Co-Author: Wendy Leyn, Zandvoorde (Zonnebeke), West Flanders, Belgium
This story is a companion to “Has Nikolai Lost His Marbles?”. In that first story we started a review of the literature about Russian marbles and we collected reports from a number of experts and university-based academicians in the fields of phonetics, history, Slavistics, international relations, intercultural transfer, applied language studies, and much more.
We recommend that you read the first story and our conclusions before you read this second post. That first post lays out the foundation; we now conclude our study of marbles, or the lack of marbles, in modern Russia.
Professor Ben Dhooge at Ghent University
Wendy emailed Professor Dhooge and asked if there are there marbles in modern Russia. As an aside, “Ghent University is a top 100 university, founded in 1817, and one of the major universities in Belgium with 50,000 students and 9,000 employees. Eleven faculties offer more than 200 courses and conduct in-depth research within a wide range of scientific domains.” [1]
Here is Professor Dhooge’s response:
“It is true that marbles have not really had a great place in 20th century Russia – possibly before, but then mainly among the wealthier classes. Today it is somewhat better known, but still far from mainstream ….
In that sense, it’s telling that one of the first help questions Google suggests when you type in “marble” in Russian is “what are marbles for” (Russian doesn’t have its own word for marble, by the way). Equally telling is this popularizing article about marbles[2] which not only explains different games with marbles (as something unusual, e.g. for a children’s party), but also indicates where … marbles can be found.
…The article indicates that you can buy marbles in the average toy store, but that you can also look at international web stores. The situation will not have changed drastically between 2020 and 2023. The Russian toy market is also quite different from ours [in Belgium], even though there has certainly been a large influx of foreign influences since the 1990s (e.g. Lego, but just as much hypes as Magic Mixies).”
Magic Mixies?
Ok, we admit that we do not keep up with marketing trends in the popular culture. But we had no idea what a Magic Mixie is. Do you?
Well a little research reveals that this is “one of the hottest toys of 2022….The Magic Mixies Magical Misting Cauldron was one of the hottest toys last holiday season, and as a result, repeatedly sold out during those prime shopping months. And it wasn’t just kids who were under its spell…”[3] Okay, now we know all about that!
AI Search
We appreciate Professor Dhooge’s response. After reading about his Google search we entered the keywords стеклянные шарики in an AI search. We were astounded to find page after page of gorgeous clear marbles of all colors! These were all for sale.
Glass Beads?
If you have been reading along with our stories you would expect these to be advertised in Russian media as “glass balls”. Right. Well, while they are gorgeous glass clearie marbles, they are generally advertised as glass beads! But they don’t have holes!
The marbles in this photograph are not Russian marbles, glass balls, or beads! They are all from Jo and Larry’s marble collection. However, after months of studying Russian literature, and after seeing marbles discussed on Russian social media and in the digital marketplace, we choose these marbles to illustrate this part of the story.
Put the Glass Balls Where?
Another aside. Our AI search took us directly to marbles identical to these! And there is a TouTube video on Russian social media which shows and tells all about putting glass balls (clearie marbles) in the muffler of a motorcycle! Even after watching the motorcycle start and run with the marbles in the tailpipe we are no wiser in understanding “why?”.
Wendy: Hypothesis: to make more noise? We did this with cards on the wheels of our bicycle.
Jo & Larry: Well, we did learn a new use for marbles which we never knew about!
The Russian Vantage Point
The AI search which we ran after reading Professor Dhooge took us to a number of Russian websites which are very interesting.
One Russian website asks: “Why were such glass beads [marbles] popular in the Soviet?” [4] This adds another odd twist to the mystery. The “glass beads” in this Russian story are actually transparent glass marbles of all colors just like the photographs in this piece.
On the other hand, glass beads are made and marketed without holes!
Jo both repairs and makes costume jewelry and from time to time she does see glass beads, like the ones in this photograph, which have no hole at all. These are handmade and almost certainly in China.
What exactly is the difference between these beads, which are 5/8” and just a bit larger, and marbles?
“The USSR is a time of interesting things and toys for children that were hard to get. And the most common were small glass balls in diameter, loved by all children. So why was there a demand for these glass beads?
In the Detsky Mir store [the Central Toy Store Mall, in Moscow] you could buy any toys, since the choice is quite large and the prices are reasonable.
[However] the glass beads were of particular interest because they were of different colors, like transparent, green, blue, brown. The children did not understand where they came from, the most important thing is that they could be played with and enjoy it.
Why were glass balls in demand in the USSR among children?
