Dacha Idylls 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. 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. 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.
Table of Content
Illustrations
Note on Transliteration and Pronunciation
Preface
1. Dacha Enchantments
2. Intimate Irritations: Living with Chekhov at the Dacha
3. The Pleasure of Pain: Gardening for the Soul
4. Natural Foods: Feeding the Body and Nourishing the Soul
5. Disappearing Dachniki
6. Dacha Democracy: Building Civil Society in Out-of-the-Way Places
7. The Daily Dacha Soap Opera
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Melissa L. Caldwell is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of Not by Bread Alone: Social Support in the New Russia (UC Press).
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