Russian music has a long history and was influenced by many ethnic groups. During the Soviet era, music faced government oppression but some artists like Leonid Utyosov remained popular. After the USSR fell, western pop became popular but Russian rock bands also emerged. Traditional Russian folk music features instruments like the balalaika and uses styles like chastushkas.

1. Russian Nationalism, Folk Music and Composers MUS103: Survey of Music History II Dr. Kathleen Bondurant, Ph.D.

2. The Music of Russia http://i.infoplease.com/images/mrussia.gif

5. http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3606/rkgene.html

7. The Music of Russia (From left to right: a singer, Moussorgsky, Korsakov, (Stasov), Balakirev,Cui,and Borodin) http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://it.stlawu.edu/~rkreuzer/pbearse/the_five.jpg&imgrefurl=http://it.stlawu.edu/~rkreuzer/pbearse/The_Mighty_Five.htm&h=281&w=481&sz=33&hl=en&start=9&tbnid=9pdq8AD0K-u2eM:&tbnh=75&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2BRussian%2BMightly%2BFive%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL_enUS239US239

10. The Music of Russia The Balalaika It is not known when and how the balalaika became part of the musical tradition of the Russian people, but there is no doubt that it occupies a central place in their hearts today. Though clearly established as a folk instrument since the 17th Century, the balalaika experienced a serious threat to its popularity in the early and middle 19th Century, when the seven-stringed guitar and the concertina were introduced into Russia. Compared to these fashionable European imports the balalaika increasingly fell out of favor. In the 1880's however, Vladimir. V. Andreev, aristocrat, folklorist and musician, came to its rescue. He heard the balalaika while he was collecting folk songs, fell in love with its sound, and decided to become its champion. http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Bayou/5961/BR-photo.jpg

14. The Music of Russia Russian Rock Group Aquarium played a special part in the history of Soviet rock music and still stands out in the panorama of modern bands. It was the activity of this group in the early 1980s that served as a catalyst for consolidation of the leading creative powers of the uncoordinated amateurish rock movement. It helped to enrich the rock language with many achievements of world music culture and attract the attention of multi-million Russian and foreign audience to the Russian language rock. russia-ic.com/culture_art/music/381/

16. The Music of Russia Orgia Pravednikov--Progressive Metal Group http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Russia http://mog.com/pictures/artists/0000/0000/0416/pictures/81734.jpeg t.A.T.u.

19. The Music of Russia www.fiddlingaround.co.uk/china/index.html www.philmultic.com/home/instruments/ Morin Khur (Ma-Tou-Qin): The Morin Khur or horse-headed violin is a typical Mongolian bowed instrument with two strings, however, very different from Er-Hu. The horse hair of the bow doesn't go between the two strings, instead, the instrument and the way of playing is more similar to cello than to erhu. The instrument was originally made from a horse head for the body, horse skin for the resonator, and horse hair for the strings and bow. Much of the music typically sounds like human voice, and can imitate a horse to such an extent as real such as galloping horse, the whinnying, etc. The modern Morin Khur has a wooden body and soundboard, 2 horse hair strings, and has a rich warm tone and very beautiful sound. The peghead is decorated with a detailed carving of a horse's head.

25. The Music of Russia Kugikli Zhaleika http://www.jasminemusic.com/img05/kugikli01.gif http://images.suite101.com/121121_zhaleika33a.jpg Svirel http://www.barynya.com/images/zhuk/svirel.jpg

26. The Music of Russia www.belarusguide.com/images/instruments/buben.jpg Buben

28. The Music of Russia http://www.antropodium.nl/chemch5,5blauw.jpg A Siberian Khomus (Jaw Harp)

30. The Music of Russia cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=67506&rendTypeId=4 Person playing the bandura. BANDURA (Also called a Kobza)-- a stringed instrument of the psaltery family considered the national musical instrument of Ukraine. It is used chiefly to accompany folk music. The bandura has an oval wooden body; a short, fretless neck attached to the soundboard in an off-centre position; 4 to 8 bass strings running from the neck.