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The gudok (, ), or gudochek (, ), is a Russian folk string instrument, played with a bow.
The oldest gudoks are dated to the 11th–14th centuries in Novgorod. The instrument is now obsolete and has been reconstructed based on fragments found in excavations.
The player held the gudok on his lap, like a cello or viola da gamba. It was also possible to play the gudok while standing and even while dancing, which made it popular among . Initially, in the 12th century (and probably before), the gudok did not have a fingerboard for pressing strings. This suggests that it was played by stopping the strings from the side with fingernails (similarly to the Byzantine lyra), rather than pressing strings onto the instrument's neck. Later, in the 14th century, some modifications of the gudok had a real fingerboard for pressing strings.
The Russian gudok ceased to exist as a folk instrument for several centuries. All present instruments are replicas, based on several parts of gudoks found in the Novgorod excavations.
There have been several attempts to revive the gudok in music. Borodin's opera Prince Igor contains a "Gudok Player's Song", which is an artistic reconstruction of how the gudok may have sounded.
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