Melissa Caldwell
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520262843
- eISBN:
- 9780520947870
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520262843.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, European Cultural Anthropology
This book is a lively account of dacha life and how Russians experience this deeply rooted tradition of the summer cottage amid the changing cultural, economic, and political landscape of ...
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This book is a lively account of dacha life and how Russians experience this deeply rooted tradition of the summer cottage amid the changing cultural, economic, and political landscape of postsocialist Russia. Simultaneously beloved and reviled, dachas wield a power that makes owning and caring for them an essential part of life. The book captures the their abiding traditions and demonstrates why Russians insist that these dwellings are key to understanding Russian life. It draws on literary texts as well as observations from dacha dwellers to highlight this enduring fact of Russian culture at a time when so much has changed. The book presents the dacha world in all its richness and complexity—a “good life” that draws inspiration from the natural environment in which it is situated.Less
This book is a lively account of dacha life and how Russians experience this deeply rooted tradition of the summer cottage amid the changing cultural, economic, and political landscape of postsocialist Russia. Simultaneously beloved and reviled, dachas wield a power that makes owning and caring for them an essential part of life. The book captures the their abiding traditions and demonstrates why Russians insist that these dwellings are key to understanding Russian life. It draws on literary texts as well as observations from dacha dwellers to highlight this enduring fact of Russian culture at a time when so much has changed. The book presents the dacha world in all its richness and complexity—a “good life” that draws inspiration from the natural environment in which it is situated.
