Dachas

September 13, 2023 7:49 PM

‘A fairytale wooden world’: Soviet country cottages "Widespread in the former USSR, dachas set in rural idylls were inhabited by writers, architects and those looking to escape the city for a self-sufficient life"
posted by dhruva (19 comments total)

I'm familiar with the concept of dachas, but I've never seen many pictures of them. They're adorable!
posted by Comet Bug at 9:53 PM on September 13, 2023 [3 favorites]

Thanks to all the techno-thrillers and later works that I read, I always had a vision in my mind of these palatial estates (which must exist for the rich and powerful), but these are all whimsical lake house type of creations.
posted by drewbage1847 at 10:05 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

They remind me of beach houses.
posted by amtho at 10:32 PM on September 13, 2023 [3 favorites]

Those were lovely. Thanks for posting.
posted by missinformation at 11:02 PM on September 13, 2023

Thanks for this. My main conception of a dacha comes from the misty one from Solaris that

[Click for spoiler]

an alien planet constructs a confused replica of with rain falling on the inside.

posted by johngoren at 11:09 PM on September 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

So basically it's an A-Frame. An ugly A-Frame, going by these examples. Russia never fails to disappoint.
posted by SPrintF at 11:09 PM on September 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

Adjacent: off-grid bear-proof log-cabin build.
posted by BobTheScientist at 12:20 AM on September 14, 2023

Those are excellent photos, especially the two of the people (woman in traditional garb, eyepatch man with cigarette)
posted by chavenet at 2:04 AM on September 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

A YouTuber I enjoy has a video on dachas, and I'm always fascinated by her perspective: Natasha's Adventures
posted by knile at 4:55 AM on September 14, 2023

Other interesting things you can find in Russia are abandoned temples (just scroll right past all the Russian explanations and admire the pictures), abandoned salt mines and bits of a city falling into abandoned salt mines.
posted by quacks like a duck at 5:27 AM on September 14, 2023 [6 favorites]

Grew up surrounded by Russian emigres (my non-Russian mom's Orthodox Church community). And I can smell this post.
posted by spitbull at 5:56 AM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

I want to plug Fuel's photo books on the post-Soviet landscape. I recently purchased this book on Balkan Spomeniks and it is a delight. The dacha book is also on the to-buy list.
posted by orrnyereg at 6:26 AM on September 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Some of these places are about to stand up on chicken legs and walk off, and I'm here for it.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:44 AM on September 14, 2023 [25 favorites]

There's a dacha on site at the Hillwood estate, museum, and gardens in Washington, DC -- former home of businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, the owner of General Foods Corporation, who also built Mar-a-Lago.
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:06 AM on September 14, 2023

A lot of ex-Soviet cross stitch designers incorporate dachas in their designs, and to me they are pure eye candy.
posted by of strange foe at 8:48 AM on September 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

Wow that brings back memories. Polish dachas/summer cottages are slightly less ramshackle, but my family's is literally as pine-lined on the interior (but the walls are actual brick). Modern ones look more like this - there's been an absolute boom for them since the pandemic and work from home.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:22 PM on September 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I want to plug Fuel's photo books on the post-Soviet landscape. I recently purchased this book on Balkan Spomeniks and it is a delight

holy crap those are awesome. I'd probably take a trip juts to look at those.
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:30 PM on September 14, 2023

Avoid the one with chicken legs.
posted by 2N2222 at 3:47 PM on September 14, 2023

Reminds me of the early to mid twentieth century storybook architectural style...
posted by jim in austin at 8:32 AM on September 15, 2023