Different photos doesn't mean they aren't the correct seeds for any reason. They can look different in neighboring gardens.

I looked at 7 different supplier and while a couple only have a generic art drawing of the variety most of them show accurate pics.

TomatoFest

Tatiana's

HighMowingSeeds

Restoration Seeds

Dave

I have no idea why the shape is so unstable but even in Russia, varied vendor seeds produce different tomatoes.

Marie Danilenko was SSE's contact in Russia and sent many different varieties to SSE and one summer I was asked to trial quite a few of them and Cosmonaut Volkov was one of them.

Dave, the pictures of CV that you linked to and my own Googling of it for IMAGES and non Images do not look like the CVolkov I grew with seeds directly to SSE frim marie in Moscow.

I then went to my latest SSE 2014 Yearbook and began to smile since several listers said ROUND and RED, which is what I remembered, And that b'c thee were a couple of others that had been sent and they were ALL round and red.

The folks who said that got their seeds from Fedco.

Where all these beefsteaky ones come from I don't know.

Is it worth getting just one variety from Fedco? You have to request a catalog or download everything via pdf. and right now I don't even know if they still list it since those who said round said they got it in 2005,

Is it a great tomato, one I would want to grow a lot, well not IMO but one has to grow a variety to know. Several sites say it is an heirloom, but it was not, as Tania clearly wrote.

Carolyn

Dave, the pictures of CV that you linked to and my own Googling of it for IMAGES and non Images do not look like the CVolkov I grew with seeds directly to SSE frim marie in Moscow.

Yeah wasn't offering them for the pics but as sources to buy. Point was the pics are not all that relevant any time. As we know many sources use common pics. But at the same time given that it is an OP variety different fruit appearance on the same vine happens as with many OPs.

The CV I grow produce some with slightly ruffled tops and some smooth round and some with an almost semi-pear shape. It isn't stable even after 4 years of selecting for the smooth round. That's why I won't trade seeds from it.

Dave