Musicologists will be astonished by this enormous compilation of musical instruments from all over the world. The museum possesses over 3000 instruments - handcrafted works of art - featuring traditions from the Caucasus to Mongolia to the Far East. Recordings accompany many of the most exceptional instruments, allowing visitors to experience what they really sound like.

Russia is very well represented among the collection - a thirteenth-century gusli from Novgorod, skin drums from Yakutia, a balalaika by the master Semyon Nalimov - but you can also observe such typical pieces as a violin made by Antoni Stradivari.

This unbelievable collection started with a small number of instruments that were donated by the Moscow Conservatoire at the end of the nineteenth century. The compilation grew exponentially during the Soviet era. It was named for Mikhail Glinka in 1945, in honor of the nationalist composer's 150th birthday.