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Finally, you made it to Russia for a vacation or for the World Cup 2018. While you’re seeing the sights, be sure to try some typical local sweet snacks to accompany your tea. Russians seem to have an extraordinary taste for sweet snacks, probably because the treats have nothing in common with other sweets found around the world. They are plentiful across Russia and you can find them in local stores and markets. Here is a list of our favourite Russian tea snacks that you won’t forget any time soon.

Rot Front Soya Bars

These sweets were extremely popular during the Soviet era. It was really difficult to get sweet snacks during those hard times; sometimes people had to wait in the queue for many hours. Russians still have fond memories of these small delights because when refrigerators were empty, stores still carried them. These bars are hard to find outside of Russia and they have a particular taste. They contain peanuts, butter, sugar and soy milk.
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Russian Pastels

It is a well-know historical fact that some Russian merchants made strong connections with Middle Eastern merchants centuries ago, establishing strong trading routes. In fact, one of the most common sweet snacks in Russia is very similar to Turkish Delight and tastes a bit like Hazer Baba; however, the recipe has changed to accommodate more sugar and a different kind of butter. Russian pastels taste like French marshmallow cream mixed with Turkish Delight, but with local spices and ingredients.
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Kozinaki – Seed and Nut Bars

Kozinaki is the favourite snack among Russian children, and to make it even sweeter, it’s the cheapest one. These seed and nut bars are made of different nuts mixed with honey and seeds, and then dried. First, Kozinaki was a traditional Georgian snack, but later, during the Soviet era, it became even more popular in Russia. The bar consists of different nutritional and unprocessed sweet ingredients, so it can be a healthier option as well.
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Chak-Chak Sticks

Chak-chack is considered to be the most popular national sweet snack of Russian Tatars and Bashkirs. The recipe of Chak-chak has remained the same for ages; Tatars and Bashkirs are very traditional and rarely change anything. The snack is made of raw eggs, dough and sugar and is divided into many sticks immediately after preparation. Then the sticks are fried and seasoned with local honey. Yummy!
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Churchkhela Sticks

Churchkhela sticks are usually found in the Sochi region and in Krasnodar. They’re one of the healthiest snacks in Russia, despite the quantity of sugar. One stick contains different vegetable oils, proteins and vitamins. The recipe is quite complicated as preparation time is extensive: each batch must be dried in the sun for about 10 days, then left in a cold place for three months to mature. The sticks are made of different kinds of nuts dipped in grape jelly juice. In the end they become chewy.
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About the author

Yulia was born and raised in Moscow, Russia but it didn't take long for her to move to Milan, Italy back in 2011 because of her passion for arts, culture, fashion & travel. Yulia is a travel expert, photographer, observer and all time traveler, she speaks fluently 3 languages and passionate about everything she does for living.

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