The roly-poly toy appeared in the territory of modern Russia approximately 200 years ago. In the early 19th century, the roly-poly was extremely popular and widely spread. Most often, such toys were sold at fairs. Initially, the toy was called "kuvyrkan." It was designed as jesters, girls on a ball, or plump merchants. Each roly-poly was painted in bright colors in traditional Russian style. During the Russian Empire, the center of production for these dolls was in the Nizhny Novgorod province. There were several styles of decoration, such as the Gorodetsky, Fedoseevsky, and Semyonovsky styles. The toys were made of wood, most often from pine, linden, or aspen. In villages, such toys could even be passed down as family heirlooms. Historians believe that the roly-poly toy came to Russia from the East. Most likely, the first such toys were brought by merchants. The most popular version suggests that the toy originated in Japan.