Defining the Dacha

From Friday evening to Sunday night there are lines of cars leaving and entering Russia’s cities, and it’s busy on the elektrichkas (electric trains). It’s a typical commute for city residents to and from their dachas.

The word dacha has no direct equivalent in other languages, but its etymology comes from the verb ‘to give’. The Tsar Peter I gifted his loyal noblemen with the rich estates that are referred to in classical Russian literature. No one called them dachas back then, but the tradition to rest and spend time in the countryside comes from that era.

They used to be considered the privilege of the rich at the beginning of the 20th century, but over the years they have become a feature of middle-class life. After the second world war traditional dachas developed into their modern form: a 600 square metre piece of land occupied by a summer house without heating or plumbing.