1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: a show that takes a bite out of history one 4 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:21,120 Speaker 1: day at a time. I'm Gabe Lousier, and today we're 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: looking at the time when Ronald McDonald's set up shop 6 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 1: in Soviet Russia. The day was January thirty one. The 7 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: first McDonald's in Russia opened for business in Moscow's Pushkin Square. 8 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: It hadn't been easy to open a fast food restaurant 9 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 1: and the heart of the Soviet Union, but after fourteen 10 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: years of negotiations, McDonald's finally got permission to do just that. 11 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: It probably helped that the project had been spearheaded not 12 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: by the American mcdone olds Corporation, but by its subsidiary 13 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:07,279 Speaker 1: to the North, McDonald's of Canada. The then chairman, George Cohen, 14 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,279 Speaker 1: had aggressively pursued the expansion ever since his first meeting 15 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: with Soviet representatives at the nineteen seventy six Montreal Olympics. 16 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: Cold war politics had made the deal a tough sell 17 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,199 Speaker 1: for most of the nineteen eighties, but eventually Soviet leader 18 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: Mikhail Gorbachev came around to the idea. The golden arches 19 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: aligned well with his plan to rescue the country's failed 20 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: economy through Western style market reforms. Those efforts would be 21 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: largely unsuccessful, but the Moscow McDonald's was anything but. From 22 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: the outside, the restaurant didn't look much different from many 23 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: other McDonald's built in the nineteen eighties or early nineties. 24 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: The major exception was the sign, which included a Soviet 25 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: flag beneath the familiar golden arches. Inside, the spacious dining 26 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: room was decorated with an international theme, eat with a 27 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: model of London's Big Ben. The location had been designed 28 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: with large crowds in mind. In fact, it was the 29 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: biggest McDonald's in the world at the time, with enough 30 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: seating for seven hundred guests inside and another two hundred outdoors. However, 31 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 1: the Russian public's interest in fast food turned out to 32 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: be greater than expected. Customers began lining up outside the 33 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: restaurant as early as four am, six hours before it 34 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: scheduled opening. The weather was freezing, but the queue just 35 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: kept on growing. By ten am, more than five thousand 36 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: people had crowded the square, forming a line that stretched 37 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: the length of five American football fields. The Moscow McDonald's 38 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: was big, but it wasn't nearly big enough. The restaurant 39 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: ended up staying open for hours later than planned. By 40 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: the time the exhausted staff finally closed the doors for 41 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: the night, they had served more than thirty thousand customers, 42 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: a world record at the time. It had been a 43 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: truly harrowing day for the new employees, who had all 44 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: undergone a full month of training and preparation. Despite the 45 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,399 Speaker 1: stressful opening, though they felt lucky to be there. More 46 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: than twenty seven thousand people had applied for a coveted 47 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: job at the country's first fast food restaurant. The company 48 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: ultimately hired just over six hundred employees, most of whom 49 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: were young and had never had a job before. McDonald's 50 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: purposely chose less experienced applicants because it thought they would 51 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: have an easier time adhering to the company's Western style 52 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: service policies. At the time, Soviet cafes had a reputation 53 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: for dour, unfriendly service, but McDonald's expected employees to greet 54 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: every customer with a smile. Russians weren't used to smiling 55 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: much in public, but it was a requirement of the job. 56 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,839 Speaker 1: According to Anna Patrick, Nina, one of the original cashiers. 57 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: She later described the learning curve employees faced, saying quote, 58 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: we were asked, can you smile for eight hours straight? 59 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: We all said yes, of course, but it turns out 60 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: it's harder than you think. Excessive smiling was a foreign 61 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: concept that took some getting used to, but on the whole, 62 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: the Russian people were surprisingly receptive to McDonald's and its 63 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 1: Western ways. After nearly a century of socialism, it must 64 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: have been surreal to have such a famous symbol of 65 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: capitalism suddenly appear in your own backyard. For those hoping 66 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,239 Speaker 1: for change in their country, though, it was a welcome 67 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: glimpse at another way of living. On opening day, a 68 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: retired Soviet Army veterans said as much himself. When asked 69 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: why he'd braved the crowd, he replied, quote, we were 70 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: interested in another life and what it looked like. A 71 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: Soviet journalist on hand for the event also noted the 72 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,839 Speaker 1: juxtaposition of having a McDonald's in Moscow. He called the 73 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: restaurant quote the expression of America's rationalism and pragmatism toward food, 74 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: and then went on to say that quote its contrast 75 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: with our own unrealized pretensions is both sad and challenging. 