(22 Mar 2020) LEAD IN:
The ancient art of bone carving is dwindling in Russia, as the master craftsmen and women die out and the younger generation turn to other pursuits.
Now the tourist industry is hoping to preserve their talents, highlighting the beauty of their wares.

STORY-LINE:
According to local legend the ancient craft of bone carving was brought to the village of Varnavino in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia by a single craftsman only 70 years ago.
Over that time the craft took root and expanded.
Before the revolution the craftsmen had joined together living and working in cooperatives called artels and this way they created their cottage industry.
As time went on they could no longer use their traditional materials like the ivory of elephants and the tusks of walruses.
Instead they turned to cattle bones.
Bone carver Tatyana Kuchumova says pieces are now sent all over Russia.
"We do what the customer asks from us. We work for Magadan, Kamchatka, and a little bit for Sakhalin too."
Kuchumova recalls how in her heyday artel was filled with people.
"More than 100 people have been working with us since the beginning. First, we were producing taps and dice and crochet hooks.Then (we) decided to make jewellery, then figures, jewellery boxes. Thus we started to expand the range," she says.
Now no more than a dozen craftsmen are left in the artel.
Young people do not go to work in this specialty as the work is sedentary and monotonous.
"The masters who are left now are of retirement age. Our main task is to preserve the craft and train new masters, young people. This is the most difficult task," says Sergey Smirnov the Head of Administration for Varnavinsky District in Nizhny Novgorod.
This artel mainly produces souvenirs that are sent to the far north regions of Russia.
Work is still carried out manually using a drill and the materials are mainly imported from Belarus.
Bones, such as whale bones, are imported for a specific order.
Local historians say local bone carving developed from the rich tradition in the area for woodcarving.
Elena Shabrova is Head of the Ecology and Tourism Sector in the region.
She says: "You know, these simple products are unique. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that they are entirely handmade and the handwork absorbs the energy of the master who made them. In addition, these combs, for example, are made of cattle bone. They don't create static electricity (in the hair). They work perfectly in the hair. If we comb our hair with such a comb, then it seems to me that our hair becomes healthier. It becomes shiny, fluffy."
Unlike in past years, now mostly the women are engaged in carving.
Women say men lack patience and perseverance.
Fortunately for them they say the demand for their products is quite high.

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