Cover; Contents; 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; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W
Summary
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 endu
