.png)
Increasing number of multinational corporations are pulling out of Russia in protest of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. McDonald’s and Starbucks have closed down their restaurants and cafes across Russia. Coca-Cola has also suspended its operations, while PepsiCo is also pulling some of its products from the country.
These companies’ decision to pull out of Russia is part of a worldwide boycott after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and war crimes committed against innocent people.
After receiving some external pressure from McDonald’s customers around the world, McDonald’s CEO issued a statement temporarily closing all their restaurants in Russia.
“The conflict in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Europe has caused unspeakable suffering to innocent people. As a System, we join the world in condemning aggression and violence and praying for peace,” announced CEO Chris Kempczinski.
Though McDonald’s has suspended operations, they are continuing to pay their employees.
After McDonald’s suspended its operations, several other multinationals like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, StarBucks and Unilever equally followed suit. However, PepsiCo, Danone and Uniliever have decided to still offer some of their products which they believe are essential to the survival of people in Russia for now.
Though the decision by these Multinational companies to suspend their operations has been praised widely, it has been met with anger by some Russian politicians. A top Russian politician, Vyacheslav Volodin, said, "McDonald's announced that they are closing. Well, good, close down! Tomorrow there won't be McDonald's, but Uncle Vanya's."
His comments are in response to Russia’s plan to let a Russian brand takeover McDonald’s trademark in Russia as politicians hastily work on finding replacements for McDonald’s.
New Russian fast-food chain Uncle Vanya has filed for a patent with the Russian authorities. Its logo is the shape of a letter B, which, in Russian is the begging letter of the Russian spelling for Vanya. The logo is the famous McDonald’s golden arches rotated on its side to create a B shape.