Born in the village of Kureyka, Shipunovsky District, Nikolay Zhiba is known far beyond the Altai Krai as a talented tuner who has given a second life to many old instruments.

In an interview with katun24.ru, Nikolay Zhiba said,

The craftsman began his musical education at the orchestral department of the Altai Regional Culture and Education School (1959–1961) and continued his studies in music theory at Barnaul Music College (1961–1965).

Having become fascinated with tuning musical instruments, Nikolay Zhiba entered the vocational art school in Leningrad from where he graduated with honors in 1968. He served an apprenticeship as a certified tuner at the “Krasny Oktyabr” factory of grand and upright pianos and the “Akkord” musical instrument restoration workshop. Later, he also interned with piano builders at the Moscow Experimental Workshop.

While he was still a student (in the 1960s–1970s), Nikolay Zhiba combined his work as a tuner with a music theory teacher job at the Rubtsovsk Children’s Music School and Music College. In 1980, after moving to Barnaul, the craftsman fully focused on his main area of specialization at the Altai Music College. Having extensive knowledge of acoustics and piano structure, Nikolay Zhiba has become a highly qualified specialist in restoring bowed and plucked stringed instruments, pianos, grand pianos, pump organs, harpsichords, and keyboard gusli.

In 1998, the Union of Musical Masters of Siberia was established to “ensure regular communication among the musical masters of Siberia and the Russian Far East and exchange experience with each other” (according to Vladimir Klopov, a member of the Union). The Russian Association of Piano Builders served as a model for the new organization.

Nikolay Zhiba is not only one of the association’s founders but also an active participant in seminars where he speaks about the systems of musical tuning, the specifics of Pythagorean tuning and just intonation, and conducts workshops on tuning musical instruments.