(Reuters) – On Monday, workers removed the “Golden Arches”, trademark sign at a McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow. This was the first step of a rebranding campaign of fast-food company’s Russian outlets. It came just days after the announcement of its plans to leave.

One of the world’s biggest burger chains is leaving Russia. The local licensee will take over its Russian restaurants and rebrand them with a brand new name. This would bring an end to more than 30 years of monopoly in Russia. McDonald’s stated that its trademarks will be retained.

Outside the Khimki restaurant, near Moscow, the yellow arches were visible. The logo was still visible in other branches of the country, but it was unclear if that work was underway.

McDonald’s announced in March that it was closing all its outlets in Russia, which included the Pushkin Square restaurant in Moscow. This location had served as a symbol for American capitalism’s flourishing in the last days of the Soviet Union.

McDonald’s’s exit is one of most prominent in the opposition to Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine.