P I greet you, my dear readers! If you have looked at this page, then you are inquisitive people, and I respect inquisitive people very much. Who am I? I am the Old Man Gramophone. I know many interesting stories. We old people love to chat! So I want to tell you a story...
Oh balalaika! What are you frowning at? Boring, you say... Well then, tell me why for almost 70 years now there has been a ban on the sale of the Russian balalaika in the USA? Why, when foreign tourists imagine Russia, do they imagine a kind of brown bear with a balalaika? Why without fail with a balalaika?! Say, it's like a national flavor. The color is, of course, the color. Yes, but not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. What, my friends, has become interesting? Well, then read and listen.
The history of the balalaika goes back almost three centuries. It is known that by the end of the 18th century it was one of the most beloved instruments of the Russian people. But did the balalaika exist in Russia before the 18th century? How, when and where did it come from? Unknown. Many pundits agree that the balalaika originated from the domra, which the Russians adopted from the eastern tribes, immigrants from Asia. For some time, domra became a favorite instrument of wandering musicians-entertainers of buffoons with their everyday, folk-satirical repertoire. The church was very hostile to domra, considering all folk instruments, and especially stringed instruments, as "Vessel of the Devil" and "devil games". The persecution of folk musical instruments by the church and secular authorities in the middle of the 17th century took on the character of their mass destruction. 
This centuries-old struggle led to the fact that by the beginning of the 18th century domra was completely forgotten. But, at the same time, the balalaika appeared and took a strong place in folk art. How so? Where suddenly? In fact, the domra was not abandoned by the people, it was only disguised under a different name, somewhat modified and simplified. The tool, which was persecuted by the church and the authorities, the cunning people first changed the name, giving it a new one, denoting an object for fun and entertainment. Then, since this musical instrument had to be made at home and hastily, to simplify the work, the body began to be hammered together not semicircular like a domra, but cut off from the bottom, and then completely triangular from simple planks. In addition, the old Russian method of playing was transferred to the balalaika - rattling the strings with the hand. Therefore, the tool began to be called "brunka", "balabayka", "balalaika". So from the Asian domra turned Russian balalaika. But some scientists attribute something else to the balalaika - a Tatar origin. They believe that the balalaika was invented by the Russians themselves during the Tatar rule or was borrowed from the Tatars. Tatar word "balalar" translated into Russian means "children". If you add a typical Russian ending to it "-ka", then the resulting word "balalarka" it becomes very similar to "balalaika". However, if we agree with this version about the Tatar origin of the instrument, then it turns out that the balalaika appeared in Russia not in the 18th century, but at least 400 years earlier!
In general, the question of the origin of the balalaika turned out to be complex and confusing. At the beginning of the 19th century, the popularity of the balalaika was dealt a blow by the spread of the seven-string Russian guitar in Russia. The process of gradual disappearance of the balalaika from the folk musical life began. Then serious damage was done to the popularity of the balalaika "vociferous talyanka"(a kind of accordion), also widely spread in Russia in the middle of the 19th century. Of course, the balalaika did not completely disappear from the musical life of the people, but its popularity continued to decline.
It is not known how the fate of the balalaika would have developed if the passionate lover of Russian folk music Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev had not been in her way. It is with him that the second birth of the balalaika begins and the beginning of the flowering of national instrumental music.
Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev (1861–1918)
- an outstanding patriot of Russia, a reformer of Russian folk instruments, the creator and leader of the first Great Russian orchestra, teacher, composer, conductor, virtuoso performer on the balalaika and harmonica. He came from an old noble family. From an early age he was fascinated by folk music and self-taught played many instruments. Hearing in the summer of 1883 in his estate Maryino in the Tver province the play of the nugget balalist Antipa, V.V. Andreev was amazed by the rich possibilities of a primitive instrument and set on fire with the idea of improving it. The very next year, he ventured to perform as a balalaika soloist in a charity concert in Samara, and in 1886, with a new, improved balalaika, he made his debut in St. Petersburg in the hall of the Noble Assembly. Outstanding talent and charm, combined with an aristocratic gloss, quickly turned V.V. Andreeva in the idol of high-society salons and trendsetter. In 1887 he organized "A circle of lovers of playing the balalaikas". The performance of this Circle in the hall of the City Credit Society in St. Petersburg on March 20, 1888 was the first in the history of the Andreevsky Orchestra. As a result of his tireless and disinterested pedagogical activity in the army, railway schools, at the courses of rural teachers, balalaikas and domras spread throughout Russia, and folk songs returned along with the instruments.
Thanks to the triumphant tours of the Circle, and then the Great Russian Orchestra in Europe and the USA, Russian instruments gained popularity far beyond the borders of Russia. In 1892 in France V.V. Andreev was elected an honorary member of the French Academy of Arts. In 1900, at the World Exhibition in Paris, he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor and the Great Gold Medal of the Exhibition. In 1913, he was granted the title of Court Councilor, and in 1914, the title . The cause of the revival of folk instruments V.V. Andreev gave not only his entire fortune, but his whole life. Died V.V. Andreev on the night of December 26, 1918. His last listeners were the fighters of the Ural Front.
One of the most famous balalaika performers, whose fame resounded all over the world, was Boris Sergeyevich Troyanovsky (1883–1951). They called him "Russian Paganini", "king of the balalaika", "balalaika player Kubelik"(in honor of the famous Czech virtuoso violinist and composer Jan Kubelik). He was the founder of the modern school of virtuoso performance on the balalaika. From 1904 to 1911 was a soloist of the Great Russian Orchestra of Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev. He traveled a lot around Russia, visited abroad - in Germany, England, France, America ... He was applauded by Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg, London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Washington. In England in the autumn of 1909 B.S. Troyanovsky was invited to Windsor Castle to play the balalaika in the presence of two kings - English and Portuguese, and made a splash. In 1910 B.S. Troyanovsky again visited England, where he met the outstanding French actress Sarah Bernhardt and, at her invitation, interrupting his tour in England for a while, went to Paris, where he gave several concerts in her theater. From June 4 to June 6, 1909, the musician communicated with the great writer Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana, played the balalaika for him. Lev Nikolaevich spoke very warmly about the game of B.S. Troyanovsky. On April 17, 1913, in St. Petersburg, in the hall of the City Duma, a concert was held, in which B.S. also took part. Troyanovsky. The proceeds from the concert went to support the expedition of the Russian polar explorer Lieutenant G.Ya. Sedov to the North Pole. In 1914–1915 for great services in the promotion of Russian music B.S. Troyanovsky was awarded the title "Soloist of His Imperial Majesty". During the First World War, he spoke a lot at the front in front of Russian soldiers.
But B.S. Troyanovsky was not only an excellent balalaika performer. He skillfully made adaptations not only of folk songs, but also of classical works that were part of the balalaika player's repertoire and traveled half the world with him, causing amazement and delight in the public. With great skill he transcribed "Dance of Death" K. Saint-Saens, “ Spanish capriccio» ON THE. Rimsky-Korsakov and others. After the October Revolution of 1917, B.S. Troyanovsky was one of the initiators of the creation in Moscow of the first professional ensemble of Russian folk instruments under the direction of P.I. Alekseev. 
From this group originates the famous State Academic Russian Folk Orchestra. N.P. Osipov. During the Great Patriotic War, B.S. Troyanovsky lived in Leningrad. In the most difficult conditions of the blockade, he did not interrupt his concert activity, speaking at factories, factories, and military units. The concert work of the balalaika virtuoso continued almost until his death in 1951.
If B.S. Troyanovsky went down in history as a master of the popular folk repertoire, then Nikolai Petrovich Osipov (1901 – 1945) from the very beginning he chose a different path - the performance of the classical repertoire. He was an excellent balalaika player. Having received a conservatory education in the violin class at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, when he finally left the violin, he found his own special style as a musician and brought a completely new quality to the art of playing the balalaika. Composer M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov said that "Osipov made the balalaika in his hands as perfect an instrument as the violin".
Having led the orchestra of Russian folk instruments in 1940, N.P. Osipov became a leader - a reformer, boldly put forward solo instruments and actively introduced completely new instruments into the orchestra, expanding the performance capabilities of the team. The orchestra acquired a new unique face, sparkled with new colors. The balalaika sounded not only accompanied by a Russian folk, but also by a symphony orchestra. N.P. Osipov paid special attention to creating a new original repertoire for the orchestra. During this period, composers appeared who created many interesting works. "Russian folk repertoire". Among them - Nikolai Pavlovich Budashkin (1910 - 1988), who became the first composer to write for a folk orchestra. In 1945, Nikolai Petrovich Osipov died. In 1946 the orchestra was named after him.
All these wonderful people not only revived interest in a simple folk instrument, the balalaika, in Russia, but also glorified it throughout the world, having won the love and respect of all mankind for it! Therefore, it is surprising that for almost 70 years in the United States there has been a ban on the sale of balalaikas.
This story began back in 1940, when the then head of the Washington administration, Franklin Roosevelt, signed a secret decree banning balalaikas in the country for a period of 10 years. Since then, the decree has been regularly extended. In 2000, by decree of President Bill Clinton, the ban was extended to Alaska, which was the only state where the sale was allowed, because. Balalaika in Alaska is considered a folk musical instrument. At the time of F. Roosevelt, these lands did not yet have the status of a state, so the ban was circumvented thanks to loopholes in the legislation. So in the US this "extremist" the instrument is still banned. On October 2, 2010, the current US President, Barack Obama, extended the taboo until 2020. However, today the ban remains incomplete. It is not forbidden to play the balalaika, although you need to have a special license for this. Mass sale of this tool and its industrial production is not allowed. Therefore, J. Flynn's book "How to make a balalaika", published in 1984, is still fantastically popular and has already gone through 9 reprints! A simple American who wants to enjoy the sounds of a balalaika can make it himself - it will not be possible to buy a balalaika in a store for at least another ten years.
Oh those American rulers! They should also ban the production of a guitar, after all, it is larger than a balalaika, and it has as many as six strings against three ... Ridiculous, the right word! But you can't fool people. Ordinary Americans want to listen "Russian banjo"- balalaika. And everything is here! And nothing can be done about it, and prohibitions - they are prohibitions for that, in order to get around them. So the Americans are bringing our balalaika from Mother Russia under the guise of souvenirs! Well, well done!
And the balalaika, with its ancient history, continues to live, will always be young and perky, because it embodies the unbending character of the Russian people, its crystal chime wakes Russian souls from deep sleep and oblivion! Now, my dear readers, have you understood why the balalaika is the personification of Russian culture among all foreigners? And you say: "Bears, balalaikas ...". That's it!
The material was prepared by the staff of the RGAFD
Balalaika is a Russian folk three-stringed plucked musical instrument, from 600-700 mm (prima balalaika) to 1.7 meters (double bass balalaika) in length, with a triangular slightly curved (also oval in the 18th-19th centuries) wooden case. The balalaika is one of the instruments that, along with the accordion, has become a symbol of the Russian people.
The first written mention of the balalaika is contained in a document dated June 13, 1688, “Memory from the Streltsy order to the Little Russian order”, which, among other things, reports that in Moscow the Arzamas townsman Savka Fedorov son of Seleznev and Shenkursky district of the palace Vazheska were brought to the Streltsy order volost peasant Ivashko Dmitriev, and with them a balalaika was brought so that they rode a cart horse in a cart to the Yausky gates, sang songs and played the balalaika in toe and the guard archers who stood at the Yausky gates on guard scolded
Another mention of the balalaika refers to October 1700 in connection with a fight that took place in the Verkhoturye district. According to the coachmen Pronka and Aleksey Bayanov, the yard man of the steward of the governor K.P. Kozlov I. Pashkov chased them and "beat them with a balalaika."
The next mention of the name "balalaika" is found in written monuments from the time of Peter the Great. In 1715, during the celebration of a comic wedding arranged by order of the king, balalaikas were mentioned among the instruments that appeared in the hands of the dressed participants in the ceremony. Moreover, these instruments were given into the hands of a group of Kalmyks dressed up.
During the XVIII century. The balalaika spread widely among the Great Russian people, becoming so popular that it was recognized as the oldest instrument, and even assigned Slavic origin to it.
Russian origin can only be attributed to the triangular outline of the body or body of the balalaika, which replaced the round shape of the domra. The shape of the balalaika of the 18th century differed from the modern one. The neck of the balalaika was very long, about 4 times longer than the body. The tool body was narrower.
In addition, the balalaikas found in old popular prints are equipped with only 2 strings. The third string was a rare exception. The strings of the balalaika are metal, which gives the sound a specific shade - the sonority of the timbre.
In the middle of the XX century. a new hypothesis was put forward that the balalaika existed long before it was mentioned in written sources, i.e. existed next to the domra. Some researchers believe that the domra was a professional instrument of buffoons and, with their disappearance, lost a wide musical practice. The balalaika is a purely folk instrument and, therefore, more resilient.
At first, the balalaika spread mainly in the northern and eastern provinces of Russia, usually accompanying folk dance songs. But already in the middle of the 19th century, the balalaika was very popular in many places in Russia. It was played not only by village boys, but also by serious court musicians, such as Ivan Khandoshkin, I.F. Yablochkin, N.V. Lavrov. However, by the middle of the 19th century, an harmonica was found almost everywhere next to it, which gradually replaced the balalaika.
The balalaika received its second birth at the end of the 19th century thanks to the efforts of Vasily Andreev, who was called "the young father of the balalaika." V. V. Andreev, together with instrumental masters V. V. Ivanov, and then F. S. Paserbsky and S. I. Nalimov, improved the folk instrument and designed a family of balalaikas of various sizes based on the bow quartet. The first performance of the ensemble, which was called the "Circle of lovers of playing the balalaika together" took place in St. Petersburg in 1888.
Andreev and his associates - N. Privalov, F. Niemann, V. Nasonov, N.P. Fomin did not limit themselves to the revival of only one balalaika. They also worked to improve other instruments of the Russian people, such as domra, gusli, zhaleyka, Vladimir horns, etc. The result of this work was the formation of the Great Russian Orchestra, the first performance of which took place under the direction of Andreev on January 11, 1897 in the hall of the Nobility Assembly. Since then, orchestras of folk instruments began to spread with extraordinary speed throughout Russia.
Thanks to the performing arts of Vasily Andreev and his talented followers, such masters as Boris Troyanovsky, Alexander Dobrokhotov and a little later, Nikolai Osipov, venerable composers drew attention to the balalaika. Now not only Russian folk songs sound great on the balalaika, but also transcriptions of works of Russian and Western classics, in addition, composers have created an original repertoire for the balalaika, including more than 100 suites, sonatas, concertos and other works of large form.
The name "balalaika", or, as it was also called, "balabayka", comes from the consonant Russian words balakat, balabonit, balabolit, joker, which means to chat, empty calls. These concepts convey the essence of the balalaika - a playful, light, "strumming" instrument, not very serious.
According to one version, the balalaika was invented by the peasants. Gradually, it spread among the buffoons traveling around the country. Buffoons performed at fairs, entertained the people, earned a living. Such fun, according to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, interfered with work, and he issued a decree in which he ordered all instruments (domras, balalaikas, horns, psaltery, etc.) to be collected and burned. But time passed, the king died, the balalaika sounded again throughout the country.
The balalaika is a stringed plucked instrument. This is a kind of lute - one of the main musical instruments of the XVI-XVII centuries. The old balalaika did not always have a triangular shape. It could be both oval and semicircular, had two, and sometimes four strings. The modern balalaika was created in 1880 by the masters Paserbsky and Nalimov, commissioned by the founder of the first orchestra of folk instruments and a remarkable balalaika performer Andreev. The instruments made by Nalimov remain the best sounding to this day.
