Dacha Idylls: Living Organically in Russia's Countryside

Dacha Idylls is a lively account of dacha life and how Russians experience this deeply rooted tradition 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. In this book, Melissa L. Caldwell captures the dacha's abiding traditions and demonstrates why Russians insist that these dwellings are key to understanding Russian life. She 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. Addressing such topics as the national obsession for berries and mushrooms and questions of community and civil society after socialism, Caldwell 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.