It’s February 1st. This day in 1990, the very first McDonald’s opened in Moscow, after 14 years of negotiations and a moment where the USSR was softening its economic policy — and heading towards its eventual collapse.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what it meant for the most American of brands to land behind the iron curtain, and the role of cultural forces in ushering in the end of the Cold War.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia

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McDonald's Comes to Moscow (1990)