A Tibetan Buddhist nun spins a prayer wheel in sub zero temperatures at a Buddhist laymen lodge where thousands of people gather for daily chanting session during the Utmost Bliss Dharma Assembly, the last of the four Dharma assemblies at Larung Wuming Buddhist Institute in remote Sertar county, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, China November 1, 2015. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Tourists take a “selfie” as demonstrators burn a trash container during a May Day rally in Barcelona, Spain, on May 1, 2014. Tens of thousands of workers marked May Day in European cities with a mix of anger and gloom over austerity measures imposed by leaders trying to contain the eurozone's intractable debt crisis. (Photo by Manu Fernandez/Associated Press)

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.

Reuters photographer Bobby Yip took a series of portraits of people taking part in the “Occupy Central” protests in Hong Kong, and asked them why they had joined the demonstrations. China rules Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” formula that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates. The unrest is the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Chinese aids activists hand out condoms in a subway train in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province on December 1, 2014. The World Health Organization issued a call to action to China on December 1, 2014 over HIV/AIDS as government figures said nearly half a million people are living with the disease or its precursor, with hundreds of thousands more thought to be undiagnosed. (Photo by AFP Photo)

A People's Liberation Army (PLA) commando jumps through a fire hoop part of an exercise during an open day event at the Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks, the PLA navy base in the territory, in Hong Kong, China, 01 July 2015. Thousands of visitors attended the PLA open day yesterday and today to mark the 16th anniversary of the handover from British rule. (Photo by Jerome Favre/EPA)

A protestor offers prayers on the second day of a demonstration demanding Prime Minister Najib Razak's resignation and electoral reforms in Kuala Lumpur on August 30, 2015. Tens of thousands of Malaysians swarmed central Kuala Lumpur on August 29, to call for the prime minister's ouster over corruption allegations and demand broader reforms, defying warnings by police who had declared the rally illegal. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

A competitor shouts as he takes part in the “Tough Guy” adventure race near Wolverhampton, central England, on January 29, 2017. The Tough Guy event, which is being held for the final time in its 30th year, challenges thousands of competitors to run a gruelling course whilst negotiating over 200 obstacles including: water, fire, and tunnels. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)