When the first McDonald’s opened in Moscow in 1990, it was a gastronomic and cultural turning point in the Soviet Union. All 850 branches are now closing. Sauce packets are booming on the black market.
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Frank Nienhuysen
Sometimes a prima ballerina breaks out and can’t help it. Maria Alexandrova has danced in “Giselle” and “Swan Lake” in the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet. A few years ago, she responded to the rumor that many ballerinas go to McDonald’s: “That’s the truth. There are a lot of happy hormones there, so ballet artists who are used to cage work just have to go there,” she said. “I eat everything there.”