The Russian Dacha: A Repository of Civil Indifference

Abstract

Dacha is a Russian term for a country house (cottage, shack) used for summer habitation by Russian town-dwellers, or dachniki. With the societal changes that have brought lower and lower levels of society into the field of the dachniki, the dacha has been playing an increasing role in channeling Russian people's energy away from the political sphere. Being a repository of enjoyment and entertainment for the relatively few and serving as economic and spiritual escapism for the many, the dacha, consequently, could be hampering the creation of a civil society in Russia.

Citation

Raiklin, E. (2012), "The Russian Dacha: A Repository of Civil Indifference", Wejnert, B. (Ed.) Linking Environment, Democracy and Gender (Research in Political Sociology, Vol. 20), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0895-9935(2012)0000020004