The Russian guitar (sometimes referred to as a "Gypsy guitar") is a seven-string acoustic guitar that arrived in Russia toward the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, most probably as an evolution of the cittern, kobza, and torban. It is known in Russian as the semistrunnaya gitara (семиструнная гитара), or affectionately as the semistrunka (семиструнка), which translates to "seven-string". These guitars are typically tuned to an Open G chord as follows: DGBdgbd'. An alternative, the so-called Gypsy tuning, is DGBgdcd'. The latter is sometimes said to be typical of the Ukrainian kobza in the preceding century.

The invention of the Russian guitar is attributed to Andrei Sychra, who also wrote a method for the instrument, as well as over one thousand compositions, seventy-five of which were republished in the 1840s by Stellovsky, and then again in the 1880s by Gutheil. Some of these were published yet again in the Soviet Union in 1926.

This type of guitar has been called a 'Russian guitar,' as it has been primarily played in Russia, and later in the Soviet Union.

Sergei Dmitrievich Orekhov (sometimes spelled: Sergey Dmitrievich Orehov) (in Russian: Сергей Дмитриевич Орехов) (1935–1998) was a Russian classical guitarist. A virtuoso on both the six- and seven-string guitars, Orekhov was among the most prominent performers and arrangers in the seven-string Russian guitar tradition.

Among the guitars used by Orekhov, one finds

Igor Presnyakov (Russian: Игорь Пресняков) is a Russian guitarist who became a YouTube sensation in 2007, for his unique song covers and virtuoso playing style.

Born in Moscow, Russia, Igor Presnyakov studied classical music at a nearby academy and would eventually graduate as both a guitarist and a conductor for ensembles. He relocated to the Netherlands to further his career, which has now spanned over 35 years. His unique acoustic guitar-style is influenced by various musical genres from Reggae, Rock and Roll, R&B, Country-western, Jazz and Heavy Metal. His most noticeable attribute, is his creative style of "beating" the percussion of the song, onto the body of his acoustic guitar while playing. This replicates the sound of multiple musicians, while only Igor is playing. While he sometimes sings on many of his original and cover-songs, Igor is more famous for mimicking the vocal parts of a song, into guitar-solos, while often adding a softer, jazzier sound.

Igor's popularity has risen since he first debuted on YouTube in 2007. He currently has over 125 million total upload views, in addition to over 255,000 subscribers.