McDonald’s Quits Russia as Country’s Isolation Increases
- Fast-food chain was one of first Western brands in Russia
- Burger company to seek buyer for its Russian store network
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McDonald’s Corp. said it will pull out of Russia after more than 30 years of operation in the country, stepping up the corporate response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The departure carries huge symbolic as well as economic weight because the fast-food chain was one of the first Western brands to set up shop in Russia when it opened a branch in Moscow’s Pushkin Square in 1990, just before the fall of the Soviet Union. A reported 30,000 people lined up at the restaurant on its opening day.