Mstyora (urban locality)

Mstyora or Mstera (Russian: Мстёра) is an urban locality (a settlement) in Vyaznikovsky District of Vladimir Oblast, Russia.

[4] It grew up as a settlement attached to the nearby monastery of the Epiphany (Богоявленский монастырь), on land belonging to the Romodanovskys, in the early 17th century.

[6] Like the nearby villages of Kholuy and Palekh, it was a center of icon production in the traditional style, but in contrast to the opulence of Palekh icons, those of Mstyora "sought to emulate the fifteenth and sixteenth century austerity" and "were greatly favored by Russia's Old Believers' sect.

"By 1897 Mstyora was a town with over four thousand inhabitants, and the site of periodic fairs at which books and prints were sold.

"[7] After the October Revolution, "Mstyora craftsmen switched to making painted, turned wooden toys and the painting of oilcloth, kerchiefs, tea caddies, and sugar bowls";[7] eventually they turned to the production of the miniatures for which Mstyora has become famous.