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Not all of us appreciated dolls when we were children. In fact, they scared the life out of me and I absolutely refused to play with them, opting instead for the safety of toy cars and road tracks. If you felt the same way, then look away now. Because you'll find the stunning work of Russian artist Michael Zajkov absolutely terrifying. He creates the most insanely realistic dolls with faces that are so natural and life-like that you could easily mistake them for being human, according to creativeboom.com.

A graduate of Kuban State University, he developed his unique craft while making puppets for a theatre company during his studies. The dolls are made up of polymer clay for the faces and body parts; French mohair for the hair and handmade glass eyes imported from an artist in Germany. He then fashions each doll in vintage style clothing of the early 20th century, using silk and antique lace for the costumes. He even designs the dolls' footwear himself.

As you can imagine, the process is incredibly time-consuming and labour intensive. His beautiful dolls first got recognition during an exhibition in Moscow several years ago, where he introduced Anastasia, Antonina, Zoe, Nina and baby Xenia to the world. Since then, he has gone on to create so many more dolls – with each one taking on a unique style and character.

You can follow Zajkov's amazing work via Instagram where he has over 80,000 fans and followers.