Last night, a Moscow McDonald’s was swamped with patrons desperate to buy the last Big Mac before the American giant closes its restaurants across Russia.
Hundreds of cars lined up in the snow outside the fast food place, with one witness saying the line stretched for nearly “half a mile.”
The scenes came after McDonald’s said it would close its 850 locations in Russia as Western companies continue to withdraw from the country in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s devastating invasion of Ukraine, which sparked outrage around the world.
It’s getting harder for Russians to get their hands on Western goods as new sanctions hit the country’s economy.
As the bombs continued to fall on Ukraine, video of the lineup showed dozens of cars waiting under McDonald’s iconic glowing yellow “M” signifying the people of Russia don’t like harsh sanctions.
As the camera panned, a line of passing cars could be seen curving around the roundabout, under the overpass, and receding into the distance.
A video of a queue outside a Moscow McDonald’s shows dozens of cars waiting under the iconic yellow McDonald’s letter. As the camera panned, a line of cars could be seen curving around the roundabout, under the overpass, and off into the distance.
When the chain first opened in 1990, long queues of Russians were also seen outside McDonald’s restaurants wanting to sample Western fast food.
The Kremlin propaganda machine relentlessly controlled the flow of information about the war in Ukraine, calling it a “special military operation” and selectively publishing footage portraying Kyiv as the aggressor.
However, he clearly failed to stop word of McDonald’s action from spreading as Russians lined up to get their fast food before it was too late.
The American company directly owns and operates most of its establishments in Russia, where it has had a cult following since opening a restaurant in Moscow in 1990, marking the end of the Cold War.
When the chain first opened, long queues of Russians were seen outside McDonald’s restaurants wanting to try Western fast food.
The company said it would continue to pay its 62,000 employees there “who have poured their heart and soul into our McDonald’s brand.”
In an open letter to McDonald’s employees, Chris Kempkinski, President and CEO, said that closing these stores for now is the right decision.
“Our values mean we cannot ignore the unnecessary human suffering going on in Ukraine,” Kempczynski said, adding that it is impossible to know when the company will be able to reopen its Russian stores.
“The situation for a global brand like ours is extremely complex and there are many considerations,” Kempczynski wrote in the letter.
McDonald’s was not the first company to be flooded with Russian customers after announcing the closure of business in the country.
Last week, shoppers flooded IKEA stores in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as Siberian outlets in Omsk and Novosibirsk, which had already closed to buy something at the last minute.
People enter a McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow in a file photo. Today, McDonald’s has 847 locations in Russia and is facing growing calls to leave the country.
People eat outside a McDonald’s fast food restaurant in Moscow in October 2021, but the giant’s 850 Russian restaurants are now closed due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
For example, McDonald’s works with hundreds of Russian suppliers and serves millions of customers every day.
McDonald’s has also temporarily closed 108 restaurants in Ukraine and continues to pay those employees.
McDonald’s could take a big financial hit from the closure. In recent regulatory filings, the Chicago-headquartered company said its restaurants in Russia and Ukraine generate 9 percent of its annual revenue, or about $2 billion.
Unlike other major franchise-owned fast food brands in Russia, including KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Burger King, McDonald’s owns 84 percent of its locations in Russia.
McDonald’s said Tuesday it has donated more than $5 million to its employee relief fund and relief efforts.
McDonald’s was joined by Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Electric, announcing on Tuesday that it was temporarily suspending operations in Russia.
Some companies, such as McDonald’s, say they will continue to pay their workers in Russia for the time being.
Speaking on Wednesday, a British professor said the scale of the sanctions by Western companies “might have shocked the Russian elite.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, Dr James Rogers, who teaches international journalism at the City of London University, said: “These companies are making these decisions now. It will be quite difficult to see how they can reverse them in the short term.
“This is an important symbol of how Russia sees the outside world.
“The scale of the sanctions may have shocked the Russian political elite and the Russian leadership, but Russia is preparing to try to survive on its own, and in part this means that these Western companies will not be represented there.”
Supermarket “Lenta” in Siberia is empty, customers inspect the shelves and rations introduced in Russia.
Consumers are being asked to limit the number of items in their shopping cart to ensure there is enough food.
Last week, shoppers rushed to stores to pick up last-minute deals in Moscow (pictured) and St. Petersburg, as well as Siberian outlets in Omsk and Novosibirsk, which closed today for the foreseeable future along with several other locations.
The country is facing its worst economic crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 after crippling sanctions were placed on almost its entire financial and corporate system.
As of the morning of March 9, 1 US dollar was equal to 133 Russian rubles. Prior to the February 24 invasion, its value was about 84 rubles to 1 US dollar, indicating a rapid decline in its value.
The government has more than doubled its interest rate to 20 percent in an attempt to stop the value of its currency from falling further.
A leading credit rating agency warned today that Russia will “inevitably” default on its debt as sanctions on Ukraine continue to hit the country’s economy.
The warning came from Fitch Ratings on Tuesday, which again downgraded Russia’s sovereign debt rating to junk territory from ‘B’ to ‘C’, saying the decision reflects a view that a default is ‘inevitable’.
Like other major rating agencies, Fitch already downgraded Russia earlier this month to junk status. categories of countries at risk of failing to repay their debt.
“The ‘C’ rating reflects Fitch’s view that a sovereign default is imminent,” the agency said in a statement, adding that the new downgrade was due to recent events “further undermining Russia’s willingness to service its public debt.”
Russia’s financial markets have been rocked by Western sanctions after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine, raising serious concerns about its ability and willingness to pay its debts.
Yesterday it was reported that anger is growing in Russia over its economic situation as frustrated shoppers found some shelves empty.
The Kremlin is desperate to quell any opposition to the brutal invasion of Ukraine, and a total of 13,500 demonstrators have been arrested since the start of the war, 100 of them today.
Anti-Putin sentiment is coming to the fore, with consumers being asked to limit the amount of items in their shopping carts as sanctions take effect.
Some say they may have to leave the country to provide a better life for their families as Russians return to the hardships of the 1990s, when the country experienced food lines and hyperinflation after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
One of the appeals to buyers in St. Petersburg said: “It is important that there is enough goods for everyone. We are forced to temporarily impose restrictions on high-demand goods. Up to ten pieces per purchase.
There are speculations that some products are already being rationed by Vladimir Putin, who expects a long period without a normal influx of Western goods and money.
Major retailers such as Zara, H&M, Ikea and many others have also suspended sales in Russia, closing their doors in many shopping malls in the Moscow capital.
The world’s leading fashion houses such as Gucci, Prada, Dior and Fenti are also closed from Monday.
Meanwhile, Michelle Bachelet, a senior UN human rights official, said that opportunities to criticize Russia’s state policy, in particular its decision to invade Ukraine, are “narrowed” by “illegal” detentions.