I’m lovin’ it… a la Belarusian. After the American fast food chain left McDonald’s, the company that took over the restaurants in Belarus announced their renaming to “Mak.by”, in order to have a clear separation from the counterparts in neighboring Russia.

Until recently, it was decided to rename the former McDonald’s in Belarus to “Vkusno & tochka”, as has already been done in Russia. Unknown why, however, there was a change of plans.

Last November, McDonald’s announced its withdrawal from the Belarus market, citing problems in the supply chain. “The stores of the chain will no longer operate as McDonald’s and will not serve our menu,” he had underlined.

The multinational fast-food chain was among the first Western firms to leave Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions against Moscow. The new owner Alexander Gorov renamed the restaurants “Vkusno & tochka”, accepting modifications to the brand name and the names of the dishes offered.

In Belarus, the new owner adopted “Mak.by” as the brand name among about 1,500 suggestions from customers and staff. However, the correlation with the known chain is obviousdespite the logo and menu change.

Last month, the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko had revealed that he personally intervened in the renaming process, although in the autumn he had expressed himself with disparaging comments about the chain that operates in more than 100 countries of the world. “We too can offer as much as McDonald’s – for those who want it – and even better! (…) Are you saying that we don’t have anyone who can cut a bun in half and put a piece of meat, potatoes and some salad in between?”, he said decisively at the time.