This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Cambridge University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980015000105 ; Objective To explain patterns of fruit and vegetable consumption in nine former Soviet Union countries by exploring the influence of a range of individual- and community-level determinants. Design Cross-sectional nationally representative surveys and area profiles were undertaken in 2010 in nine countries of the former Soviet Union as part of the Health in Times of Transition (HITT) study. Individual- and area-level determinants were analysed, taking into account potential confounding at the individual and area level. Setting Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. Subjects Adult survey respondents (n 17 998) aged 18?95 years. Results Being male, increasing age, lack of education and lack of financial resources were associated with lower probability of consuming adequate amounts of fruit or vegetables. Daily fruit or vegetable consumption was positively correlated with the number of shops selling fruit and vegetables (for women) and with the number of convenience stores (for men). Billboard advertising of snacks and sweet drinks was negatively related to daily fruit or vegetable consumption, although the reverse was true for billboards advertising soft drinks. Men living near a fast-food outlet had a lower probability of fruit or vegetable consumption, while the opposite was true for the number of local food restaurants. Conclusions Overall fruit and vegetable consumption in the former Soviet Union is inadequate, particularly among lower socio-economic groups. Both individual- and community-level factors play a role in explaining inadequate nutrition and thus provide potential entry points for policy interventions, while the nuanced influence of community factors informs the agenda for future research. ; Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to all members of the Health in Times of Transition (HITT) Project study teams who participated in the coordination and organization of data collection for this paper. Financial support: The HITT Project was funded by the European Union?s 7th Framework Programme (project HEALTH-F2- 2009-223344). The European Commission cannot accept any responsibility for any information provided or views expressed. The contributions of Y.G. and M.S. were partly funded by the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), a UKCRC Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. Funding from the British Heart Foundation, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research and the Wellcome Trust, under the auspices of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, is gratefully acknowledged. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Conflicts of interest: None. Authors? contributions: Y.G. conducted the analyses and drafted the initial manuscript, as well as subsequent revisions. B.R., M.S., L.R. and M.M helped interpret the results, revised the drafts and approved the final manuscript. Ethics of human subject participation: The research was approved by the ethics committee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. All persons gave informed consent.