While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

Bolivia's president Evo Morales holds his scared staffs of power during a blessing by Aymaran spiritual guides, in a traditional ceremony at the archeological site Tiwanaku, Bolivia, Wednesday, January 21, 2015. Morales is set to begin a new term Thursday, that will make him the Andean nation's longest-serving leader, riding high on a wave of unprecedented growth and stability. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

Shoppers walk down stairs featuring a five-metre-high reproduction of Vincent van Gogh's signature painting “Sunflowers”, at the entrance to Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong July 15, 2013. A premium three-dimensional reproduction of works of Van Gogh, the RELIEVO collection, approved by the curators of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, is on display at a gallery inside Harbour City shopping mall attached to the terminal. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)

A demonstrator jumps from a vehicle of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) during a protest to demand what protesters say is true information from the OSCE about the shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine (since April 2014, the city is the administrative centre of the Donetsk People's Republic), July 23, 2015. The graffiti reads, “Stop moronic war!”. (Photo by Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

A worker roasts a row of pigs on bamboo poles at a roasting pit, in Manila, Philippines, December 21, 2020. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

Three pals pose for a picture on a night out in Liverpool city centre, United Kingdom on December 24, 2020. Festive boozers braved the cold in Liverpool and York – as millions down South rang in Christmas Day indoors due to Covid restrictions. (Photo by David Nelson/South West News Service)

Winner of the GWFF Best Feature Award Belarusian-American actress Dasha Nekrasova (L) and U.S. writer and editor Madeline Quinn pose at the 71st Berlinale International Film Festival ahead the awarding ceremony during the “Berlinale Summer Special” film festival in Berlin, Germany on June 13, 2021. (Photo by Tobias Schwarz/Pool via Reuters)

A medical staff member rests next to a patient infected with Covid-19 in the intensive care unit of Lozenets Hospitalin Sofia on November 9, 2021. Bulgaria is among the countries with the highest number of deaths compared to its population. (Photo by Nikolay Doychinov/AFP Photo)