I'm Filin' It

A mere eight days after McDonald’s announced that it would temporarily shut down its 850 locations in Russia to protest the country’s invasion of Ukraine, a trademark was filed for the name and logo of “Uncle Vanya” that very overtly employs the well-known Golden Arches but that also doubles as the “в” in “ваня” (Vanya). The name references the comment made by Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia’s lower house in parliament, who said “They announced they are closing. Well, okay, close. But tomorrow in those locations we should have not McDonald’s, but Uncle Vanya’s.” Uncle Vanya is also the name of a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Most likely this is just a lark.