Alexander's accordion odyssey

Alexander Zazulin, a third-generation Russian born and raised in Xinjiang, has been captivated by accordions since childhood and has mastered playing, repairing, collecting, and preserving them. His accordion repair shop, which he opened in 1991, has become well-known both locally and internationally. Over the past 40 years, he has collected more than 800 accordions from over 20 countries. With the support of the local government, Zazulin established the Alexander Accordion Museum on Liuxing Street in Yining. Spanning 1,200 square meters, the museum is a space where every accordion tells its own unique story. In 2013, he was honored as an intangible cultural heritage inheritor for preserving the Bayan accordion tradition of the Russian ethnic group in Xinjiang. Throughout his life, the accordion has been Zazulin's soulmate, and in his museum, each instrument whispers its music across time.