Russians hide from nCoV in 'suburban houses' 3
`It’s good here. We’ll grow carrots, strawberries, even a few potatoes,` said Ivan, a 78-year-old veteran, while his wife, Lyudmil, trimmed the bushes in her garden outside.
About half of the world is on lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of residents seem to be `locked` in their homes, only occasionally having the opportunity to go out.
Generations like Chernyshyov often spend weekends and summer vacations in dachas, often just an hour or two’s drive from the city.
A woman plays with her dog in a `dacha` yard on the outskirts of Moscow.
When the total number of nCoV infections in Russia on April 23 increased to nearly 63,000, the dacha became an ideal refuge amid the pandemic.
It is estimated that nearly half of Russians have a dacha, so when the Moscow government imposed a blockade last month, thousands of people left the city.
`It’s interesting because the last 10 years have been a period of serious ‘crisis’ for dachas,` says Russian anthropologist Mikhail Alekseevsky, who has conducted research on housing in the country.
Dachas were very popular during the Soviet era and after 1991, many Russians grew vegetables in dacha gardens to compensate for food shortages.
The proportion of Russians owning dachas also decreased from 46% in 2014 to 42% last year, according to statistics from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM).
Nataliya Sapiga talks on the phone next to the vegetable garden in her house on the outskirts of Moscow.
As Covid-19 rages around the world, other entertainment options are no longer available, many dacha residents say living in the countryside makes it easier to comply with social distancing rules .
Researcher Alekseevsky added that Russians have a deep relationship with suburban vacation homes.
