Elina L'vovna Karokhina (Элина Львовна Карохина) (born April 26, 1973 in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(now

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

) is a balalaika player currently residing in

Cliffside Park Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 23,594,New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. She is the daughter of the 2003

Pushkin Prize The Pushkin Prize (russian: Пушкинская премия) was established in 1881 by the Russian Academy of Sciences to honor one of the greatest Russian poets Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837). The prize was awarded to the Russian who achieve ...

-winning author and jazz (saxophone) musician L'ev Fyodorovich Karokhin and Galina (Savich) Karokhina. She began her formal training at the Mussorgsky Music College of Saint Petersburg and continued her training at N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, earning a degree as an Orchestra Soloist. She continued her training at the Conservatory, which included a number of concerts in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to fulfill the obligations of her scholarship. She completed her education in Saint Petersburg; earning a Doctor of Musical Art degree in the balalaika. Following her graduation, she began working as a musician, both as a performer and a teacher of balalaika, mandolin, and piano. Elina is a Musician Laureate of the international folk instrument performers’ competition 'Troyanovski'. She was a diploma winner at the 1997 'Cup of the North' competition held in

Cherepovets Cherepovets ( rus, Череповец, p=tɕɪrʲɪpɐˈvʲɛts) is a city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the west of the oblast on the banks of the Sheksna River (a tributary of the Volga River) and on the shores of the Rybinsk Reservoir. ...

, Russia. Elina served in the Russian Army in the Military Ensemble in the Northwest Order of Red Stars and her unit received honors in competitions across Russia. As a member of a quartet within the military orchestra, Elina has performed private performances for Russian generals. She was a member of the band for the Moscow Circus, “Smirnov’s Folk Trio” with Rudolf Smirnov and Maxim "Max" Anukhin and also performed with Rudolf and Max as a member of the Russian folk group "Izba Trio" before emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in October 2010. She is currently the balalaika player for Mikhail "Misha" Smirnov's troupe "Barynya Ensemble", which is based in New Jersey

Recording credits

With Anthony Thistlethwaite (formerly of “ The Waterboys")- “All The Way” and “Welcome to the White Nights” on the album ''Crawfish and Caviar'', recorded 10/95 (Demon Records) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with special guest

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

, formerly of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

* ''Izba Trio''
self-titled CD, 2007
* ''Russian Army Orchestra Order of the Northwest Red Stars''
“Songs of Russian Heroic Fame”

credit page
* ''Kupola Folk Ensemble''
self-titled CD
(Elina pictured on top/right) * ''State Russian Concert Orchestra of St. Petersburg''
self-titled CD
2003 * ''Nadir Mamedoff''- “My Russia”,

toured/recorded CD as a member of his backing musical trio “Troyka”. (Elina pictured in lower left) {{DEFAULTSORT:Karokhina, Elina 1973 births Living people Russian balalaika players Russian women musicians Russian musicians Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni 21st-century women musicians