In the 1940s, Russian designer Bayan Giltsoff created a corner of his homeland in Kilquade, County Wicklow. It was an old Russian village consisting of about 20 houses inspired by the dachas of his native country. The houses featured exposed beams, leaded glass windows, and cedar shingle roofs.

Bayan is described as "a delightful paradoxical personality of a practical dreamer." He was born in Arkhangelsk but was forced to leave Russia with his parents at the age of ten. The family first went to England via Norway and then settled in London.

Bayan "discovered two important things: first, he had a natural talent for transforming farms into places that were both functional and livable; second, the Russian and Irish temperaments harmonized beautifully with each other."