“Dacha studies” as the science on second homes in the West and in Russia

Abstract

This paper contains Russia’s first, to the author’s knowledge, review of research on second homes, particularly those that correspond to the Russian concept of a dacha. This review is certainly incomplete, since it covers only the Western, predominately, European literature and partially statistics, analyzed in comparison with the Russian literature and statistics (however, the latter is not considered specially, in detail). Different aspects of the subject are touched upon sequently although very briefly: (1) the history of dachas and (2) the history of their study in a number of countries that are leaders in this field; (3) the reflections of science about second (dacha) real state in international publications; (4) definitions, consideration or assessments of the phenomenon in several countries; (5) the reasons for the social super scales of the Russian dacha; (6) an attempt to distinguish several types of dacha regions in Europe; (7) a conclusion with a discussion of different attitudes to second houses and their prospects. The author asserts that the flow of scientific publications about second homes arose in the 1960s, although the phenomenon itself is much older. This science still does not have enough wide comparisons, criteria, and a conceptual base, without which it is difficult to give definitions and build typologies. Being the world leader in the number of dacha estates, Russia yields to the Western countries in the scientific and information development of this interdisciplinary subject. The attitude to it was and remains different, but since the phenomenon is becoming wider, it deserves attention, including and even particularly geographical attention.