With all their petrorubles, the Russians are buying up the entire art world! Soon they'll be coming for Rockefeller Center. [Will they do any better than the Japanese did? Stay tuned!]
I'm not saying you should fire your Mandarin-speaking nanny, but in order to prepare your child for the next round of Cold War: Peak Oil Edition, I suggest buying her these Russian Blocks, made by the German [!] toymaker Haba.
Russian Building Blocks, 55-pc, ages 3+, $38 [amazon via dinosaursandrobots]
Related:
90-pc Pagoda Building Block Set from Guidecraft, $40
Guidecraft 124-Piece Arabian, Oriental and Greek Wooden Block Set, $56 Oriental?
In Russia, blocks build YOU
[my backup, but I figured I steal too much from Jalopnik as it is. -ed.]