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An IZBA is a traditional Russian countryside house. A type of log house, it forms the living quarters of a conventional Russian farmhouse. It is usually built close to the road and inside a yard, which also has a kitchen, garden, hayshed, and shed within a simple bamboo stick fence. Traditional, old-style izba constructed using simple tools such as ropes, axes, knives, and spades. Nails and saw were not used in the construction as they were costly. It is built in the style of the timber cottages in which Russian peasants dwelt in times past. Both interior and exterior are of split pine tree trunks, the gap between are usually filled with river clay.
Building's components were simply cut and fitted together using a hand axe. Coins, wool, and frankincense were placed beneath the corners of the house to ensure that those living there would be healthy and wealthy.
The central element of the interior of izba was Russian oven. Outside izbas were often decorated with various special architectural features, for example the rich wood carving decoration of windows. Such decorative elements and the use of the Russian oven are still commonly found in many modern Russian countryside houses, even though only the older wooden houses are called izbas today.
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