The group of balalaikas in the orchestra of musical instruments has five varieties: prima, second, viola, bass and double bass. They differ in size and tone of sound. The leader in the group is the prima, who most often solos. They play it with rattling - they make single strikes on the strings with the index finger, tremolo - with a quick alternation of strikes on the strings up and down, and pizzicato - by plucking the strings. The largest of the balalaikas - the double bass - has a height of 1.7 m.
The balalaika is a common musical instrument that is studied in academic music schools.
PUZZLES
But only three strings
She needs music.
Everyone is happy with the game!
Oh, she's ringing, she's ringing
Who is she? Guess...
This is our ... (balalaika).
Three strings, and what a sound!
With overflows, alive.
I recognize him at the moment -
The most Russian instrument.
Don't be afraid of fire
Don't go sideways
Ah, be jealous of me
Only for voiced strings.
I went around the whole world With a flying song, And I came to tell you just in case: Do you like the role of my mistress? I will give you all my life, Except for the balalaika. My girlfriend has dreams in her strings. I go with her To the sweetheart on a date. Play, play, balalaika, The star hangs over the forest. Oh, balalaika, balalaika, balalaika - Russia's amazing daughter! Yuri Vizbor. Balalaika. November 24-26, 1975
Balalaika is a Russian folk three-stringed plucked musical instrument, from 600-700 mm (prima balalaika) to 1.7 meters (subcontrabass balalaika) in length, with a triangular slightly curved (also oval in the 18th-19th centuries) wooden case. The balalaika is one of the instruments that have become (along with the accordion and, to a lesser extent, the pity) the musical symbol of the Russian people.
The history of the origin of the balalaika is rooted in the depths of centuries. Everything is not so simple here, because there are a fairly large number of documents and information about the origin of the tool. Many believe that the balalaika was invented in Rus', others think that it came from the folk instrument of the Kirghiz-Kaisaks - dombra. There is another version: perhaps the balalaika was invented during the Tatar rule, or at least borrowed from the Tatars. Consequently, it is difficult to name the year of origin of the instrument.
Historians and musicologists argue about this as well. Most adhere to 1715, but this date is arbitrary, since there are references to an earlier period - 1688. Although for the first time the word was attested in the Ukrainian language of the early 18th century (in documents of 1717-1732) in the form of "balabaika" (obviously, this is its older form, also preserved in the Kursk and Karachev dialects). In Russian for the first time in V. I. Maikov's poem "Elisey", 1771, song 1: "You tune me a whistle or a balalaika."
Probably, serfs invented the balalaika to brighten up their existence in submission to a cruel landowner. Gradually, the balalaika spread among peasants and buffoons traveling all over our vast country. Buffoons performed at fairs, entertained the people, earned their livelihood and a bottle of vodka, and did not even suspect what a miracle instrument they were playing.
The fun could not last long, and, finally, the Tsar and Grand Duke of All Rus' Alexei Mikhailovich issued a decree in which he ordered all the instruments (domra, balalaika, horns, harp, etc.) to be collected and burned, and those people who would not obey and give balalaikas, flog and send into exile in Little Russia. But time passed, the king died, and the repressions gradually ceased. Balalaika again sounded throughout the country, but again not for long. The time of popularity was again replaced by almost complete oblivion until the middle of the 19th century.
Today, the instrument is going through hard times. There are few professional performers. Even in the village they forgot about the balalaika. In general, folk music is interesting to a very narrow circle of people who attend concerts or play any folk instruments. Now the most famous balalaika players are Boldyrev V. B., Zazhigin Valery Evgenievich, Gorbachev Andrey Alexandrovich, Kuznetsov V. A., Senchurov M. I., Bykov Evgeny, Zakharov D. A., Bezotosny Igor, Konov Vladimir Nikolaevich, Mikhail Fedotovich Rozhkov. All these people are trying to keep the popularity of our great instrument and are engaged in teaching and concert activities.
