Russian Dacha

A Dacha is a place in the countryside where Russians like to spend holidays, especially in summer. Most houses are small and wooden, usually with a garden at the back where people grow vegetables. It’s common for many families to send their children to the Dacha for the whole summer. I used to cry when my parents sent me there but in the end I didn’t want to come back to town. I spent half of my childhood in the Dacha , climbing the trees and building dens. It was a bright time in my life, though I once saw our neighbour dead and eaten by rats and my grandmother had a mental disorder which scared me so much that I always tried to escape from her room in our Dacha’s house. Once she told me that she saw somebody’s eyes on the wall.

Photography: Masha Mel
Fashion Styling and words: Tess Yopp
Model: Alena Johnson