who is a dachnik?

this is a question i keep asking myself.  an estimated 25% of russian families own dachas, making russia the nation with the highest number of secondary homes.  that's a lot of dachniki.  apparently, the may day holiday might as well be called the dacha holiday, due to the mass migration from apartments to dachas as the city folk eagerly exchange their metro cards for seeds and shovels.  

but dacha dwellers weren't always so numerous.  in the early 19th century, when the word dacha was first being used (it was derived from the russian verb "davat"), a dachnik was an elite member of the tsar's inner circle.  at the time, a dacha was an extravagant country estate given by Peter the Great to his confidants.  these opulent dachas of old were featured in classic russian novels as icons of a bohemian lifestyle full of poets and balls.  

with the start of the stalin era, dachas went from being the estates of the tsar's elite to the estates of the government's elite.  during this time, construction of new dachas was restricted and required a building clearance by the communist party.

after world war 2, the desire to escape the high rise apartments of heavily polluted cities led many russians to start squatting on unused land just outside their city limits.  at this point there was no formal law banning the construction of dachas, so people quietly began erecting small sheds and huts to serve as informal dwellings, which would allow them to spend some extended time near nature.  this squatting trend grew rapidly and resulted in an amateur farming movement, which the government had to officially recognize once it was clear that the state run agricultural program had failed to provide the union with enough produce.  

in 1955, a legislation titled the gardeners partnership was passed , which gave organized farmers the right to use 600 sq. meter plots for agricultural purposes.  over the next 3 years this legislation led to public water access and the formation of the cooperative for dacha construction, which gave individuals the right to build a dacha on the government leased land.  of course, these dachas couldn't resemble their fancy predecessors.  after all the farm dacha was where one must toil and not waste time on trivial pursuits.  so, new dacha construction was limited to 225 sq. ft. and there would be no indoor plumbing or electricity allowed.  after the establishment of gorbachev's perestroika government, these dacha restrictions were dropped and dachas design became an experiment in self expression and spontaneity, which was quite unique in the political landscape of the time.