Alexander Gnezdilov (born in 1956) is a craftsman who is credited with reviving ancient folk musical instruments in the modern world.

Born in the worker’s settlement of Shipunovo, Altai Krai, Alexander Gnezdilov graduated from the Shipunovo Music School, the Rubtsovsk College (1971–1975), the Altai State Institute of Culture (1977–1982), and the Novosibirsk State Conservatory named after Mikhail Glinka (where he took a correspondence course in balalaika). He became a certified accordionist, cultural education worker, amateur folk orchestra director, and balalaika player.

In the first half of the 1990s, Alexander Gnezdilov performed with the Altai State Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments “Siberia”. After a serious arm injury, however, he decided to focus on the art of making and restoring musical instruments. He has improved the design of the ikili, topshur, shamanic drum, chromatic and diatonic Vladimir rozhoks, hurdy-gurdies, various types of gusli, and unique domra-banjo and balalaika-banjo hybrids.

While studying the research of Sergei Rudenko dedicated to the excavations of the Scythian tombs known as the Pazyryk burials, Alexander Gnezdilov turned his attention to one particular find, an ancient Scythian harp, and became enthusiastic about the idea of rebuilding and reviving the instrument.

The idea resulted in a large-scale project: Alexander Gnezdilov initiated the founding of the Altai Music Laboratory and became its leader. This creative association aims to research, recreate, and bring to the attention of a wide audience the musical instruments used in the last millennium BC.

Alexander Gnezdilov’s inventions were at the center of attention at the International Musical Instrument Conferences held in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Russian National Museum of Music even commissioned a copy of the Scythian harp for its collection. Gnezdilov patented the improved design of the instrument.

Alexander Gnezdilov obtained another patent for the improved topshur, a plucked instrument with two strings made of horsehair, played by the Altai and Mongolian musicians. Instead of metal, he made the frets using twisted fishing line, “giving his creation a sound that is brighter and softer than that of its ‘counterparts’”.

In 2012, Alexander Gnezdilov co-founded the Center for Many-Stringed Instruments of the Altai Peoples. The organization promotes the art of playing rare stringed instruments.