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I remember the evening news on TV when the first McDonald's restaurant opened in 1990 at Pushkin Square. There was a huge crowd of Russians outside, wanting to
by klausjensen 4y ago
I remember the evening news on TV when the first McDonald's restaurant opened in 1990 at Pushkin Square. There was a huge crowd of Russians outside, wanting to try the burger.
It was a sign of a more open world, something resembling an end of the cold war.
There was a sense of optimism in the West about a peaceful future with Russia.
It does not matter that McD itself is closing in Russia, but it does tell us something about what the political and security-climate has reverted to.
- baybal2 4y agoOne of my traumas from life in Russia during my childhood is the understanding that you live in a North Korea redux, and you have McDonalds, and other Western companies from democratic countries coming here, and feeding that regime. US politicians kept droning how terrible Russia was through whole 200X, yet allow their companies to "wage business on the free world" Can you imagine McDonalds in Pyongyang, and Don Thompson happily fellating political commissars in their boardroom? This is how I felt Western companies were behaving.
- scandox 4y agoI'd be interested in your opinion on the alternatives. Would it have been better for you (and the country) if those businesses had decided in the noughties that Russia was not democratic enough and pulled out? Do you think it would have made a major impact at that time? Or do you think it should have been tackled from an anti-corruption point of view with investigations into how those companies were conducting business?
- baybal2 4y ago
- FpUser 4y ago>"One of my traumas from life in Russia during my childhood is the understanding that you live in a North Korea redux, and you have McDonalds, and other Western companies from democratic countries coming here, and feeding that regime." A child traumatized by the thoughts about geopolitical issues?
- baybal2 4y ago
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]