‘A bad déjà vu’: Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days

• McDonalds and other American businesses have closed in Russia amid its invasion into Ukraine.
• One expert estimates more than 200,000 Russians have left the country since the start of the war.
• To counter economic turmoil, Putin has demand “unfriendly” countries pay for natural gas exports in rubles.

The once bustling corner of Moscow’s central Tverskaya Street looked deserted on Wednesday, as Russia’s first-ever McDonald’s franchise – opened in 1990 in a move that symbolized the Soviet Union’s opening to the West – shut its doors.

A large mural depicting a giant, Soviet-era medal – the Order of Victory, the highest military decoration awarded in World War II — loomed over over the empty sidewalk.