Vladimir Putin is continuing his battle against the west, and this time he is targeting the golden arches. According to a report by Vox, Putin is randomly closing McDonald’s fast food locations because the United States chose to support the Ukrainian government and their stance against Russia.
News of the alleged store closings were first reported by Russian site Yopolis, which combed through various Russian news reports to find McDonald’s that were suddenly closed or facing legal troubles. In response to those closing the Russian website posted a map with the overall results.
The yellow dots show McDonald’s locations that are currently closed for upgrades or renovations, while legal violations have been reported with orange dots. The red dots show locations where at least one McDonald’s has been shut down. An examination of each dot shows the number of locations closed, being renovated, or facing legal woes.
The original report cites that some locations are truly only being renovated for an updated look. However, it is hard to believe that the sudden closures at many other locations are not at least in some way related to Vladimir Putin’s recent crusade against Western interests.
Russian officials has a history of banning US products and company’s during times of politically driven international politicking, so the closure of many locations may be a result of their efforts. Officials would likely not push out a giant American company all at once, for fear that officials in the United States would act in kind and limit Russia’s involvement in American business interests.
Approximately 437 McDonald’s operate inside of Russia’s borders, and they purchase nearly 85 percent of their supplies from Russian companies.
Russian officials have proven time and time again that they will bite off their nose to spite their face, and this may be another example of their hubris resulting from the Ukraine situation.