McDonald’s days ago closed all its branches in Russia, as part of a wave of companies that left the country after its invasion of Ukraine. But a Russian fast-food franchise is already looking to fill the void left by, changing its logo to an oddly familiar one.
The new yellow and red logo of the Russian franchise Uncle Vanya looks almost identical to the distinctive golden arches of McDonald’s, but slanted in a horizontal. That is, instead of the arches forming a letter “M” they are part of a letter “B” in the Cyrillic alphabet, which corresponds to the “V” in “Vanya”.
Trademark squatting has begun in Russia.
On March 12th, a trademark application was filed for the McDonald’s logo with the words “Uncle Vanya.”
The Russian State Duma had earlier suggested that Russia would replace all McDonald’s with “Uncle Vanya’s.”
h/t @Oh_89 #McDonalds pic.twitter.com/JlUfkLK67J
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) March 16, 2022
The trademark application appeared online last 12 March after Moscow removed the protection of patent holders who were registered in “enemy” countries, a measure that occurred after the departure of companies in response to the invasion Ukrainian Russian.
Although none of these new restaurants has not yet opened, according to The Washington Post, is part of a plan to take over the existing closed McDonald’s restaurants . The new restaurant takes its name from the 19th century play “Uncle Vanya” by the Russian Anton Chekhov.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, said last week that Russian brands should take over of McDonald’s premises. “They announced that they are closing. OK that’s fine. But tomorrow in those places we shouldn’t have McDonald’s, but Uncle Vanya’s,” he said. “Jobs must be preserved and prices reduced.”
Also the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, supported a plan last week to nationalize foreign-owned companies that left the country. He said that these companies should be “transferred to those who want to work”.
These initiatives would clear the way for emerging franchises like Uncle Vanya to fill the void of McDonald’s in Russia.
McDonald’s leaves, but continues to pay its employees
Following the example of other companies, McDonald’s announced last week that it would suspend operations in almost 850 Russian locations.
The company said in a statement that “at this time, it is impossible to predict when we will be able to reopen our restaurants in Russia. But keeps paying his 62,500 Russian employees and expect the closure to cost around 50 million dollars per month.
McDonald’s opened its first location in central Moscow in January 1990, becoming the first American fast food restaurant to enter the Soviet Union. His arrival symbolized the mighty triumph of the West after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The day of its inauguration was a sensation, with thousands of people lining up to enter the restaurant of 550 seats. At the end of the day, the restaurant’s 30 registers had registered 30,000 foods.
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