Cossack Taras Bulba

Taras Bulba with a pipe, large Cossack, height 38 cm

Bankruptcy and Closure

In the 1980s, the factory reached its peak for the third time. But already in the next decade, a crisis began, caused by an increase in imports—first of European, and then Chinese porcelain. Western products attracted buyers with their original, unusual designs, while Asian products did so with their price. Against the backdrop of imported variety, the familiar dinner sets and figurines with national flavor seemed "bland" and unjustifiably expensive.

The porcelain giant in Baranivka lasted longer than the others. But in 2013, it became clear that the factory's production base had long since been removed and sold to foreign companies. Only a "shell" of the plant remained; it had lost the ability to compete in the market and to produce goods at all. The authorities of Zhytomyr Oblast were forced to declare the manufacturer, with its more than 200-year history, bankrupt. Today, there are several small private workshops operating in the city, but their products cannot compare to the factory's, neither in quality nor in environmental safety.