In 1959, Leonid Bezzubov, a promising graduate of the Sverdlovsk Music College, set about trying to create a folk orchestra in Tyumen. Tyumen supported Bezzubov. The Philharmonic's directorate allocated a room for the future collective. The House of Creativity revised its annual budget, allocated the orchestra part of the allocations and two rates for concertmasters. Posters appeared in the city: "The House of Folk Art announces admission to the orchestra of Russian folk instruments. Everyone who wants to learn to play the balalaika, domra, accordion is accepted." On the first day, November 9, 120 (!) people came. The organizer of the orchestra at that time had only 16 domras and balalaika. Bezzubov went to Moscow. He returned to Tyumen with concert balalaika and domras.
Sparing no time, Leonid Fedorovich taught each orchestra member. He promised that a real orchestra would sound in Tyumen soon. On April 25, 1960, the artists gave their first concert at the Tyumen Drama Theater.
In a short time, Bezzubov brought the team to a professional level. The orchestra was only five years old, and central publications were already writing about it. By this time, the Tyumen folk artists had their own history, they had hundreds of concerts in the cities and villages of the region, performances in Moscow (in the Column Hall of the House of Unions!), Sverdlovsk, Polish tours, participation in the All-Russian review of amateur musical groups and receiving a diploma of the first degree signed by Dmitry Shostakovich…
In 1968, the orchestra of Russian folk instruments gave a concert in Poland. The artists played in Warsaw, Szczecin, Mendzyzdroye, Poznan. The team worked with outstanding masters, People's Artists Lyudmila Zykina, Vladislav Piavko, Renat Ibragimov, soloist of the Milan Opera "La Scala" Mauro Augustini…
In the Soviet years, the Tyumen orchestra was among the top ten in the country. On its 50th anniversary, the team moved from the "Stroitel" in need of restoration to the cozy recreation center "Zeleznodoroznik".