There’s a McDonald’s replacement in Russia — with a strangely familiar logo
In a March 12 trademark filing, Uncle Vanya’s yellow and red logo looks almost identical to the iconic Golden Arches of McDonald’s, but tilted 90 degrees to the right. They form part of the letter “B” in the Cyrillic alphabet, which corresponds to the “V” in “Vanya.”
Though none of these new restaurants have opened yet, the plan is apparently to take over existing shuttered McDonald’s restaurants. The new eatery takes its name from the 19th-century play “Uncle Vanya” by Russia’s Anton Chekhov.
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
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s lower house in parliament, said last week that Russian brands should take over McDonald’s locations. “They announced they are closing. Well, okay, close. But tomorrow in those locations we should have not McDonald’s, but Uncle Vanya’s,” he said. “Jobs must be preserved and prices reduced.”
Officials have also said Russia can ignore patents owned by entities from countries that Moscow sees as hostile, while Russian President Vladimir Putin last week endorsed a plan to nationalize foreign-owned businesses that have left the country. He said Russia must “introduce external management” on departing companies “and then transfer these enterprises to those who want to work.”
The moves pave the way for Uncle Vanya to fill the McDonald’s void in Russia.
The 1990 arrival of McDonald’s in the Soviet Union drew crowds as well as headlines, becoming a symbol of the West’s triumph over communism at the end of the Cold War. The Soviet Union collapsed in the following year. Since then, the American chain has gained popularity in Russia and Ukraine, both former members of the Soviet Union.
The Chicago-headquartered company has said it will keep paying full salaries for employees in Ukraine, where McDonald’s had 108 stores before the war, as well as in Russia, where the company had nearly 850 stores and 62,000 workers.
When McDonald’s opened its doors in Moscow 32 years ago, executives expressed confidence they would stay in Soviet Russia, come what may, The Washington Post reported.
This time, McDonald’s leaders are less upbeat.
Chris Kempczinski, the chief executive of McDonald’s, told employees that it was impossible to predict when the company could reopen in Russia. “We are experiencing disruptions to our supply chain along with other operational impacts,” he said in an email to employees that was disclosed earlier this month.
