Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Midas Tümülüsü (Tumulus MM)
The Devil's Column
Weightlifting Hall of Fame
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
At Nai Mong Hoi Thod, the oyster omelet is worth waiting for.
Nai Mong Hoi Thod
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
3 days ago
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
4 days ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
5 days ago
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
6 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Russia Moscow Soviet Dacha

Soviet Dacha

This frozen-in-time summer home outside Moscow provides a look at Russian life in the 1950s.

Moscow, Russia

Added By
Nadia Kamolova
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Soviet interior   NadiaMoscow / Atlas Obscura User
Soviet interior   NadiaMoscow / Atlas Obscura User
Soviet Dacha house   NadiaMoscow / Atlas Obscura User
Old Russian dacha   NadiaMoscow / Atlas Obscura User
Russian tea tradition   NadiaMoscow / Atlas Obscura User
Vintage Soviet toys   NadiaMoscow / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In the 17th century, Russian Tsars began rewarding loyal landholders with small estates called "dachas" in the country. (The word translates from old Russian to “something given.”) Most dachas were nationalized after the Russian Revolution in the early 1900s, and since then, upper and middle class Soviets have used them for summer homes.

In the 1980s, just before the Soviet Union dissolved, there was a boom in the popularity of dachas. At that point, somewhere around one in three families owned a dacha where they’d spend weekends and escape the heat of the summer. Now it’s estimated that half of all Russian families living in big cities own a second home.

In southern Moscow, one of these ubiquitous summer homes has been turned into a public museum frozen in time. The home is filled with artifacts from the Soviet era. Visitors are served Russian tea in the glasses in old metal holders. They can help make dumplings and borscht, and try vegetables, fruits, and herbs from the garden, an essential part of many dachas.

A tour, guided by the homeowner, Nadia, is designed around the children’s books, records, furniture, dishes, clothes, and technology of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Considering the state-guided universality of Soviet life, and Nadia’s knowledge of the history of Russia and USSR, the home provides a very broad experience of Soviet life, and many consider the preserved home in the Moscow countryside a hidden gem.

Related Tags

History Communism Tea Houses Summer Soviet History Homes

Community Contributors

Added By

NadiaMoscow

Published

November 1, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://visitrussdacha.com/
  • https://www.tripadvisor.ru/Attraction_Review-g298484-d4892215-Reviews-Soviet_Dacha_in_Moscow-Moscow_Central_Russia.html
Soviet Dacha
332 First Gardens
Moscow
Russia
55.522351, 37.490087
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Kamera (The Chamber)

Leninskiy rayon, Russia

miles away

Castle of Childhood

sovkhoza im. Lenina, Russia

miles away

Gorki Leninskiye

Moscow, Russia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Moscow

Moscow

Russia

Places 47
Stories 7

Nearby Places

The Kamera (The Chamber)

Leninskiy rayon, Russia

miles away

Castle of Childhood

sovkhoza im. Lenina, Russia

miles away

Gorki Leninskiye

Moscow, Russia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Moscow

Moscow

Russia

Places 47
Stories 7

Related Places

  • View from Above; a more recent concrete construction can be seen nearby

    Green Island, Taiwan

    Youzihu

    The ruins of a prehistoric village hide on a remote Taiwanese island.

  • Jennie Wade House

    Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

    Jennie Wade House

    Home of the only civilian casualty at the Battle of Gettysburg.

  • The “Blend-Aire” home under construction

    Austin, Texas

    Air Conditioned Village

    This unassuming North Austin neighborhood was built to test the novel idea of home air conditioning.

  • The Lindens view from the front.

    Washington, D.C.

    The Lindens

    The oldest house in Washington, D.C. wasn't originally constructed in the nation's capital.

  • The house sits on a thin sandbar off the Florida coast.

    Stuart, Florida

    Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge

    In a time before lifeguards, this house was a sanctuary for the shipwrecked.

  • Hendrickson House Museum

    Wilmington, Delaware

    Hendrickson House Museum

    One of the oldest surviving Swedish-American homes in the United States.

  • Springfield, Illinois

    Vachel Lindsay Home

    The poet’s boyhood home is now dedicated to celebrating his life and legacy.

  • Bullet fragments on display.

    Mexico City, Mexico

    Museo Casa de Carranza

    The former Mexican president kept the bullets that killed his predecessor on display in his home, now a museum.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.