Editing Balalaika (section)

=== The Andreyev period ===
In the 1880s, [[Vasily Vasilievich Andreyev]], who was then a professional violinist in the music salons of St Petersburg, developed what became the standardized balalaika, with the assistance of violin maker V. Ivanov. The instrument began to be used in his concert performances. A few years later, St. Petersburg craftsman Paserbsky further refined the instruments by adding a fully chromatic set of frets and also a number of balalaikas in orchestral sizes with the tunings now found in modern instruments. One of the reasons why the instruments were not standardised, was because people in the outlying areas built their own instruments because there was so little communication for them. There were no roads and weather conditions were generally bad. Andreyev patented the design and arranged numerous traditional Russian folk melodies for the orchestra. He also composed a body of concert pieces for the instrument.<ref>Прохоров, А. М., ed. ''Большая Советская Энциклопедия.'' (''tr. "Great Soviet Encyclopedia "'') 3rd ed. Vol. 2. Москва: Советская Энциклопедия, 1970. pp. 16-17.</ref>