About Russian culture: the dacha or country house
What is the Russian dacha, well here we bring you a special article to learn a little more about it. What to know about Russian culture, with GuiaRus we make it easy for you. About Russian culture, country houses and much more, we tell you.
Learn about Russian culture
If you are planning your trip to Russia, you may be interested in this article about the life of Russians. And we tell you about the Russian dacha or country houses. They vary from simple wooden cabins with a small garden to large multi-storey houses with all the comforts, gardens with pavilions and swimming pools.
In the dachas people take care of the garden and rest outdoors; since the snow melts in April until the first cold of November. The Russian dacha are equipped with heating system are also popular to spend the New Year holiday week.
What is the Russian dacha
In Russia and in the countries of the former Soviet Union, the concept of “summer residence” has a broad meaning: it can be a trailer without comfort on a plot of four hundred square meters and a huge capital building house on one hectare of Earth. Let’s see how the role of the dacha has historically changed in the life of a Russian person.
Brief history of the Russian dacha or country houses
18th century: country house – a real gift
The first dachas in Russia appeared during the reign of Peter I. The word “dacha” came from the verb “dar”, which meant that the tsar rewarded his close associate for special services to the homeland. Then, the first cabins were magnificent properties near St. Petersburg.
19th century: country house – a secular hall
In the golden age of Russian literature, the cabin was not just a place to relax. Cultural life was in full swing in the dachas: there were dances, bohemian meetings: artists, poets, composers. “Country” products were in great demand: fans, exquisite hats and light-cut dresses.
The beginning of the 20th century: the country house – “folk resort”
The Soviet power expropriated many dachas in favor of the proletariat. The party generously provided all the areas that were removed to the working class to rest. But, since there were many more representatives of the workers who dachas, 50-70 people could rest in an old country house of a noble family.
In the mid-twentieth century: the cabin is the privilege of the elect.
In the days of Stalin, personal dachas were supposed only for the elite. The leader’s favor extended to authorized scientists, famous composers and writers recognized by the authorities. The area of the “nomenclature” dacha where officials rested, as in the time of Peter the Great, could be measured in hectares. In the 50s, the common inhabitants of the city had the opportunity to obtain their six hundredths in a horticultural association.
The end of the 20th century: cabin – nurse
The massive construction of country houses on the plots began already under Khrushchev. Nearby, flower beds are planted and fruit trees are planted. In the 80s, when difficulties with food and money began, for many Soviet people living in the city, the country house made it possible to feed their families and pay more than green tomatoes in a supermarket. At the same time, the authorities lifted the ban on the size of houses on the garden plot, and the most prosperous people in the town began building two- and four-story brick houses instead of small panel houses.
The beginning of the 21st century: a summer residence is a symbol of success.
The USSR collapsed, in the 1990s land plots in Russia were sold freely, and at the beginning of the construction of zero summer huts had reached an unprecedented reach so far. The native class of the bourgeoisie, the so-called “new Russians”, competed in the size of the house and the richness of the decoration. It was considered especially elegant to have a mini zoo or a pool with alligators in the country. At the same time, the Rublevka cult was born, the life in which it is a mythological symbol of success.
Our days: the cabin keeps the traditions
Recently, more and more people buy land in rural villages under construction in beautiful suburbs, near the forest or near the water. The developers pave all the necessary communications, build roads, as a result, the owners of the cabins get a complete “second house”, which can be cheaper than an apartment in the city. It is possible that in the coming years the government will adopt a law that allows permanent registration in the country house, and then it can become a real home for many.
In the city Moscow
Near Moscow, the first summer residents were still located in the city, for example, along the banks of the Yauza River and the river. and since the mid-nineteenth century, the construction of summer houses in the Petrovsky and Sokolniki park began.
In the first half of the 19th century, the construction of summer cabins was a privilege of the nobility, then, in the second half of the previous century, merchants, industrialists, intellectuals and employees built cabins.
The scope of the construction of the country around the capitals is due to the expansion of its borders and the increase in the number of inhabitants and, of course, to the accelerated development of roads and railways. In addition, there was another important reason: economic. Country life cost more to the townspeople.
The construction of cabins around Moscow is directly related to the development of transport
Then, most of the summer houses were founded on the Nikolaev railway. Ostankino, Petrovsko-Razumovskoe, Khovrino, Khimki, Skhodnya Kryukovo. To the north: Losinoostrovskaya, Dzhamgarovka, Perlovka, Taininka, Tarasovka, Klyazma, Mamontovka, Pushkino.
When the number of summer houses began to grow, the Zemstvos developed rules on the preliminary breakdown of territories built in neighborhoods with mandatory road widths (10 fathoms). It guarantees the safety of travel and fire, since the houses were made of wood and often burned.
The summer cabins were worn by professional actors, writers and artists. Not many of them had their own summer houses, but almost everything was rented for the summer.
Famous country houses or dacha in summer
The creative intelligentsia organized summer vacations in the dachas, which attracted a large number of guests from the city. Summer masks in Bakovka, summer dances in Podosinki, amateur performances in Bykovo and Bolshevo, the First Snowdrop parties in Losinoostrovskaya were famous.
Many summer cabins around the Russian capitals and, in particular, around Moscow formed a kind of “summer cabin”, which created a “special world” that preserves the uniqueness of each summer cabin. In each of them they carefully cared for and, if possible, developed an individual trait.
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