So as you may (or may not) know, McDonald's left Russia and then a little later Belarus too. But like everywhere else, these were franchises, so the brand is gone but not the infrastructure or the supply chains. In Russia, they got rebranded quickly into Vkusno I Tochka and kept selling the same stuff just off brand.
In Belarus, where I moved over a year ago, it was a little funnier. There's no brand at all so far. The McDonald's signs were replaced with a stylized "We're open" sign ("Мы открыты") with the yellow W/M faintly, barely resembling the golden arches.
Another difference here is a couple of new local dishes. When they first appeared, they were called with words for Polish nobility (like "Шляхецкi," if you know what I mean) because the bourgeoisie here still thinks in these terms and ofc waiting for the full on capitalism to happen. But very quickly those got changed after some backlash.
Anyway, someone in c/news suggested I do a review long time ago. So here's me having a "Native" burger ("родны" means "close to heart" really) with some new mushroom sauce, thyme french fries, and raspberry-ginger tea.
Review: It's still shit. "McDonald's" or no, it's still shit ok.
Put simply, I wouldn't be here if the image western media and politicians are working hard to create about Belarus and Lukashenko were true. My quality of life has improved, but more importantly I finally feel sane. Pragmatism with socialist characteristics does wonders for my soul. Not everybody here feels this way, obviously, and the cult of the west is obviously waning but is still strong, especially in big cities and among the more affluent. But you could say this about many other countries.