The Iron Curtain that separated Eastern and Western Europe for decades has just collapsed. Now the fast food chain, beloved by Americans and many others, could serve Big Macs to Russian customers.
Of course, Russians can eat elsewhere and buy other goods – after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many home-grown chains appeared throughout the vast country.
“Coke, Pepsi, McDonald’s were symbols of the Westernization of Russia, the opening of Russia to the world. And the fact that these companies are leaving… signals and highlights the extent to which Russia is closing and withdrawing into itself,” said Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, professor of Russian politics at the Institute of Russia at King’s College London.
That first McDonald’s on Pushkinskaya Square, known to Russians as Pushkinskaya Square, seated 700 customers and for many years was the company’s largest store in the world. The young Russian middle class, who grew up in the 1990s, saw McDonald’s as something cool and alluringly foreign, a restaurant where you could bring friends to celebrate special birthdays.
As the 21st century progressed, the chain seemed less of a powerful symbol of American culture, but remained a favorite place for Russian students to meet for affordable lunches or dates, and also offered a quick and cheap meal option for others. Its branches also gave jobs to tens of thousands of Russians.
All this is not now, at least not in the foreseeable future. “Our values mean that we cannot ignore the unnecessary human suffering going on in Ukraine,” McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczynski said Tuesday in an employee address announcing the company’s suspension of operations in the country. He added that it was “impossible to predict” when his restaurants might reopen. CNN has reached out to McDonald’s for confirmation of a final closing date for its restaurants, but has yet to hear back.
“The end of an era or not is hard to say now, many observers fear what it might be, and it will depend on how long it takes Russia to get through a difficult, dark, poisonous authoritarian political regime. slash-totalitarian dictatorial period,” Sharafutdinova said by phone. “We are also very clear that moving away from this will require a lot of effort – social, political, economic and leadership.”
Reputational wound
Many ordinary Russians are still reeling from the shock of the events of the last two weeks. Because news coverage of the war is tightly controlled by the state, it’s hard to gauge exactly how much their world has changed with the imposition of Western sanctions.
But economic pain is already being felt as the ruble depreciates and banking controls tighten. While some wealthy Russians have struggled to sell assets abroad and even leave the country while they were still able, less wealthy people have fewer options.
Obviously, the most immediate impact will be on those who work for Western companies that have suspended operations even though their employers have promised continued support.
In a statement, Kempchinski said the 62,000 employees in Russia “who have poured their heart and soul into our McDonald’s brand to serve their communities” will continue to be paid. He also noted the impact on “hundreds of local, Russian suppliers and partners who produce products for our menu and support our brand.”
Swedish furniture giant IKEA, which first opened its doors in Russia in 2000 and now has 17 stores across the country, said its decision to suspend all exports and imports to Russia and Belarus and stop all IKEA operations in Russia would have a direct impact. for 15,000 workers.
“The ambitions of the groups of companies are long-term, and we have provided employment and stable income in the near future and are supporting them and their families in the region,” IKEA said in a statement.
For other Russians, the impact, while less direct, can be demoralizing on two levels, according to Thomas Chamorro-Premusic, professor of business psychology at University College London. First, they will lose access to the products and services they use, but also, and perhaps more painfully, they will feel a reputational wound from being “ostracized and criticized by the world,” he said in an email.
Of course, the reaction in different sections of Russian society will be different, Sharafutdinova notes. Some of the companies suspending their operations in Russia are luxury brands whose products would be out of reach for the vast majority of Russians.
But others, like IKEA, Starbucks or even McDonald’s, “were places visited, used and consumed by Russia’s middle class” on a regular basis in urban areas, she said, and a large number of people will be affected by their loss. “There will be replacements, but this is another symbol of the middle class for Russians, and they will lose this access,” she said.
Outside these urban areas, where views are more cosmopolitan, Sharafutdinova added, the reaction is likely to be one of defiance in the face of sanctions, as the West is perceived as turning its back on Russia.
These Russians “will see themselves as a sort of Russian patriot who cares about Russia’s national interests because that’s how the government presents it… they’ll be in defiant mode and consolidate behind the leadership and say, ‘OK, we’d better build our economy’.” – she said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Friday that Western sanctions represent an opportunity for Russia’s $1.5 trillion economy, which is the 11th largest in the world.
“Recent years have shown that where Westerners imposed restrictions on us, we acquired new competencies and restored old ones at a new technological level,” Putin said, speaking with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow.
“This is a time of opportunity to move towards strengthening technological and economic sovereignty,” Putin added.
job loss
Some in Russia are reacting to the departure of Western brands with black humor. New memes are gaining momentum on social media, such as saying that IKEA’s giant plush sharks, previously a craze in Russia, were to be stockpiled, or indicating that McDonald’s food is now sold on Avito, the Russian equivalent of eBay or Craig’s List. One twitter user published photograph of people queuing at McDonald’s on Pushkinskaya Square in 1990 with the ironic caption (in Russian): “Moscow, opening of a McDonald’s restaurant, March 2025.”
However, the symbolism of the world leaving Russia will have an emotional and psychological impact, Chamorro-Premusic said.
“It’s not about the functional loss due to overpaying for furniture or not having your favorite burger or coffee, but that you have become public enemy number one. Under any bad leader or despotic ruler, the citizens of the country suffer. most.”
Job losses could also ensue if companies decide to shut down operations permanently rather than just suspend operations, Chamorro-Premusic added. “These are big employers, and just like they created a lot of jobs when they came in, jobs will disappear if they leave,” he said.
But this does not mean that these companies will say goodbye to Russia forever. Of course, companies can “return very easily if there is a significant political change, a change in government, a change in reputation,” Chamorro-Premusic said.
“Of course, this is a big market for companies, so they will have the same incentive to come back as they did the first time. So if there are no moral barriers or brand reputation barriers, they will come back.”
Meanwhile, according to Putin, Russia and Belarus will overcome the difficulties associated with the sanctions, and even “acquire more competencies, more opportunities to feel independent, self-sufficient and, ultimately, to benefit.” [from them]as it was in previous years.