covers: In our collection we have a lot of Soviet First Day Covers, including those commemorating Moscow Olympic Games, 1980. Russian and Soviet Union (USSR) books: we have Russian classical books in Russian and English, art albums printed in USSR, military reference books, very rare collectible books about Russian icons, etc. Soviet posters: we have different posters issued back in USSR (political posters, propaganda posters, etc.) Soviet diplomas: different Soviet diplomas including diploma signed by Stalin's son Vasiliy Stalin, military, young pioneers, youth league of communist party, etc. Russian and Soviet Paper money and coins: We have good collection of old Russian (Czarist time) paper money and coins, Soviet Union (USSR) paper money and coins, and new paper money and coins of different states of former USSR. Russian Hockey Jerseys: Hockey is a very popular game in Russia. Even small kids are making their own ice rinks in their yards by covering surface of the ground with water. For a long time Russia used to have good hockey players because hockey is very popular in Russia. We have good collection of Russian hockey jerseys. The players did not wear them but these hockey jerseys were made on the same factory in Russia. Russian and Soviet (USSR) flags and streamers: we offer to your attention some Soviet and Russian flags and streamers (including Soviet Navy Jacks) from our collection. Soviet and Russian streamers and flags are becoming more and more collectible. They are great for collection or decoration. We have a beautiful store under the name RUSSIAN ISLAND located in the best mall of Dallas - Dallas Galleria mall and large warehouse over 3,000 s.f. in Arlington, Texas. We have the biggest variety of Russian gifts and collectibles in all price ranges which we can not "squeeze" into the limited size of our site. We showed the examples of the major lines we carry. When you are interested in any particular item(s) please contact us. If we do not have this item we will use our connections in Russia to get it for you