McDonald's has announced that it will permanently leave Russia after more than 30 years, following the Ukraine invasion.
In March, shortly after the war began, the fast-food chain temporarily halted more than 800 restaurants in Russia. It followed in the footsteps of western businesses like Starbucks and Coca-Cola and suspended all business activity.
However now it is the end of an era, and McDonald's will no longer conduct business in Russia, BBC News reports.
The American multinational fast food corporation opened its first Russian location in 1990 in Moscow's Pushkin Square to a line of 30,000. Since then, over 800 restaurants opened in the country.
The chain landing in Russia was to symbolize ease in Cold War tensions. A year later, Russia opened up its economy to companies from the West following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
More than three decades later, one of the world's most lucrative corporations is pulling out of Russia in solidarity with Ukraine.
McDonald's will sell its business in Russia, stating that the humanitarian crisis "caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald's to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald's values."
McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski wrote a message to staff and suppliers following the closure and said: "This is a complicated issue that's without precedent and with profound consequences."
"Some might argue that providing access to food and continuing to employ tens of thousands of ordinary citizens, is surely the right thing to do," he continued.
"But it is impossible to ignore the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. And it is impossible to imagine the Golden Arches representing the same hope and promise that led us to enter the Russian market 32 years ago," he concluded.
The Russian restaurants will be de-arched, meaning that once the sale is finalized, the locations will be prohibited from using McDonald's name, logo, or menu in any context.
However, McDonald's has reiterated that its 62,000 employees in Russia will still be paid until the transaction closes and that they have an employment future with potential buyers.