76 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: The contrast he was alluding to was that the new 77 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: McDonald's had a seemingly endless supply of food, while the 78 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: average Soviet store struggled to stock even the most basic necessities. 79 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: The company's secret was that it could afford to import 80 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: of its ingredients and privately manufacture the rest, but too 81 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: much of the public McDonald's bounty seemed almost magical, which 82 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,719 Speaker 1: only served to highlight how grim conditions were for everyone else. 83 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,919 Speaker 1: McDonald's even seemed to play into that perspective itself. The 84 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 1: ad campaign for the restaurant's opening used the slogan if 85 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: you can't go to America, come to McDonald's in Moscow. 86 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: That said, most Russian customers didn't eat at McDonald's to 87 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: make a political statement. They went for the experience and 88 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: for the chance to indulge in a small pleasure during 89 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: a tumultuous time in their nation's history. That appeal was 90 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: so great that the restaurant quickly became one of the 91 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: most popular spots in the city. Moscow. Sightseeing tours added 92 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:11,599 Speaker 1: it to their routes, and countless couples went there on 93 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:16,599 Speaker 1: first dates. Dining at McDonald's was no small investment either. 94 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: In ninety a big mac cost three and a half roubles, 95 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: which was about half a day's wages for the average Russian. 96 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: Some customers made sure they got the most for their 97 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: money by taking home the disposable packaging from their meals 98 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 1: and hanging it on their walls as souvenirs. In that way, 99 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: and in so many others, the arrival of McDonald's in 100 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: Moscow was a sign of shifting attitudes among the Soviet public. 101 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: As one young customer put it on opening day, quote, 102 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: people say the West is bad, but the food is good. 103 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: That growing open mindedness led to bigger changes as well. 104 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: Less than two years after McDonald's entered the Russian market, 105 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,039 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union collapsed and Mikhail corbet Shows stepped down 106 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 1: as the country's leader. The Soviet republics all declared their 107 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: independence soon after and began the arduous task of rebuilding 108 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 1: their respective economies and infrastructure. Amidst all the excitement and uncertainty, 109 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: the Moscow McDonald's remained a musty attraction. Although its food 110 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: was relatively expensive, the restaurant continued to boast our long 111 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: lines for the first several years of its operation. That 112 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,119 Speaker 1: success eventually led to the opening of more and more 113 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: McDonald's in Russia. By March of two, the company had 114 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:39,679 Speaker 1: eight hundred and forty seven locations there, with about sixty 115 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: two thousand employees to run them. As you likely heard, though, 116 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: three decades of steady expansion came to a close that 117 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: same month due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Out of 118 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: solidarity with Ukrainians and in light of pressure from critics, 119 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: McDonald's chose to pause its Russian operations for the foreseeable future. 120 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: When the announcement was made, many Russians race to their 121 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: local McDonald's for one last meal, flooding the queues, just 122 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: as they had done thirty two years earlier. The arrival 123 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: of McDonald's had heralded the opening of a country to 124 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: the west. Ask for what its departure signifies, Well, we'll 125 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: just have to wait and see. I'm Gay, Bluesier, and 126 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 127 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,200 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you want to keep up 128 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 129 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC Show. You can 130 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,560 Speaker 1: also rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, or 131 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 1: you can send your feedback directly by writing to This 132 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: Day at iHeart media dot com. Thanks as always to 133 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,600 Speaker 1: Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks to you 134 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 135 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 1: another day in history class the St.