Opinion – Raw Cooking: Why are Russians obsessed with fast food?

Today was the last day of operation of the McDonald’s fast-food chain in Russia – all the brand’s eateries in Russian territory will be closed in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. What was seen in the country were scenes of collective hysteria.

Naturally, the lines were huge. This was expected. If there are people willing to sleep in line for the new iPhone or for a Korean band concert, of course it would happen at the end of the Russian Mac.

Things get a lot weirder when a citizen of relative celebrity, a certain pianist named Luka Safronov, chains himself to the door of a McDonald’s in Moscow.

The individual was shouting that the fast-food chain “had no right” to close down operations in the country. Looks like it did, yes.

To top off this insane roll, there are people wanting to earn a lot from McDonald’s food and trinkets. Russian online auction site Avisto hosted ads for Big Macs that cost the equivalent of R$200 and brown paper bags with the brand’s logo at nearly R$2,000. The information is from the American Insider portal.

Why is it that Russians are obsessed with foreign fast food?

One possible explanation is that the opening of the first McDonald’s in 1990 was of tremendous symbolic importance for a nation that had spent decades locked into itself by the Soviet regime. Closing now symbolizes the return to isolation.

Another factor that can come into the balance concerns the food traditions of each place. The cold countries of northern Europe – put England, Scotland, Holland and Russia on this list – have gastronomy with an unsatisfactory reputation. It’s no surprise that fast food chains thrive and gain passionate fans in these places.

I doubt that the commotion would be so great if they decided to close the cafeterias in Spain, Italy or France.

(Follow and like Cozinha Bruta on social networks. Follow the posts on Instagram and twitter.) ​​