American actress and singer Rainey Qualley outside Proenza Schouler on Saturday, September 9, 2023 in Manhattan, New York. (Photo by Calla Kessler for The Washington Post)

Canadian fashion model Winnie Harlow at Atlantis The Royal's Dolce&Gabbana x Ounass takeover at Cloud 22 on October 05, 2025 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal/ Dolce&Gabbana x Ounass)

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.

British model Demi Rose, 24, showed off her curves in a photo shoot in Tunisia on Saturday, May 4, 2019. The Birmingham-born beauty slipped into a nude two-piece dripping in jewels and went barefoot the photo shoot in a temple. (Photo by KP Pictures)

A fan watches the group A World Cup match between Mexico and Brazil via a live broadcast at the FIFA Fan Fest in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, June 17, 2014. Forget the French manicure. It’s Brazil during World Cup, and women here want to flaunt their love of the national team with wacky nail designs. (Photo by Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Photo)

“The Amish, sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology”. – Wikipedia

Photo: An Amish farmer plows his field behind six draft horses June 2, 2011 in New Wilmington, southwestern Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

People gather to view a new art installaiton at Waterfront Park entitled, Interstellar Influencer (Make an Impact) by Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang of STUDIOKCA on Saturday March 30, 2024 in Alexandria, VA. The artwork depicts an asteroid that struck the region millions of years ago. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

An anti-extradition bill protester throws a stone at a police station in Tseung Kwan O residential district, in Hong Kong, China, August 4, 2019. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)