I've got a balalaika hanging in my wall. I'd like to be able to play it, and I'd be grateful if anybody could advise, or point me in the right direction.

I'd really like to be able to use it in Irish sessions sometimes - I think it could work, the same way the bazouki made the transition from Greece to Ireland. Getting some hints on how they play it in Russia and around would be a good start though. Unfortunately Babelfish doesn't have a Russian translate button, so I haven't tried searching over there yet. (I may be wrong, but I have the feeling that the kind of Russians who are into balalaikas are probably not into writing in English on the Internet, and vice versa.)