August 30, 2021

Concrete Jungle


Concrete Jungle
Perhaps the best thing to ever come out of a shawarma restaurant... except maybe shawarma.  Photo by Julian Weibrecht via Unsplash

In the middle of a city, a robust tomato plant might not be the first thing you would expect to find growing out of the asphalt, but if you visit the city of Tver you would find just that. 

City residents were quite confused at first by how exactly the mysterious fruit-bearing plant came to be there. One (and the only) theory suggests that a local shawarma shop, which has a habit of pouring extra tomato juice outside on the street, accidentally planted the seeds that created the plant.

The unusual heat of this summer has allowed the plant to do exceptionally well; it even produced a few tomatoes! Residents are quite fond of the plant already, saying that the greenery "feels good" in the urban environment

Apparently, this isn't the first time that an event like this happened this summer in Russia. At the beginning of August, a similar tomato plant popped up in the middle of a paved sidewalk in Ivanovo too. After all, the only thing better than fresh summer tomatoes are fresh summer tomatoes that are free

You Might Also Like

How Does Your Garden Grow?
  • September 01, 2000

How Does Your Garden Grow?

For everything there is a season. And it's time to harvest some garden/dacha-related idioms.
Mementos of Russian Summer
  • July 01, 2003

Mementos of Russian Summer

Summer is hay-cutting time and time to battle with the weeds and pests that embroil the private plot. Visit summer in the village of Chukhrai in Bryansk region.
Tver
  • May 17, 2016

Tver

Olga Titova takes us to Tver, a main city located between Moscow and St. Petersburg, a land of candles and goats, bridges and rivers.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955