Who are we?

Hello. My name is Anton Tsygankov, and I am the creator of this website you are currently using. I have been involved in music since I was 5 years old. I am a laureate of several international competitions and have received a higher education in music from the Gnesins College of Music and the Institute of Modern Arts.

I have always been fascinated by the "technical side" of creating musical instruments - it was interesting to see how they are built, what kind of wood is used, and how the instrument construction affects its sound. I gathered knowledge from the internet and learned through trial and error, sifting through a huge amount of materials, spending time on every possible forum, and even being a purchasing manager at two music stores in the late 2000s.

Once a person approached me with a request to help him purchase a professional balalaika, as he claimed to have little knowledge about them. I agreed to help, but immediately faced a problem - I could not find an instrument that I would be 100% satisfied with. The thing is that a large amount of manual labor is used in the production of Russian folk instruments, and my extremely meticulous eye always found flaws in the tuning, sound, or construction of the instrument.

That's when the idea of creating my own musical workshop first came to me, where I could devote a lot of time to really high-quality finishing and many details that make playing the instrument comfortable even for a child. I wanted to produce my own musical instruments based on the knowledge I had in guitar making, as well as using the invaluable experience of Shikhov master craftsmen, many of whom, fortunately, are still with us. 

In 2015, I decided to establish my own workshop, which has become one of the most recognizable workshops in Russia after eight years.

My father, Alexander Tsygankov, is a famous domra player who agreed to help me realize my idea. He is an incredible musician and composer, a laureate of international competitions, and the recipient of the President's Award. My father is also a professor at the Gnesin Academy of Music and an expert in quality at the Tchaikovsky Fund. I am fortunate to have such a special mentor in our workshop. My father tests our instruments, offers guidance, and advises us on how to make them even better.

Today, the A. Tsygankov workshop consists of two workshops at once. A small workshop in the center of Moscow and a large, 500+ square meter workshop in one of the nearby suburbs. We also cooperate with talented home craftsmen who live in different parts of our vast country. We carefully listen and select only the most "successful" instruments, always requiring the use of only the best wood, paying special attention to the finishing and tuning of the instrument.

Many of our regular customers have become our friends, and with some of them, we even became friends with our families!

Subscribe to the mailing list from the A. Tsygankov workshop or send us a message right away antontsygankov@hotmail.com , we might have what you’re looking for.

I am often asked why my website was named « Pupsishnupsi » in the past? 

In 2000, when eBay first appeared in Russia, I registered my account under the funny name PUPSISHNUPSI, which I used for shopping for the first time. A little later, I had an idea to create my own eBay store that would offer visitors the highest quality Russian folk instruments, such as balalaikas and domras, produced by the best legendary Russian luthiers. At that time, I decided not to change the store name PUPSISHNUPSI. I used that name for many years but then I finally changed it to Domra-Balalaika boutique online shop. 

UPDATE:

Dear friends! On February 24th, 2022, a tragic event occurred that is incomprehensible to any normal and rational person. None of the employees of the A.Tsygankov workshop support the war with Ukraine, and we also sincerely regret that Russia is the initiator of this terrible conflict and apologize to the whole world for the actions of our authorities.

As the leader of the workshop, I give a public promise that not a single cent received from the sale of our instruments will go towards financing this monstrous war. We remain committed to supporting Russian culture and traditional Russian music, and we continue to ship our instruments worldwide. The estimated delivery time is currently about two weeks. For countries where there is no postal service available from Russia (such as Australia), we deliver our instruments through Turkey or our partners in Kazakhstan, which takes a couple of days longer. Additionally, we have bank accounts in other countries for the payments, so our customers do not need to send money to Russia and explain the purpose of payments to their banks.