Dacha
9781916218499_001
9781916218499_002
9781916218499_003
9781916218499_004

Dacha The Soviet Country Cottage

Hardback (07 Sep 2023)

Save $7.58

  • RRP $36.38
  • $28.80
Add to basket

Includes delivery to the United States

10+ copies available online - Usually dispatched within two working days

Publisher's Synopsis

As seen in The Guardian, House & Garden and designboom

Dachas - countryside houses, built from wood - are largely unknown outside the post-Soviet states. Photographer Fyodor Savintsev has documented these important architectural forms, creating a unique record of a vanishing world.


A 'dacha' is a country house, made of wood, used by Soviet citizens to escape the rigors of the city for rural idyll. Widespread in the countries of the former USSR, this important cultural and architectural form has been largely ignored academically. In Dacha Fyodor Savintsev documents this particularly Russian phenomenon, his photographs constitute a unique record of a rapidly vanishing fairytale wooden world.

The word 'dacha' has been used to describe constructions ranging from grand imperial villas to small sheds. Originally bestowed by the Tsar to reward courtiers, this custom continued following the revolution, with Soviet cooperatives building dachas for their members. Supposedly for the benefit of labourers, in reality they were destined for those favoured by the State, including famous writers, architects and artists - from Pasternak to Prokofiev. The fall of the Soviet Union accelerated their use, as economic uncertainty forced city dwellers towards self-sufficiency. The dacha tradition has survived Revolution, war and the collapse of Communism, becoming an integral part of life in the process.

Using contemporary photographs to showcase these uniquely individual buildings for the first time, alongside an introduction explaining their historical and cultural context, Dacha is the only publication of its kind.

Book information

ISBN: 9781916218499
Publisher: FUEL
Imprint: FUEL
Pub date:
DEWEY: 779.972860947
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: 240
Weight: 732g
Height: 168mm
Width: 209mm
Spine width: 29mm