Opening day of the first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union, 1990
Until the 1980’s, the communist Soviet Union banned anything that was Western and associated with capitalism, so when the first branch of McDonald’s opened in Moscow in 1990, it was an extraordinary event.
The first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union opened in January 31, 1990, and as the photo depicts, it was much anticipated. The anticipation can be excused, since this wasn’t only the first American chain to make it to the Soviet Union, but the first fast food chain.