On March 8 McDonald’s decided to shut all its 847 stores in the country temporarily amid President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. As a result, people have been flocking at the stores to get that last bite. Although the announcement was made to temporarily close the stores, the unprecedented situation has created a sense of anxiety amongst people.
Similar to what happened at the peak of COVID-19, when people started hoarding on tissue papers, Russians are hogging on McDonald’s supplies and are selling their stock on the internet at mind-boggling prices.
Screengrabs of various people selling their McDonald’s food at sky-high prices has gone viral.
Items such as burgers, coke, nuggets, fried, and wraps were being sold separately and as a meal. For instance, a McDonald’s burger was listed for 40,000 Rubles. A meal packed in a takeaway bag was listed for 50,000 Rubles.
Forget drugs, gonna start smuggling McDonald’s burgers into Russia pic.twitter.com/ANFWBxnZ9F
— Not Jerome Powell (@alifarhat79) March 10, 2022
Several global companies are pulling the plug on Russia to condemn its invasion of Ukraine. An image of a fully stocked refrigerator, filled with McDonald’s fast-food items is also gaining traction on the internet.
The first McDonald’s opened in 1990, in Central Moscow, after the fall of the Soviet Union. The opening of the Golden Arches in Russia was symbolic of the tentacles of American capitalism being spread into Russian society.