«The balalaika is the most Russian instrument,» sang in one of the most overplayed hits of the late Soviet era. But historical facts say otherwise. The main symbol of Russian folk music came from the Turkic peoples and received its current status only at the end of the 19th century, with V. Andreyev’s attempts to «combine a tailcoat with a balalaika,» when the modern image of Russian folk culture began to form. The hypothesis of the instrument’s Turkic origin, contrary to public opinion, has become almost universally accepted among historians and musicologists.
Based on materials from historian U. Morgenstern and art critic V. Galakhov.
