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.

March 28, 1967. Egg Roll; A large bunny attracted the attention of children and their parents during the annual Easter egg roll Monday on the south lawn of the White House. The bunny was made by Fred Johansen, Silver Spring, Md. Nearly 17,000 youngsters and adults took part in the egg rolling. The President and Mrs. John-son were not at the festivities because they were in Camp David, Md. The tradition of egg rolling was begun in 1878 during the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes. (Photo by Minneapolis Star Tribune)

This breathtaking natural light show illuminating waters off the British coast looks like something out of hit film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. Photographer Adrian Campfield was out having dinner at a restaurant at Beachy Head, East Sussex, when the rays suddenly appeared. The 59-year-old and his wife Louise rushed outside onto the 535ft high cliffs to watch the spectacle. Mr Campfield, a former graphic designer, from Bexley, Kent, said the light was “changing all the time” for more than 15 minutes. (Photo by Adrian Campfield/Solent/Visual Press Agency)

South Korean performers participate in a re-enactment of the battle of the Korean war during the ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean War in Cheorwon, near the border with North Korea on June 25, 2020 in Cheorwon, South Korea. Over 66,000 South Koreans have been separated from their families during the Korean War which started on June 25, 1950, and effectively split the Korean Peninsula into two over the 3-year conflict. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

This photo was caught on camera by amateur photographer Kutub Uddin, 27, and was taken in his back garden in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. The red-eyed tree frogs have been Mr Uddin's pets for four months and he often lets them out to roam around his garden. Photo: “Ohh no :( Raining”. (Photo by Kutub Uddin)

Japanese Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Ibuki Ito, 17, also from Japan, who want to become K-pop stars, perform during their street performance in Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea, March 21, 2019. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

“Harisu (하리수 or 河莉秀) is the stage name of Lee Kyung-eun originally Lee Kyung-yeop (born February 17, 1975), a transsexual pop singer, model and actress from South Korea. Born biologically male, Harisu identified as female from early childhood, and underwent s*x reassignment surgery in the 1990s. She is noted for being South Korea's first transgender entertainer, and in 2002 became only the second person in Korea to legally change their gender. Her stage name is an adaptation of the English phrase «hot issue»”.

Photo: South Korean transsexual singer and actress Harisu (R) poses for pictures with a fan who played the role of groom during a simulated Chinese wedding at a fan club activity on August 5, 2006 in Changchun of Jilin Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Azalea, whose Korean name is “Dalle”, a 19-year-old female chimpanzee, lights a cigarette at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. According to officials at the newly renovated zoo, which has become a favorite leisure spot in the North Korean capital since it was re-opened in July, the chimpanzee smokes about a pack a day. They insist, however, that she doesn’t inhale. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)