After the departure of the McDonald’s chain of restaurants from the country and the gap they seem to have left in both the economy and the people, the Russian government seem to have come up with their own idea of a replacement called ‘Uncle Vanya’.
McDonald’s was one of the biggest franchises which ceased their operations in Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. The fast-food giant had over 800 restaurants in the nation which have now all been shut down, leaving many fans of the restaurants disappointed.
But now it would appear that the Russians have invented their own version of Maccas – albeit with a twist. More specifically, Russkoye Polye-Logistic LLC have filed for a trademark of a new brand called “Uncle Vanya” with a logo that’s strongly reminiscent of the popular yellow “M” in the red background, with the only difference being that it’s horizontal.
There’s strong belief among Russian officials that this new brand will be able to replace McDonald’s in the people’s consciousness, but that sentiment doesn’t seem to be shared among Twitter users, who were quick to pick up this new logo and share their feelings about it.
‘The Russian population will never buy this. Everyone knows, once you’ve had Mac, you can’t go back,’ said one user.
The departure of McDonald’s from Russia was met with huge disappointment by the Russian people, as it was the first fast-food chain to establish itself within the former Soviet Union and has since become a part of their daily lives.
Some went as far as to chain themselves outside the restaurants in order to protest the franchise’s departure from the nation. In regards to when (or if) they plan to reopen their restaurants in the country, the company pointed out in a statement that right now such a thing is ‘impossible’ to predict.