&gt; <i>Russians and Eastern Europeans eat vegetables, even in winter, at almost every meal. But these are veggies that are easy to store through the winter: root veggies like beetroot, cabbage and potatoes, not leafy stuff like letuce or cress, which obviously does not store.</i><p>Also, food conservation! Pickled veggies and sauerkraut have always been stapled foods for me.<p>Speaking of diets. During the last ten-fifteen years people in Russia have developed a taste for fresh vegetables and fruit available immediately from the supermarket shelves. This trend is being reversed quite quickly due to skyrocketed prices (and the ridiculous embargo on agricultural production from eu and some other selected countries). Well, back to dachas, I guess.