The new logo is ready. We see, on a green background, a red circle and two yellow oblique bars. The whole thing is supposed to symbolize the hamburger and the fries. Unable to continue using the well-known yellow ark of the American fast food chain: McDonald’s withdrew completely from Russia last May due to the war in Ukraine. But it will therefore again be a fast food brand on this famous Pouchkine square. The name of the new brand will not be revealed until Sunday, June 12. However, we do know the name of the owner: Alexander Govor. He was one of McDonald’s franchisees in Russia and he bought most of the firm’s 850 restaurants. He announces the reopening of 15 of them from this date, all in the Moscow region, then the reopening everywhere in the country within two months.
Why is it not anecdotal? First because of the date chosen: this Sunday is therefore “Russia Day”, the most recent of the public holidays in the country. It refers to the country’s assertion of independence in 1990 from the Soviet Union. In the midst of war with Ukraine, it will be an opportunity for a burst of patriotism with strong flags in the streets and tributes to the armed forces. The reopening, on the same day, of the fast food restaurant in Pushkin Square is a way of saying that Russia is resisting the sanctions and maintaining a form of normality.
It is also a symbol because the American brand is emblematic in Russia. McDonald’s is a very special story. When the Iron Curtain fell and the Soviet Union broke up in 1990, the American chain was one of the first Western brands to land in Russia with this restaurant on Pouchkine Square. Everyone is free to judge whether the Russians then took the best or the worst of the West. Still, the yellow logo then became an emblem of the opening of the country, a symbol of “perestroika”. And the Russians rushed. Over the years, McDonald’s has opened 850 restaurants across the country and employed more than 60,000 people when war broke out last February. Russia alone then represented 9% of the brand’s worldwide turnover.
At the beginning of March, shortly after the start of the conflict, the fast food chain was the subject of calls for a boycott, like several other Western companies. She then suspended her activities. Then last month, the group’s CEO announced a complete withdrawal from Russia, for “stay consistent with our values”. And since then, almost all of its restaurants have closed in the country, to the chagrin of its very many Russian customers.
So this reopening places Pouchkine, it’s a bit of a sign that the paths of Russia and the West are now separated. With one downside: the American firm has its back. On the one hand, there are still a few signs with the yellow mark, mainly in stations and airports in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, due to a special agreement with the franchisee, Rosinter, at least until next year. . On the other hand, the fast food chain has kept its trademark in the commercial register in Russia. Sign that she spares the possibility of a return, during a hypothetical post-war period.