A rapper whose lyrics describe Vladimir Putin as a “die-hard superhero” has taken over the pizza chain as the exodus of Western brands from Russia continues.
A Russian restaurateur and a pro-Kremlin rapper who together bought Starbucks’ business in Russia last year are now taking over the Russian assets of Domino’s Pizza.
Timati, whose real name is Timur Yunusov, is a rapper-turned businessman who already owns a big burger chain called Black Star. He has a long track record of support for the Kremlin, appearing with another performer, Sasha Chest, in a 2015 song that refers to Putin as a “die-hard superhero” and includes the lyric “My best friend is President Putin”.
Western companies that pulled out of Russia when it sent its army into Ukraine last year have in many cases had to write off the value of their business there or sell their operations at huge discounts. The shakeout has led to several high-profile rebrandings, with Lego stores becoming “World of Cubes”, Krispy Kreme morphing into “Krunchy Dream”, and McDonald’s restaurants being relaunched as “Vkusno & tochka”, or “Tasty and that’s it”.
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