Russian President Boris Yeltsin shakes hands with a staff member at a McDonald's restaurant in Moscow, 1990. /Gennady Galperin/Reuters
It was one of the first big name-western retail companies to jump into the Russian market, but now U.S. fast-food giant McDonald's has said it will permanently leave Russia and sell its business there after more than 30 years of operations.
The decision follows the company closing all of its 850 restaurants in the country in March, where it employed some 62,000 people.
The move has been made long term due to "the humanitarian crisis" in Ukraine and an "unpredictable operating environment" that McDonald's said had made doing business in Russia "no longer tenable."
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The first McDonald's restaurant in Moscow was opened in 1990, and came to represent an easing of Cold War tensions.
A year after, the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia opened its economy to Western companies.
However, three decades later, McDonald's is one of many corporations leaving the country.
Soviet customers stand in line outside the just opened first McDonald's in the Soviet Union in Moscow on January 31, 1990. /Vitaly Armand/AFP
McDonald's said it was looking to sell its "entire portfolio" of Russian restaurants to a local buyer.
However, the company intends to start "de-Arching" the restaurants, which after the sale will no longer be able to use the McDonald's name, logo, menu, or branding.
In Russia, McDonald's directly manages more than 80 percent of the restaurants bearing its name, which accounts for 9 percent of the company's revenue.
"We're exceptionally proud of the 62,000 employees who work in our restaurants," said CEO Chris Kempczinski in a statement.
The iconic golden arches will soon disapppear from outside the 850 Russian stores, like this one in Moscow. /Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
"Their dedication and loyalty to McDonald's make today's announcement extremely difficult," he added.
"However, we have a commitment to our global community and must remain steadfast in our values. And our commitment to our values means that we can no longer keep the Arches shining there."
Russia's military assault on Ukraine has triggered unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow, sparking an exodus of foreign corporations including H&M, Starbucks and Ikea.
Earlier on Monday, French automaker Renault announced it was selling its business in the country.
The firm said its 68 percent of shares in carmaker Avtovaz would be sold to a national science institute, while its stake in Renault Russia would go to the city of Moscow, marking the first major nationalization of the West's economic disentanglement with Russia.