Faced with coronavirus, the Russians return to the dacha

Audio 02:42

By: Daniel Vallot Follow

In Russia, containment measures are gradually being lifted. But a phenomenon persists: that of the return to the dacha. These second homes, very widespread in Russia, served as a refuge during the epidemic for millions of Russians who settled there and who rediscovered the charms. Report from our correspondent in the Moscow region.

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“  My name is Viktoria, I am 24 years old, I work for a publishing house. My parents built this dacha in the late 90s. At the time, my brother and I had asthma and we had to be able to breathe clean air outside of Moscow. "

It was in mid-April that Viktoria decided to settle here, in her parents' dacha, not far from Istra, about thirty kilometers west of Moscow. To escape, she tells us, to the coronavirus and the containment measures, then decided by the authorities.

"  This is where I work, this is my office, and I feel very good there. From time to time, I look up from my screen, and instead of seeing four walls, I see the forest, the hill opposite.  "
And your employer agrees you continue like this, telework?
"  In fact he told us that everyone had remained as efficient as before and that he did not understand why he was still renting offices !  "

Viktoria took a liking to this new life. And although the containment measures are lifted in Moscow, she wants to stay at the dacha. And for that, it will even install new pipes to make it more comfortable.
"That way we can install a dishwasher, and then a shower, because for the moment, it is outside, with rain water that heats up in the sun and it is not obvious, when the weather is bad! "

Upstairs a sofa in past colors, and guitar placed in a corner. As in Soviet times, the dacha becomes again a refuge, far from the city. A return to grace for these second homes which had lost popularity in recent years.
"  It is true that for many people of my generation the dacha was a bit of a chore, a place where your parents or your grandparents forced you to come, but since the coronavirus, the image of the dacha changed. If you go to Instagram, you realize that everyone is at the dacha, and now it's class to be there, it's back in fashion.  "

With the looming crisis, the dacha is also an economic issue. Many Russians grow vegetables there that they can preserve for the winter months. And for the most modest of them, it is an additional reason to reclaim these datchas which they had abandoned in recent years.

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