Which Moscow square hosted the first McDonald's in the Soviet Union?

Pushkin Square in Moscow hosted the first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union.

The restaurant opened on January 31, 1990, after roughly 14 years of planning and negotiations led by George Cohon, president of McDonald’s Canada. Its arrival was more than a restaurant opening: it became a highly visible symbol of the Soviet Union’s late-period economic reforms and growing contact with the West.

About 38,000 customers visited on opening day, with long queues forming outside the Moscow location. The restaurant was created through cooperation between McDonald’s Canada and Soviet municipal authorities, and it relied heavily on locally sourced ingredients and Soviet employees.

Pushkin Square is often confused with Red Square because both are famous Moscow landmarks, but the first restaurant was at Pushkin Square. McDonald’s continued operating in Russia after the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, eventually expanding widely before withdrawing from the Russian market in 2022.