Russia, what happened to you?

Where's the Great Satan of my youth? You're just a bunch of whiners. And Americans do that better, too!

The weather. The judges. The lack of financial support. A team that was brought up in the turbulent '90s. Mismanagement among members of the Russian Olympic Committee. Even Patriarch Kirill was blamed, a reference to the traditional anointing of the Olympic athletes. (Russian satirist Viktor Shenderovic scoffed that either there is no God, Russia has spoiled her chances with God, or Kirill does not get on that well with God after all.)

But McDonald’s? Now, that’s new.

On March 3, a handful of activists from Zdravmol, a youth organization and a joint project of the Federal Agency for Youth Policy and the obstreperous youth movement Nashi, gathered in front of a Moscow McDonald’s and chanted: “Thank you, McDonald’s, for our 11th ranking.” They were venting their anger at one of Russia’s poorest medal tallies ever at a Winter Olympics – only three golds at the Vancouver games.