While Italy is usually credited with being the birthplace of the violin, many in the southern Russian Republic of North Ossetia-Alania believe the instrument originated there, but under another name.

They say, Ossetians played its prototype – the fandyr – long before the 16th century, when violins appeared in Italy.

Ancestors of modern North Ossetia-Alania residents used to tell sagas about their adventures and heroic deeds to the tunes of the “kishin fandyr”. They passed on the arts of making and playing this musical instrument from one generation to another.

But in the last century this folk art was nearly forgotten. Georgy Akhpolov is the only fandyr player keeping the tradition alive.

“My elders told me that my grandfather and his fathers played this instrument,” says the musician. “They were people of a rare talent.”

Mr Akhpolov has a historic instrument of his own. He has donated his family heirloom to a local museum, and now comes to the exhibition every day to play for the visitors.

“I won't live forever, and I’m looking for a disciple so that he will be proud of his skill,” says the fandyr player. “Students should be better than their teachers. That’s my dream.”

The local History Museum has established a workshop of folk instruments, where only one master works at the moment. Soslan Mouraov is a retired police officer.

He had been preparing for this new job for several years, learning the secrets of the ancient art. He says the Ossetian fandyr and Italian violins are very much alike: “I’m not a historian, but I suppose that our ancestors who once lived in the neighbourhood with Italians could have brought their instruments to Italy.  I believe the fandyr is the ancestor of the Stradivarius’ violin.”

A chisel and a hammer are enough for Mr Mouraov to compete with the legendary Stradivarius. He is producing “Ossetian violins” at a rate of one every two weeks, and soon there will be enough for an orchestra.