Multi-colored glass balls were not bought, but found on the street, or exchanged for other things. The production of balls has several versions:
– They can be taken out of bottles where vodka was poured.
– Make with pneumatic spray cans filled with paint.
– Making balls from special stones.”
2023?
Keep in mind that the Russian social and online market media are available now! We find it remarkable that the myths, secrets, and history about where marbles come from and even what they are can possibly continue in Russia today!
It is astounding to us that there was so recent a time that children did not know what these glass balls were. On the other hand, with no real name for the balls and no history nor tradition of marble play like dimples or ringer or rolley hole, the children’s reaction to the balls begins to seem perfectly reasonable.
Coup d’etat
Throughout these two stories we have noted how dogged a researcher Wendy Leyn is. He digs for the truth and solid evidence with equal vigor! Well his determination and focused research paid off big time! In response to a mid-August email he received this reply from one of his sources:
“Thank you for your letter regarding the marbles game. Unfortunately, your question falls outside the scope of our expertise, since there are no exemplars of the marbles game within the State Hermitage Museum’s collection. However, we can say the game is not very popular currently.”
The email was posted from the Director’s Office, The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia!
Jo and Larry have visited the Hermitage (both, in fact, in Russia and Tennessee), and it is a full immersion experience. The Russian Museum is …”one of the world’s largest and most prestigious museums…. With over 3 million items in its collection, it also definitely rewards repeat visits, and new-comers can only hope to get a brief taste of the riches on offer here, from Impressionist masterpieces to fascinating Oriental treasures. One estimate has it that you would need eleven years to view each exhibit on display for just one minute….”[5]
Three million artifacts and not one marble. Or glass ball. Or glass bead!
What We Learned
Sometimes we summarize our stories with a numbered list like we did in the first story “Has Nickolai Lost His Marbles?” Here we will just add two critical points: first, there is no mention of marbles (glass balls) among the 265,000 entries in The Great Soviet Encyclopedia. And second there are no marbles to be found among the 3,000,000 artifacts in State Hermitage Museum.
Both facts are incredible. Throughout both stories we consulted experts and academicians who either have lived in Russia or have studied or worked in the country. The evidence is solid: there is no history of marbles or marble gaming in Russia.
Should you like to read further in the subject we list several additional sources which you might want to check out.
Wendy: We invite all marble lovers allover the world and the international academic community to continue with the research we have started. We hope the people of Russia one time can become a member of the happy world marble and play family.
References
- https://www.ugent.be/en/ghentuniv/mission/presentations.htm 8/18/2023 ↑
- https://snova-prazdnik.ru/marbls/ ↑
- Today @ https://www.today.com/shop/magic-mixies-toys-t261794 8/18/2023 ↑
- Why were such glass beads popular in the Soviet Union? / Back in USSR / Back in USSR (back-in-ussr.com) 8/18/2023 ↑
- http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/hermitage-museum/ 8/20/2023 ↑
Suggested Further Reading
This story of Russian marbles is done. If you would like to read a bit more, continue reading below.
Biskvitnoy – Vintage Marble Game – 1950-1959 – Belarus Beautiful vintage marble game published by Biskvitnoy Minsk (лит. бисквитной ф-ни г минск) between 1950 and 1959 in Belarus. The game has the theme ‘ball games’. The game is played with marbles (included) or lead bullets that can score points after firing [readers, can you please explain this one about lead bullets?]. The old game was available online @ Euro 22,50; about USD 24.5 , which is about what a similar one would cost in the States. Most old pinball or marble games only have nails that the marbles bump into, with this board the direction of the marbles can also be influenced. https://parelsbreda.nl/webshop/retro-vintage/biskvitnoy-vintage-knikkerspel-1950-1959-wit-rusland/ (8/23/2023). This is an adequate translation from Russian. The pinball or table bagatelle game, like this one from our eMagazine story “Bagatelle Blues” (https://thesecretlifeofmarbles.com/bagatelle/) is familiar to most marble collectors. The manufacturer was in Minsk, Belarus, 1950 – 1959. It is very interesting to us that at least some people knew about much older (19th century) pinball games made of nails. This sounds very much like this the 1871 Redgrave and the one we discuss in our Bagatelle story. For more on Belarus check “Belarus Profile – Timeline” @ Belarus profile – Timeline – BBC News 8/21/2023 In the 1960s, “a policy of Russification relegates the Belarusian language and culture to second-class status. … 1991 Belarus declares its independence as the Soviet Union breaks up.”
