Dacha
The village of Laitse, located 40 kilometers from Tallinn, witnessed a surge in summer house (“dacha” in Russian) construction during the 1970s when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union. These dachas were originally built as weekend retreats for Tallinn workers and employees, over time, some of these were rebuilt into permanent living places.
I started taking photographs at the old summer house in Laitse in 2014, right after my daughter was born, followed by the birth of my son in 2015. At some point, my friend, the owner of the dacha, left his usual life in the city and moved to Laitse, renovating his inherited house to suit his needs.
Over time, I started visiting the dacha almost every weekend with my children, thereby killing two birds with one stone – by entertaining myself and my kids.
When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, the dacha became a refuge from the initial panic and paranoia of city life under the new restrictions. It continued to serve as a sanctuary during subsequent challenges, including divorce, prolonged depression, global turmoil and economic instability.
Nearly ten years has passed since I began capturing these moments, resulting in hundreds and hundreds of photos. Children however are growing fast, they started to develop interests of their own and our visits to Laitse have become less frequent. Activities that once brought carefree joy, like exploring swamps or quarry, sorting through old books in the sun warmed attic or bouncing on a trampoline no longer hold the same allure for them. I wonder how long they will continue to join me on these trips.
Will they still be interested in spending weekends at the dacha in a few years? When will I take the inal photo for this series?
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