Russian goods slowly vanishing from Slovak stores

Russian shops in Bratislava renamed.

Stock image.Stock image. (Source: Sme archive - Gabriel Kuchta)

They sell Russian ice cream, meat dumplings Pelmeni, caviar, and borscht in jam jars. Though their packaging bears Russian inscriptions, most of the goods are not actually from Russia. The stores import them from Germany or various Eastern European countries.

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Several shops stocked food products from Eastern Europe in Bratislava, called Russian shops until recently. The range of goods has not changed much and they still sell "Russian" food items, but the shops were renamed when the war in Ukraine started.

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Small grocery stores, large supermarkets, cinemas and publishing houses decide themselves whether they will continue to offer Russian products. At the beginning of the war some declared that they would distance themselves from them. Others still offer Russian goods.

Related article What do eggs, ice cream and Ferris wheel have to do with Russia? Read more 

No longer Russian

For several months, the Eastern European grocery store Mix Markt in Bratislava has had tape on the windows covering the inscription "Russian shop". The tape is already peeling off and part of the original name can be seen.

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