Today is Russia Day. A muted affair compared to the pompous and bellicose displays seen on Victory Day, today is the day Russia commemorates no longer being a part of the Soviet Union and becoming the Russian Federation instead.
Unlike other patriotic holidays in the country, most ordinary Russians pay little attention to its significance. The end of the Soviet Union and the ensuing ‘Perestroika’ period was filled with economic hardship and upheaval, and is therefore a time many would prefer to forget.
Today, for most Russians, is just a nice day off, filled with wholesome family activities, the odd bit of cultural indulgence in museums and the like, and a lot of socialising with family and friends, nothing more.
The chain’s new owners are trying to send a message: the new ‘McDonald’s’ will be a truly Russian one.
However, there is one entity that is trying to encourage and capitalise on the muted patriotic feeling of the holiday, ‘Tasty – and that’s that’.
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