The way authentic Matryoshka dolls are made are by the cutting and drying of linden and birch logs. The aging of the wood is important so that the soft grain can tolerate the dozen or more woodturning needed for creating the dolls. After the wood is aged, its primed and turned on the lathe machine. The artists usually start making the smallest dolls first and then the bottom and top part of each doll. Heights vary in size, two-tenths for the smallest doll to 5 feet for the largest. The larger pieces are cut in half and rings are designed to match every half together, followed by the hallowing out of both pieces. Afterwards each piece is primed, painted, and lacquered, sometimes a starchy glue is used and then oil, enamel, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, or a mixture of such paint. All authentic matryoshka dolls are hand painted and silk-screening the image is considered counterfeit. After the fall of the Soviet Union, creating matryoshka dolls has allowed people who have lost their jobs make a living.