"M-e Julgeoeo B"... Russia Unveils 'Fake' After McDonald's Withdrawal

Logo of the Russian version of McDonald's, 'Banya Ajeossi (Uncle Vanya)'.
Photo by Russian Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] McDonald's, a leading American fast-food franchise that faced public backlash for continuing operations in Russia, has announced its withdrawal from the Russian market. Meanwhile, Russia has unveiled a new Russian version of McDonald's logo that imitates the iconic 'M' of McDonald's.

According to the British daily Daily Express on the 16th (local time), the new logo of Russia's fast-food chain "Banya Ajeossi" was submitted to the Russian Intellectual Property Office on the 12th.

Earlier, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Russian State Duma (lower house), hinted at the emergence of a new chain on the 10th, two days after McDonald's announced the suspension of operations in Russia, stating, "Banya Ajeossi will operate instead of McDonald's."

The brand name is known to be derived from the work "Uncle Vanya," included in the 1897 play collection by the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov.

The revealed logo features a yellow Cyrillic letter 'B', representing the first letter of "Banya," on a red background. Below it, the Russian phrase "Дядя Ваня," meaning "Uncle Vanya," is written in white.

However, criticism has arisen that Banya Ajeossi's logo plagiarizes the colors and symbol of the original McDonald's logo. The British Daily Express pointed out, "Those with eagle eyes can see that a yellow bar was hastily added to the iconic 'M' shape of McDonald's, and even the bottom part does not completely match."

Meanwhile, McDonald's announced on the 14th that it will close 850 locations across Russia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.