Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov of the United States compete in the Pairs Short Program during day 1 of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup at Megasport Arena on November 15, 2019 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Seth Moniz and Kelly Slater, of the United States, embrace after Slater won the Billabong Pro Pipeline contest just short of his 50th birthday in Haleiwa, Hawaii, US on February 5, 2022. (Photo by Brent Bielmann/World Surf League via AP Photo)

Teekhree Silpa-Archa of Thailand competes in the Figure Skating – Women Single Skating Short Program on day 6 of the 9th Asian Winter Games Harbin 2025 at HIC Multifunctional Hall on February 12, 2025 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Christopher Blevins from the USA in action on his way winning the Cross Country Short Track Elite Men UCI XCC Mountain Bike World Series race in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, 25 May 2025. (Photo by Maxime Schmid/EPA)

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.

“Wombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately 1 metre (39 in) in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in their habitat tolerances, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 ha in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland”. – Wikipedia

Photo: “Abdul”, a baby Common Wombat, is one of the marsupials on show during the spring baby boom at Taronga Zoo September 1, 2005 in Sydney, Australia. “Abdul” was orphaned when his mother was killed by a car. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Figure Skating, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy 2016/2017, Ice Dance Short Dance, Sapporo, Japan on November 26, 2016. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the U.S. compete. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

Japan's Kana Muramoto and Chris Reed compete in the figure skating team event ice dance short dance during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on February 11, 2018. (Photo by John Sibley/Reuters)