Copycats of Western Brands Thrive in Russia Amid Sanctions

Copycats of Western Brands Thrive in Russia Amid Sanctions
People sit on the terrace of a closed McDonald's restaurant in Moscow on Aug. 21, 2014. Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
Nicholas Dolinger
Updated:

The mass exodus of international brands from the Russian Federation has prompted the emergence of knock-off imitators, which have attempted to fill the void of Western capital while maintaining a sense of the familiar with subtle alterations of known foreign brands.

When McDonald’s suspended activities in Russia on March 8 following a period of public backlash in the early weeks of the war, its franchises were quickly filled by an indigenous Russian competitor called “Uncle Vanya,” a brand that modifies the iconic golden arches of McDonald’s to represent the Cyrillic character “В,” which forms the “v” sound in “Vanya.”