McDonald's Plans To Open 70 New Russian Locations

Recently, McDonald's has closed all locations in Crimea due to the political turmoil in the region, but the international fast food chain is planning on opening new locations in neighboring Russia despite the political climate.  The Moscow Times has reported that McDonald's plans on opening 70 new locations in 30 Russian cities. These cities include the Central Federal District, which borders Ukraine.

McDonald's has suffered some backlash recently from anti-western politicians. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the Russian deputy Parliamentary speaker, has called for bans on the fast food chain. He said at a hearing earlier this year, "It's muck, why poison our citizens," about McDonald's presence in Russia.

In addition to the political resentment, McDonald's now must fight against a new local Russian burger chain. RusBurger replaced the closed McDonald's locations in Crimea.According to McDonald's website, there are already 425 locations in Russia.