“Everything tastes the same as before, only the Coke is worse,” says a young man. On Sunday afternoon, he and his friends stand in front of one of the former McDonald’s branches that have reopened under their new Russian ownership in central Moscow. Hundreds of people had been waiting in front of the building in Pushkin Square for more than an hour on Sunday for admission. In the future, however, the Russians will have to do without ‘western’ drinks such as Coca-Cola and Sprite at ‘Fake McDonald’s’.
The necklace now bears the name “Wkusno i totschka”: “Delicious and period”. It also has a new logo: two orange stripes and a red circle on a dark green background, it should represent two fries and a burger patty.
Burgers with new names but the same recipe
Other than that, however, as little as possible should change. The locations of the restaurants are the same, so are the staff and the menu is almost identical to McDonald’s. Only the burger “Filet-o-Fish” is now called “Fish Burger”, the hamburger “Royal” has become the “Grand” and the “Double Royal” the “Double Grand”.
After more than 30 years, McDonald’s temporarily closed its Russian operations in early March in response to the war of aggression against Ukraine launched by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. Like several other international companies, the fast food group later eventually withdrew from the largest country in the world in terms of area, where it was one of the main employers with 62,000 local employees. Only at train stations and airports may individual restaurants initially continue to operate under the US logo due to special franchise agreements that are not easy to cancel.
Mining oligarch bought branches
The new owner, entrepreneur Alexander Gowor, now wants to reopen all 850 branches across the country within two months. He already had 25 McDonald’s outlets in Siberia in recent years. Gowor, who once made a fortune in the mining and oil industries, is contractually obligated to keep the existing employees on the same terms for at least two years. Gowor is now no longer allowed to use McDonald’s brand symbols.
The mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, also came to Pushkin Square on this opening day – which symbolically coincides with the holiday “Day of Russia”. Sobyanin praises “Lecker und Punkt” as a successful Russian model. McDonald’s has generally always been regarded as American, but in fact “everything is ours, Russian,” he says, also in view of the Russian farmers from whom the American company has sourced the ingredients for its branches in Russia in the past. Politicians loyal to the Kremlin continue to insist that Western sanctions cannot harm Russia and that it will even become stronger. The new chain has to prove that.
Opening in the 90s a sign of change
However, in the early 1990s, the opening of the first McDonald’s branches was also a sign of change and departure in Russia. And so now the new Russian ‘McDonald’s’ stands for the paved fronts between Moscow and the West.
The comeback in Russian attire also attracts many older people. You may have witnessed the opening of the very first Russian McDonald’s in this location more than three decades ago, when the line was up to 500 meters long. Now the rush is less, some say.
Furthermore, there are mainly young Muscovites, for whom McDonald’s was part of daily life and who now want to see what happens next. One man says he doesn’t like the new logo very much – “but we’ll get used to it”.
“Yummy and point” – that sounds a bit like in the Russian original: Tastes good and that’s that. This makes some people laugh, as the wording is reminiscent of Soviet gastronomy, which was not necessarily known for its high standards of service. Whatever was on the table was eaten. And finished.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
