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The dacha: uniquely Russian country homes

Svetlana Korneva The dacha is a national characteristic of Russia. Source: PhotoXPress

A dacha is a country home, usually a cottage surrounded by a plot of land, outside the city. The word “dacha” originated in the 17th century from the verb “davat’” (to give), a reference to plots of land on which they were built, distributed by the Tsar. While foreigners view them as the epitome of the elegant Russian way of life, while delicately sipping tea from a samovar in the veranda, for Russians, it is a throwback to a simpler life, close to nature; hiking in the woods for mushrooms and plucking strawberries and cucumbers from the kitchen garden.

Ask almost any foreigner what aspect of Russian life they are most familiar with and they will mention the ‘dacha’ or country home where Russians go on summer weekends to get away from the rigours of city life. It is almost a ritualistic exodus from the city. Even families with modest incomes can own a dacha with a small plot of land where vegetables and fruit can be grown.

What are the origins of the Russian dacha culture?

Literally, dacha means something that was given, and originated in the 17th century from the verb “davat’(to give). Initially they were given as a reward for services that Russian tsars gave to the ‘Streltsy’ (their closest guardsmen) as early as the 17th century.

This gift or dacha could have various forms; a cut of expensive fabric, money or land. The dacha plot of land was then not seen as a summer holiday retreat.

This custom was introduced by Peter the Great, the founder of modern Russia. At the beginning of the 18th century, during his reign dachas became popular as summer holiday retreats. Life is a fairy tale in Peredelkino

Peter the Great began to reward his confidants with small plots in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. The tsar’s courtiers used to leave the city in the summer to go to their ancestral estates, located in remote parts of Russia, an exercise that took a great deal of time. By giving out plots of land near the capital, Peter sought to have his nobles "at hand," even in summer, as well as to teach Russians to have summer holidays in the European manner; without losing touch with their work for three to five months.

By the end of the 19th century, a house in the country was one of the necessary possessions of the rich as well as the middle class. Russian poets and playwrights (including Alexander Pushkin and Anton Chekhov) mentioned dachas in their works.

The nobility used their dachas for social and cultural gatherings, including masquerade balls and fireworks displays.

Holidays for the intelligentsia

As early as 1803, historian Nikolai Karamzin observed that Moscow would empty in summer, as residents rushed out of town. To rent a dacha was now considered a matter of honour for a townsman; this was how concern for the health of the family and a willingness to keep pace with the times were demonstrated. But the real dacha boom began in the mid-19th century, with the advent of the railways in Russia. The first dachas were a reward for services. Source: PhotoXPress

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