Seasonal Migration to the Dacha as a Practice of Moscovite Urban Childhood

Abstract

The prevalence of temporary seasonal migration to the dacha is one of the key features of Russian urbanization. Up to two thirds of the Russian urban population own dachas of various types. Children are also participants in regular trips between the city and the dacha, getting new experiences of socialization and leisure. Unlike urban childhood, dacha childhood is not yet characterized by regulation, institutionalization or the predominance of passive forms of leisure.

This article reconstructs the image of the dacha experience of urban children and assess its significance for childhood. Based on data obtained through semi-structured interviews, the main characteristics of dacha childhood and the vision of the dacha as a childhood space are identified and described. The respondents regularly make trips to the dacha with their children, while most of the time they live in the city, in our case Moscow. The choice of parents as the main informants is explained by the fact that they are the creators of the dacha childhood and have a great influence on the formation of children’s leisure time.

The results describe the dacha as a space that creates unique children’s practices, the characteristics of which are the predominance of the natural environment, the greater role of family and intergenerational socialization, and a lesser degree of parental control. The dacha experience is different from the urban one due to the possibility for activities for which there is no time or place in the urban space. Such practices include outdoor games, nature study, family leisure time, handicrafts, and sports. These characteristics confirm the hypothesis about the creation of opportunities for new experiences in the countryside, which are important elements of childhood and which are gradually being lost in the city.