Ancient Russian Folk Music

Written documents exist that describe the musical culture of the Rus’. The most popular kind of instruments in medieval Russia were thought to have been string instruments, such as the gusli or gudok. Other instruments in common use include flutes (svirel), and percussive instruments such as the treshchotka and the buben. Novgorod republic (a medieval East Slavic state) had deep traditions in music. The most popular form of music, however was singing. Bylinas (epic ballads) about folk heroes were often sung