There Is No Agency: Intolerant Globalization

In the last decade, Russia has seen a capitalist boom that has changed the skyline of its two capitals - Moscow and St.Petersburg - to a flashing, pulsating sea of advertisement. To proponents of developmental theories of democracy, this is an obvious sign of a positive change in the country. After all, the famous opening of the first McDonald's in Moscow in 1988 was meant to be a sign of things to come. The McDonald's corporation even planned to train Soviet managers "in McDonald's tradition...at one of the company's 'hamburger universities' in Illinois, London, Munich, and Toronto". Over twenty years down the road, Russians have definitely mastered all the necessary skills related to fast-food, albeit with a local flavor.

An interesting example of a new restaurant chain is "Yaposhka" (which literally translates to little Jap) a joint catering Japanese-Russian cuisine to several cities across Russia. Its logo shows a caricature of a Japanese man holding a hot bowl of noodles. The chain tries to differentiate itself from other Japanese restaurants by offering a split menu featuring sushi and "anti-sushi". By "anti-sushi" they mean traditional Russian cuisine in the form of pickled fish and vegetables, potatoes, and dumplings called pelemeni. Even the dinning area is divided along this ethno-culinary divide. With the proliferation of foreign restaurants around Russia's big cities, "Yaposhka" wanted to stand out as being more Russian than its competitors. Xenophobia, a relatively new phenomenon in Russian history, is firmly taking hold over the minds of the population. Within the last five years, a wave of racially-motivated killings of Chinese migrants, African students, and Central Asian guest workers has become an epidemic according to Human Rights Watch. Russian society has tended to turn a blind eye to the violence, as anti-foreign sentiment prevails among the masses.
"Yaposhka" attempted to tap into people's xenophobia to market their product in Western capitalist fashion. Everything from its slick design, classy website, costumed personnel, flashy logo, and quick service has been directly inherited from the capitalist West. With the help of the the latest marketing technologies, consumer research, and branding this Russian chain, like many others, is going after the desire of consumers. Using these very successful advertisement strategies, learned from the West, this restaurant chain marketed its blatantly racist brand to the Russian market. As it turns out, capitalism does not, however, make societies more tolerant.

Recently, due to pressure from the Japanese Embassy, the restaurant chain was forced to change its name to simply "Yaposha" thereby getting rid of the Russian diminutive ending -ka. Getting rid of the "little" did nothing to change the xenophobic nature of the chain's name. The company attributes its success to its "democratic style":

The concept behind our cafés is based on a sense of democracy. It is present in everything here: the restaurant's location, interior design, menu options, pricing, and the type of service we offer to a wide spectrum of consumers. And as they say, as long as there is demand - there will be a supply for it.

In a country where the consumer is becoming king, no one seems to care.

They even sponsor various children events. Here's the"draw your own Jap" contest: