A Russian prisoner eating bread. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Finland, circa 1940

Francisco da Silva Vale, 61, cools off fish with ice produced on solar-powered ice machines at Vila Nova do Amana community in the Sustainable Development Reserve, in Amazonas state, Brazil, September 23, 2015. Three solar-powered machines, are producing about ninety kilos of ice per day, in a region with poor access to electric energy, which used to be produced only with diesel oil, in the Amazon rain forest. (Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

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.

Cycling jerseys, part of a collection belonging to French cycling fan Gerald, hang from a line during the 4th stage of the Tour de France cycling race from Seraing in Belgium to Cambrai in France, July 7, 2015. Photographing the Tour de France cycling race comes with highs and lows: the buzz from capturing just the right image, the tedium of long journeys, the painstaking set-up of equipment, the breath-taking scenery. Reuters photographers have worked not only to capture the thrills and spills on the roads and mountain passes. They have also shot a set of pictures showing their own quirky view from behind the scenes as they travelled through the Netherlands, Belgium and France. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters)

Figure Skating, ISU World Figure Skating Championships, Ladies Short Program, Boston, Massachusetts, United States on March 31, 2016: Ashley Wagner of the United States stumbles and falls while celebrating after competing. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

A model gets ready backstage during the Tbilisi Fashion Week in Tbilisi, Georgia, on October 27, 2017. The presentation of the Spring/Summer 2018 collections runs from 27 to 30 October. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

Seen in a long exposure nighttime photograph, a burned van rests in a lot while a wildfire glows on the horizon in Phelan, Calif., early Thursday, August 18, 2016 2016. (Photo by Noah Berger/AP Photo)

A model presents a creation from The Blonds Autumn/Winter 2019 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York, U.S. February 12, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)