In the 1997 advertisement, Gorbachev is portrayed as eating at one of the chain’s outlets in Moscow, where he’s spotted by diners at another table who then argue about his accomplishments as the Soviet Union’s last leader.From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinion and photos from the Toronto Sun.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Pizza Hut opened in Moscow in 1990, one of the first in a wave of Western businesses taking advantage of the joint-venture arrangements that were one of Gorbachev’s signature reforms. It wasn’t Russians’ first chance to get pizza, but as with the opening of McDonald’s a few months earlier, the presence of a major Western brand was heartening to those who wanted the Soviet Union to be more integrated into the world.