“Childhood in Russia 1890-1991 A Social and Cultural History”.
https://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/russian/childhood/ 8/26/2023
De Rop, René. Zeg hé, knikker je mee? Asse, Brebant, Belgium, 1992.
Hey, Are You Playing Marbles? Page 43: ““From the Dutch company ANGLO-DEUTCH- COMPANY 1 e.g. we got a lot of interesting ones documentation sent, for which we thank you. According to that source, people play marbles a lot in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Russia and Spain. This company, which also exports marbles to Belgium, has a wide range including the following names: Agate, Zebra, Cats Eyes, Meteor, Candy, Silver, Agalico, Papillon, Confetti, Surfing, Meteor, Panda, Diamond…that are sold under the company name Canicas-Knikkers”. These are all names of Vacor de Mexico marbles. It is interested that the marketing name is “Marbles” in Spanish and Dutch/Flemish. https://www.amazon.nl/ANGLO-DUTCH-COMPANY-BV-netto/dp/B003JRL5AK 8/21/2023
“Doodzwijgen is: I behave like a dead person, I don’t speak of marbles, it can be safer to do like that.” ‘Doodzwijgen’ means never speaking of marbles, do in a manner that they do no more exist, that they are dead…. eMail from Wendy Lyen 8/12/2023
“History of Russia”. @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Russia 8/11/2023
In the following article the author writes that in Russia the knowledge and tradition of the game(s) of marbles has disappeared since the Russian revolution. @ https://www.tijd.be/algemeen/algemeen/een-knikker-is-voor-altijd/5273964.html?fbclid=IwAR2U8kziEOD4WaAYpIdYy0Cfqy8N4jsnQ_sVezRDKzkFUqzt_q4Mp6oIsw0/ 8/18/2023
Мировая Федерация Каники @ http://shariki.worldmarblesfederation.com/ and http://www.worldmarblesfederation.com/ 8/18/2023
“Marbles on a holiday – a game, decoration or gift How to play marbles?” “The game of marbles is recognized by child psychologists as one of the most useful for the younger generation: it develops accuracy, speed, accuracy and motor skills, and the beautiful shades of glass stones [this is an adequate translation from Russian, but what are glass stones] awaken a sense of beauty in the child. Adults also love this game – at parties you can often see a company of people throwing balls [throwing glass balls? Or is this some type skittles? Or a game of rolley or dimples marbles?]. How to play marbles? There are a lot of games with colored balls [marbles, glass balls, glass beads]. Some can be played together, others require a company of 5 people. The game requires spherical, not flat balls [Flat balls? This would be what we call gem marbles?]. How to play marbles Game “Circle” [We think this means “Ringer”! There is a photograph of a hand about to shoot ringer style and the marbles used are opaque game marbles like the ones we use for Chinese Checkers. This is the only photograph like this that we have ever seen in anything related to Russian marbles]. Simple and fun entertainment for two people. It is necessary to draw a circle of a convenient diameter (the standard size is 3 meters, but for beginners it can be reduced). Inside the circle, lay out a cross of 13 marbles. Players take it in turns to shoot at the balls from a larger marble (usually called a toe). [We call a larger shooter like this a taw. Did taw get lost in translation? We find a glass ball toe a bit creepy.] The ball that flew out of the circle goes to the shooting player. The first person to collect 7 balls wins. Required set of marbles: 13 standard size marbles and 2 large toe balls. https://snova-prazdnik.ru/marbls/ 8/20/2023
“Murmelspiel” @ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murmelspiel#cite_note-18 8/20/2023
“Rambaud on the transformation of Russia (1900)”. @ https://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/rambaud-transformation-of-russia-1900/ 8/12/2023
Russian marbles made in France? At any rate a beautiful photographs. @ https://kinderplayroom.com/products/copy-of-billes-co-matryoshka-katerina-box-61-pieces & https://www.villahoera.nl/a-64963107/billes-co/billes-co-knikkers-in-doosje-matroesjka-matriochka-yelena-62-stuks/ 8/12/2023 mechelen
Speelgoedmuseum Mechelen vzw. @ https://www.facebook.com/speelgoedmuseum.mechelen (8/21/2023). Again some interesting photographs including how to play a very odd looking of skittles and a single woman shooting a marble with her thumb on cobblestones and, apparently against a wall!
“Toys (Part 1)” Игрушки (Часть 1) @ http://www.mintorgmuseum.ru/vocabulary/335/ 8/16/2023 Even if you don’t translate this article, it is well worth just looking at the pictures.
