dacha

noun

1. A Russian villa or summer house in the countryside.

   “The belt is full of dachi, i.e., summer villas, all now closed. […] Most of the dachi are small; but some large, sumptuous, and more securely fenced, a few with iron palisades to insure privacy. […] There are no roads in the environs of Odessa, except among the dachi by the shore.”

   “This was a great rambling wooden house, fashioned, like most of the Muscovish dachi, or country houses, in the form of a square main building in the centre, flanked by a wing on each side which came forward in a semicircle, like a man’s outstretched arms, as though to embrace the approaching visitors.”

   “Here the dachi are large and sumptuously furnished.”

   “On the defensive side, Stalin had made equally thorough preparations. Lenin’s personal guard consisted of two men, later increased to four after the attempt on his life by Fanny Kaplan. Stalin’s was several thousand strong, and the NKVD in addition kept other units at a state of readiness. The road to his country dacha, some twenty miles away, was guarded by over 3,000 agents, with cars, telephone connections, etc. When Stalin was actually en route, the road was virtually under martial law.”

   “The Ambassador warned him of the consequences if his mission to Moscow were a failure, both to Churchill's position at home and to Russia's prospects in the war. He insisted that he should not allow himself to be offended 'by a peasant who didn't know any better'. Churchill listened in silence, then returned to the dacha leaving Clark Kerr outside.”