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.

Nine year old girl Barsati reacts while walking on a tightrope in Mumbai on February 11, 2014. Barsati, and her younger brother Rajababu, (4) earn an average of around 2000 rupees (32 dollars) per day from pedestrians and tourists performing various acts on the tightrope near the city's iconic landmark Gateway of India. (Photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP Photo)

A model presents a creation from the Blonds Fall 2020 collection during New York Fashion Week in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., February 9, 2020. (Photo by Caitlin Ochs/Reuters)

General Atmosphere at 2014 New York Comic Con – Day 3 at Jacob Javitz Center on October 11, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

Emma White, of Team Cyclocrossworld, hits the dirt hard during the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championship Elite Women's race at the Valmont Bike Park in Boulder, Colorado, on January 12, 2014. (Photo by Jeremy Papasso/The Daily Camera)

Performer Zhang Yashu from a Chinese ballet company perform during a photo shoot in front of the Australia's iconic landmarks Opera House (L) and Habour Bridge in Sydney on February 17, 2014. One of China's celebrated dance campanies is bringing one of the country's biggest ballet production to Australia for a series of performances in Sydney and Melbourne. (Photo by Saeed Khan/AFP Photo)

A woman looks towards part of an artwork called “Lichen! Libido! (London!) Chastity!” by Anthea Hamilton, one of the four artists shortlisted for the Turner Prize 2016, as it is displayed at the Tate Britain gallery in London, Monday, September 26, 2016. The Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo)

Shane Baker of Minnesota poses for a photo with adult film actress Rachel Starr at the Pornhub booth at the 2017 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on January 18, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)