May 23, 2022, 09:52am
A new company is taking over the fast-food chain in Russia after McDonald's decided to leave the country following the invasion of Ukraine.
A man walks past a closed McDonald's in Moscow.
The Mcdonald's golden arches logo and company name were photographed outside of a former McDonald's location in a city just outside of Moscow.
It's not clear if other Russian McDonald's locations took down signs on Monday.
The new general director of McDonald's Russia, identified by news outlets as Oleg Paroev, said in an interview that the new company will take down all golden arches signs.
The removal of the logo marks the beginning of the process of removing the McDonald's logo and branding.
McDonald's closed its Russian locations in protest of the invasion of Ukraine. The fast food company said it would leave Russia permanently. McDonald's sold its Russian business to Alexander Govor, who operates 25 franchise locations in Siberia. McDonald's first opened in Russia in 1990 after the fall of the Soviet Union as a major symbol of American capitalism.
Russia is known for its looser trademark rules when it comes to replicating Western products and services, especially in the face of sanctions and penalties stemming from the war. In March, Russia said it planned to legalized the import of gray goods, products shipped without trademark owners permission and effectively legalized patent theft from companies from countries deemed hostile to Russsia. The Russian parliament approved a trademark application for a fast food chain called Uncle Vanya's that was nearly identical to McDonald's.
McDonald says it is leaving Russia after more than 30 years.
McDonald's exiting Russia after 32 years is the end of an era.
Russians line up for the last Big Mac.
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