Setting

Growing interest in Russian folk instruments from outside Russia has enhanced the popularity of the balalaika, and since the twentieth century when the Russian Balalaika Orchestra, pictured above, first toured the North American continent, numerous balalaika associations have been set up in different corners of the planet.  While there are many Russian communities found throughout the United States, one of the oldest can be found in Northeastern Ohio.  Founded in 1985, the Balalaika Orchestra of St. Nicholas Church in Mogadore, Ohio perform a variety of folk music from Russia and their members are pictured below.

Balalaika orchestras such as the St. Nicholas Balalaika Orchestra have become an important means of expressing Russian identity for people in the Russian Diaspora, especially in the United States.