[1] It is known in Russian as the semistrunnaya gitara (семиструнная гитара), or affectionately as the semistrunka (семиструнка), which translates to "seven-stringer".

The same basic components are present: headstock; nut; tuners; neck; fingerboard; frets; inlays; truss rod (in modern instruments); heel; body; bridge & bridge saddle; soundboard (top); sound hole and rosette; back; sides; strings.

Headstock, fingerboard (fretboard), and truss rod (if present), all attached to a long wooden extension which collectively constitutes the neck.

The fingerboard is made of hardwood (ebony or rosewood are common), fitted with metal frets of brass or steel.

"Gypsy" instruments (steel string) may be proportioned similarly, but also may often feature a narrower upper bout, and an enlarged sound hole.

According to the historical article by Valerian Rusanov, "there was a cittern player in Leipzig, named Scheidler, who enhanced the tuning by addition a bass string".

[11] These musical instruments, made by Gerard J. Deleplanque, G. Le Blond, Johann Georg Ochstermann and Johann Wilhelm Bindernagel, were delivered via Elbe river, and still awaits a recognition from lovers of Russian romance in Glinka Museum in Moscow,[12] as well as in the Leipzig Musical Museum.

[13] Known as "Deutsche Guitarre",[14] two hundred years ago they already had some of the hallmarks of a modern seven-string guitar, including "Viennese" bracing and a radial fretboard.

Perhaps the most audible difference between the Spanish and Russian tunings is in the ability to play chords with a tighter, more piano-like voicing on the latter.

It is fairly common for Russian guitar players (particularly those accompanying themselves singing, such as bards) to bring the tuning up or down several steps as desired, either to accommodate the voice or for varying string tension.

The six-string first came to serious prominence in the Russian classical guitar world when Andrés Segovia toured Soviet Russia in 1926.

Possibly looking for something new and exciting to give life to their repressed craft, many Russian classical guitarists began making a switch to the six-string and the EADGBE tuning.

Classical guitarist Piotr Agafoshin made the switch, and wrote a Russian book on six string technique that remains a standard to this day.

[5] The Russian guitar remained the standard for popular musicians until the 1960s, when a strong interest in underground music such as jazz and Western rock acts such as the Beatles and Elvis Presley developed.

Actor Vladimir Vysotsky, arguably Russia's most prominent bard, retained his monogamous relationship with the seven string up to his death in 1980.

Pioneering bard Bulat Okudjava switched to the six string in the early 1990s, but continued tuning it in open G (skipping the middle D).