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.

Wedges of an orange generate enough current and electrical juice – 3.5 volts – to power an LED. The fruit’s citric acid helps electrons flow from galvanized nails to copper wire in this 14-hour exposure. This image was published in September’s Visions of Earth, a trio of photos that appear in each issue of National Geographic. (Photo by Caleb Charland/National Geographic)

An Indian Sikh Nihang, or warrior, performs Gatka martial arts skills during a procession at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on January 6, 2014, as part of birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh. The birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, is marked on January 6. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

Nine year old girl Barsati reacts while walking on a tightrope in Mumbai on February 11, 2014. Barsati, and her younger brother Rajababu, (4) earn an average of around 2000 rupees (32 dollars) per day from pedestrians and tourists performing various acts on the tightrope near the city's iconic landmark Gateway of India. (Photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP Photo)

“The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, center, exits the water during the Chicago Polar Plunge, Sunday, March 2, 2014, in Chicago. Fallon joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the event. (Photo by Andrew A. Nelles/AP Photo)

Performers are reflected in a displayed vehicle before going onto the stage during the Auto China 2016 auto show in Beijing, China, April 29, 2016. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A Hindu priest waits to perform prayers next to Tejas, India's first locally-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), before its induction into the Indian Air Force at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Airport in Bengaluru, India, July 1, 2016. (Photo by Abhishek N. Chinnappa/Reuters)

Girls dressed in traditional costumes run as men throw water on them as part of Easter celebrations during a presentation to the media in Mezokovesd, Hungary, April 13, 2017. (Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Reuters)