What You Need To Know About Russian Dachas
What You Need To Know About Russian Dachas
The term dacha (дача) defines a summer or year-round second home often located in the exurbs of the city. The word dacha in archaic Russian means something given. In fact, the first dachas began to be given by the Tsar Peter the Great to loyal vassals.
The concept of dacha developed during the 18th century, when Russian aristocracy used them for social and cultural gatherings. Most of the current dacha areas exist since the Soviet era, when they were nationalized. They served as recreation getaways for city inhabitants and for the aim of growing little garden. Although their size was strictly regulated and people could not buy them, dachas became extremely popular at the time. In the 1980s their size became significantly larger than before, because legal size restrictions were abrogated. Thus, new dacha areas became fields of big houses with land plots.
Dachas are widespread in Russia and in most part of the former Soviet Union. An estimated 50% of Russian families living in big cities are dachniks (дачники, owners of a dacha). Those houses have also started appearing abroad, like in the United States, where a big number of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants live.
This post was brought to you by Zoran, currently studying Russian at Liden & Denz
