The closing of McDonald’s stores in Russia, 32 years after the chain’s arrival in the country, shows how much Russians’ love for the hamburger, a symbol of Western capitalism, is still alive. Queues similar to those recorded at the opening of the first branch in Moscow in 1990 were seen last week, when the company’s 847 units stopped operating in Russia. The measure is part of the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union on the country, in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
The network’s last day of operations in Russia was marked by crowds and protests. On Sunday (13), Russians witnessed scenes such as that of a man who chained himself to one of the stores and was taken away by the police, under shouts of “They have no right to close!”.
There were also those who tried to take economic advantage of the situation. Photos of freezers full of branded items circulated on social media after the stores closed. On a Russian classifieds portal, McDonald’s boxes were offered as collector’s items and sandwiches and potato combos cost over R$2,300 (with a seller accepting Iphone 13 in the deal).
The closing of McDonald’s joins that of other major western brands – the extensive list includes Apple, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Disney and Netflix – and raises the alarm for a movement apparently contrary to that registered at the end of the Cold War, when a gradual opening economy made it possible for multinationals to enter the socialist bloc.
The arrival of McDonald’s in Russia, on January 31, 1990, can be considered a milestone in the entry of capitalism in the already decadent Soviet Union. Located two kilometers from the Kremlin, the first store in Moscow had 900 seats (the largest in the chain at the time and one of the largest still today) and, even so, the queue to enter exceeded 400 meters. The televised event impressed by the presence of Russians waving red and yellow flags, eager to try the iconic snack of capitalism, in the middle of Pushkin Square, a landmark of communist military parades.
Economist and Doctor in International Relations Igor Lucena believes that leaving McDonald’s has impacts that can go far beyond not being able to consume the world-famous hamburger anymore. “The country is closing itself off to foreign companies, it is like a symbol of a deglobalization process. McDonald’s is a symbol of purchasing parity, the Big Mac index is used as an international benchmark for comparing the minimum wage. Basically, this ceases to exist in Russia. The country no longer has an open stock exchange, the ruble is no longer traded, not having this index is much worse than not having the sandwich”, he analyzes.
For the expert, this withdrawal of Western capitalism from the country will not necessarily be reversed after the war. “If Russia expropriates stores, factories, what is the guarantee that international companies will return there? Maybe they won’t. What will become of the country after that we do not know. We have this context in which international banks left, McDonald’s that used to operate in the franchise system is also leaving. What will become of Russian franchisees? The international framework of trust falls apart”, reflects Lucena.
With 85% of its own stores and only a minority of franchisees, the operation in Russia represents 9% of McDonald’s global revenue. In a statement announcing the suspension of the stores, the company’s president, Chris Kempczinski, informed that the chain will continue to pay the salary of 62 thousand employees in the country and will maintain social assistance structures in the region. He also said the closure is initially temporary, but is subject to review in the coming months.
Indications that the situation may be more permanent than initially announced begin to emerge, with the news of a registration of the Tio Vanya trademark in Russia, on March 12, according to The Washington Post newspaper. A yellow and red logo that circulates on social networks impresses and generates jokes among internet users, due to the similarity with the famous golden arches of the American network, only lying down, forming the “B” of the Cyrillic alphabet, which corresponds, in the pronunciation, to the “V”. ” from “Vanya”.
The restaurant has not yet started, but the expectation is that it will take over the more than 800 closed McDonald’s stores in the country. The brand is namesake of a 19th century play written by Russian Anton Chekhov.
The previous week, Duma President Vyacheslav Volodin had suggested that Russian brands take over the structures abandoned by the American network. “They have announced that they are closing. Well, okay, close. But tomorrow at those places we shouldn’t have McDonald’s, but Uncle Vanya’s. The works must be preserved and prices reduced,” he suggested, in testimony reproduced by the Washington Post.
Golden Arches Theory
Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine and start a war puts to rest the curious Golden Arches Theory, formulated by Thomas Friedman, international relations columnist for the New York Times. According to him, countries with McDonald’s stores would never go to war with each other. In other words, capitalism and economic freedom would be the recipes for a more prosperous and peaceful world. Putin himself, however, had already put the theory to the ground when invading Georgia in 2008.
Would it be an illusion to believe that economic and political opening complete each other? Economist Igor Lucena explains that periods of liberalism and neo-Keynesianism, with more intervention, alternate and, although states have economic growth as a basis, there are times when the defense of national sovereignty overlaps. “For the past 20 days or so, we have entered a period of realism, in which the main focus of nations is the military defense of their borders. In these situations, nations put defense above their economic interests. So we also see Westerners, through sanctions, defending democracy and individual freedom, above economic harm,” he adds.
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