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.

A couple passes the sculpture “Transformer” by Chinese artist Bi Heng during snowfall in Kassel, central Germany, Tuesday March 12, 2013. Frankfurt airport closed, a quarter of flights out of Paris were canceled, Belgium suffered record traffic jams and high-speed trains were stuck in stations – all because of a sudden dump of oddly late snowfall on Western Europe. Less prepared for the kind of heavy snow that regularly hits northern and eastern neighbors, France, Britain and Belgium struggled Tuesday to keep moving amid the frosty, blustery conditions. (Photo by Uwe Zucchi/AP Photo/Dpa)

Harris & Ewing Inc. photographed people, events, and architecture, particularly in Washington, D.C., during the period 1905-1945. Photo: Tests of Curtiss Palne for Army, Single Control. Created by Harris & Ewing. Published in 1912.

A boat commutes across the Mekong river in Phnom Penh on August 8, 2014. The Mekong is the world's twelth longest river running from the Tibetan Plateau through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. (Photo by Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP Photo)

People walk past part of an outdoor display as preparations continue for the upcoming pop culture convention Comic Con in San Diego, California, U.S., July 17, 2018. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

England fan stripped down to her underwear and jumped in the canal in Birmingham, United Kingdom after team lose the 2018 World Cup semi- final against Croatia in Moscow on July 11, 2018. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

Indian actress, singer and the winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant Priyanka Chopra starred as Victoria Leeds in the 2017 remake of “Baywatch”. (Photo by AP Photo/Paramount Pictures)

Madeline is the first person with Down's syndrome to ever stride down a runway as a model during New York Fashion Week. Here: Model Madeline Stuart stands backstage between two male models at New York Fashion Week in New York City, U.S., September 6, 2018. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)