Last orders at Moscow Maccies
Following the news that McDonald’s would be closing all of its Russian stores, enormous queues have appeared at a Moscow drive-thru.
Related: McDonald’s closes all restaurants in Russia following Ukraine invasion
While the Kremlin heavily controls news from the West, it appears that news of McDonald’s boycott has broken to the Russian people. Hundreds of cars lined up outside of the capital’s Maccies drive-thru, with lines continuing for almost “half a mile.”
It appears as if the announcement made by Mcdonald’s on Tuesday was not put into action immediately. News of the enormous queues was revealed on Twitter, with user @raging545 seemingly posting the first video.
VIDEO from #Moscow tonight at a McDonalds drive through after the fast food chain said it was pulling out of #Russia. The line of cars stretched almost a half mile. #Ukraine #UkraineRussiaWar #Russia #Putin #UkraineInvasion #Russians pic.twitter.com/i9Ftd3X7HG
— raging545 – @raging545@mastodon.social (@raging545) March 8, 2022
“VIDEO from #Moscow tonight at a McDonalds drive-through after the fast food chain said it was pulling out of #Russia. The line of cars stretched almost a half mile,” they wrote.
Such scenes have been compared to when the first Mcdonald’s opened in Moscow back in 1990. The BBC‘s Steve Rosenberg tweeted: “In 1990 I was in the queue when McDonald’s opened its 1st restaurant in Moscow: when iron curtains were crumbling & Russia was embracing the West.”
In 1990 I was in the queue when McDonald's opened its 1st restaurant in Moscow: when iron curtains were crumbling & Russia was embracing the West. Today McDonald's announced it is temporarily closing its 850 restaurants in Russia. Hugely symbolic.
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) March 8, 2022
McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczinski announced the news in an email to its staff members, where he wrote: 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.
“In recent days, I have spoken with and heard from many in our System about our operations in Russia. The situation is extraordinarily challenging for a global brand like ours, and there are many considerations.
“For 66 years, we have operated with the belief that communities are made better when there’s a McDonald’s nearby.
The queue outside the first McDonald’s in Moscow when it opened in 1990 by Alexander Steshanov. pic.twitter.com/09VoTHbIIN
— Davenant 📸 (@MarcDavenant) March 8, 2022
“In Russia, we employ 62,000 people who have poured their heart and soul into our McDonald’s brand to serve their communities.
“We work with hundreds of local, Russian suppliers and partners who produce the food for our menu and support our brand. And we serve millions of Russian customers each day who count on McDonald’s.
“In the thirty-plus years that McDonald’s has operated in Russia, we’ve become an essential part of the 850 communities in which we operate.
In Russia, after the news about the closure of McDonald's, queues lined up in front of restaurants.
The establishments of this network are still working, but delivery has already disappeared from local online services. pic.twitter.com/cMpkhCkQ5t
— Anonymous Operations (@AnonOpsSE) March 8, 2022
“At the same time, our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine.”
Related links:
- Ukrainian brewery is now making beer that’s easy to turn into Molotov cocktails
- Ukraine border guards who told Russian warship ‘go f*** yourself’ might be alive
- Astonishing video shows hundreds of Ukrainians force Russian tanks to stop by walking at them
