Golden Khokhloma is one of the oldest and unique Russian handicrafts that has been forming the tenor and mode of life of many generations and is an integral part of Russian culture. The specific feature of Khokhloma craft is production of gilded kitchen wooden utensils without the use of precious metals but with the use of unique grass-like painting. The Fire-bird decorated with bright flowers is the symbol of Khokhloma painting. The capital town of the craft is Semyonov located at 80 km from Nizhny Novgorod.

The old handicraft of producing painted wooden toys originated in the Nizhny Novgorod region in the beginning of the 20th century. Gradually, in the 20s-50s of the 20th century, handicraftsmen who made matreshkas at home were substituted for handicraft cooperatives. Later they united in a large, well-equipped industrial enterprise. It was the beginning of production of large unique matreshkas manufactured at the industrial scale.

Khokhloma painting was named after the place where it originated – the village of Khokhloma of Kovernino district of the Nizhny Novgorod region. In the 17th century very smart plates and dishes were made there and then delivered to the Tsar’s court. The products were characterized by the peculiar and poetic plant pattern, the festive and solemn colouring and the strict simplicity of the form.

Gorodets painting is a unique phenomenon of the Russian national culture. This folk art combines the unique artistic features of folk painting rooted in history. This topical painting is more than 150 years old. In their compositions peasant artists depicted a peculiar, distictive, imagenary world.

Production of famous toys with ingenious painting originated in the village of Polkhovsky Maidan of Voznesensk district. At the end of the 18th century many peasants adopted the skill of turning craft from the monks of Sarov monastery who produced wooden plates and dishes in the monastery’s turning shops. At the beginning of the 20th century in Polkhovsky Maidan they started to use the technique of “burning out” on the products and the technique of painting of the products.

The tanning craft started developing in the Nizhny Novgorod region in the second half of the 17th century and could be found in many towns. The availability of local materials – oak, lime and potash – contributed to the development of the craft. And it was fairly profitable. The handicraftsmen produced leather and then consumer goods of various finishing and decorations.

The history of the stone-carving craft is rooted in the remote past, and is connected with the mysterious “marble” cave on the bank of the Pyana-river at the village of Bornukovo of Buturlino district. The cave has always been famous for anhydrite stone called “Nizhny Novgorod marble”. It was of various colours – pink, white, blue, brown, grey and green – and with different patterns. In the time of Katherine the Great the stone from the cave was used to finish Saint-Petersburg palaces.

At the heart of Varnavino bone-carving there a peculiar artistic style developed on the basis of the expressive patterns of Nizhny Novgorod wood-carving. Each product is carved by a craftsman from the very beginning up to the end without any punches or models, which helps express individuality of the author and artistic approach to the production of each sample.

Gorodets golden embroidery is one of the oldest and unique folk arts in Russia. Dresses and shawls richly decorated with golden embroidery were obligatory elements of the clothes of prosperous women of large merchantry cities of the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Artistic embroidery is one of the famous Nizhny Novgorod crafts. It got developed in 1933 when “Yunona” (Juno) Embroidery Factory was organized. Preserving old traditions the factory specializes in the development and manufacture of women's clothes with elements of artistic embroidery. The range of products is various: exquisite blouses, elegant dresses, sun-dresses, scarves and kerchiefs, shawls and tippets.

Since the ancient time the village of Bor has been famous for peculiar embroidery craft. The products of Bor embroideresses were popular far beyond the boundaries of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The traditions of the embroidery craft are preserved by Bor Embroidery Factory, the history of which goes back to the 30s of the 20th century. The products of Bor craftswomen have been exhibited numerous times at Russian and international fairs and exhibitions, including the Exhibition in Brussels where they were highly appraised by specialists and connoisseurs of embroidery.

At the end of the 19th century on the territory of modern Chkalovsk district there developed a peculiar kind of embroidery on a net with large cells that were made by means of pulling out longitudinal and transversal threads of linen. Such embroidery was given the name of “guipure”. Due to its transparency and softness it resembles lace. The main elements of the pattern typical of Nizhny Novgorod guipure are rhombs called “flowers” by embroideresses.

Patterned weaving, an old handicraft, was developed in many villages of the Nizhny Novgorod region, especially in the northern part of it. Home-made patterns were used for decorating floor-coverings, clothes, bedspreads, tablecloths and towels. Flax, wool and cotton were used as the materials for weaving. The products of Nizhny Novgorod weaving craft were peculiar for the multi-patterned geometric ornament and exquisite colouring. Mainly, white, red and blue colours are used. Due to the successful combination of the colour and the pattern the products of the weavers were particularly refined.

Embroidery craft was well-developed in the town of Lyskovo and its neighbourhood since the old time, especially when a famous fair was held at the walls of Makariev monastery. Among many handicraft products of Lyskovo golden embroidery and “Lyskovo guipure” were in the greatest demand at the fair. Another popular technique of the folk embroidery is the so called white stitch with addition of coloured outline. Sometimes the stitch was combined with white satin-stitch made in the form of a dense layer. The usual pattern was the combination of flowers, leaves and buds on flexible stems.

As early as in the 16th century a metal craft developed in the village of Pavlovo, which is known now as the town of Pavlovo-on-Oka. This place has always been famous for the handicraftsmen who made cold steel, hunting knives, place settings. Pavlovo masters have taught their neighbors their craft: in the village of Vorsma they also started to make knives. What knives they were! The handles were decorated with jasper, mother-of-pearl and bone.

The Nizhny Novgorod region has always been famous for the traditions of metal processing. The ancient town of Pavlovo on the bank of the Oka-river has become one of the centers of the blacksmith's work and knife handicraft. At the end of the 17th century there were about 50 smithies. Among the most famous crafts there was a weaponry one. E.g., in the Hermitage there are rifles with the inscription “Afanasy Ovsyannikov. The village of Pavlovo”. In the time of Peter the Great the majority of the masters at the Armory were from Pavlovo. Later the metal processing craft was developed in the production of the goods for practical purposes – knives, locks, scissors.

In the 19th century Bolshoe Kazarinovo became one of the largest pottery centers of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The residents of Kazarinovo themselves think that the pottery production originated in the village in the time immemorial. Archeological survey traced the craft to the end of the 16th century.

The scanty land of Balakhna outskirts always yielded thin crops, and the residents of the district had to engage in various crafts and trade. Since the town was close to Nizhny Novgorod and, therefore, it was easy to sell the products, in the second half of the 16th century people of Balakhna mastered the production of Dutch tiles.