Russia
Unknown

Wood, metal,
ca. 1890s
Height: 59 inches
Strings – Lutes – Miscellaneous Lutes

The balalaika is a Russian long neck chordophone with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. The soundboard consists of Russian spruce or silver fir with a small sound hole in the center.  The back consists of maple.  The higher-pitched balalaikas are used to play melodies and chords. The balalaika family of instruments vary in sizes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest: the piccolo balalaika, prima balalaika, secunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass balalaika, and contrabass balalaika.  This is a contrabass balalaika with an extension metal leg that rests on the floor.  The three metal strings on this contrabass balalaika are tuned E’-A‘-D and are played with a plectrum (pick).

The balalaika is possibly related to the Central Asian ‘dombra,’ an instrument from the East Slavs, and was first noted in literature around 1688.  In 1715, Peter the Great used balalaikas in his grand orchestral procession. It was a popular village instrument among the free-lance musical jesters for centuries.  During the 1880s, Vasily Vasilievich Andreyev, a professional violinist in the music salons of St Petersburg, developed what became the standardized balalaika, with the assistance of violin maker V. Ivanov.  With the establishment of the Soviet Union (1922-1991), the government actively supported the proletarian movement (working class) and their balalaika orchestras.

Resource: ‘Balalaika,’ Martin Kiszko, “The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments,” 2^nd ed., Laurence Libin, Editor-in-Chief, Oxford University Press, 2014, Vol. I, pp.181-182.