ML-Implode News - Crimea Pays a High Price Three Years After Russian Takeover

A few Crimean products, such as wine, saw a temporary renaissance thanks to Russians who went out of their way to buy it. Now the euphoria is gone. "In 2014 we had a booming business, it was very easy to sell in the Russian market," says Marianna Klassova of Satera Winery. "Now it's a struggle." Russian consumers have a wide range of wines to choose from, and Crimean wine is simply too expensive, she explains. Some winemakers are even trying to shed the region's reputation for sweet wines by investing in more desirable, sophisticated varietals.
But the problem isn't just exports. Crucial imports, including gasoline and food, must come from Russia via the same expensive ferry, pushing prices higher.
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Large multinational corporations aren't doing business on the peninsula, so McDonald's Corp., Radisson Hotel, and Mobile Telesystems PJSC (MTC) have shuttered. Still, burgers that look like Big Macs areÂ served as "Big Foods" in the AvtoFood fast-food chain, along with other itemsÂ that resemble choices on a McDonald's menu, including the "Filet-O-Fish." A Radisson Hotel is now called "Riviera Sunrise," its signageÂ in the same typeface. Although the credit card companies have officially ceased doing business there, Crimeans can still use a Visa or a MasterCard as long as it's issued by a Russian bank.

There are also retailers that look vaguely like Apple stores and Starbucks coffee shops, right down to similar branding. Owners of the Starmaks coffee shop in Alushta say they think sanctions make it unlikely Starbucks Corp. will come after them for copyright infringement. IPhones, Apple computers, and PCs are sold as well--brought in from Russia. A quick search online reveals pages of instructions on how to outsmart sanctions and even register an iTunes account. (Starbucks, McDonald's and Apple didn't respond to email requests for comment.)

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Crimea Pays a High Price Three Years After Russian Takeover