In January 1990, when the dreary and declining Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev was opening to the world, McDonald’s arrived as a symbol of American prosperity and freedom. Long lines of Russians, used to stores with empty shelves, were stunned by the cornucopia of burgers, fries, Cokes and milkshakes. There were even smiles from the staff, a Tribune correspondent noted. That first Moscow McDonald’s stands today, but it is closed, one of nine Russian McDonald’s not-so-mysteriously shut down by courts while consumer safety regulators conduct investigations at more than 200 McDonald’s restaurants across the country.

Nice reminders of your Cold War victory — a shame if something happened to them, a spiteful Vladimir Putin seems to be saying.

Putin’s war with Ukraine makes the targeting of McDonald’s a sideshow, but it’s an instructive one, highlighting the strongman president’s audacious bullying and willingness to sacrifice bits of the Russian economy if it helps make a larger point.

Having usurped Crimea and then backed separatist attacks on eastern Ukraine, he has orchestrated a new geopolitical confrontation with the West that will span years. The endgame isn’t clear, but Putin’s desire is obvious: to construct a 21st-century version of the Soviet empire, powerful enough to control or influence events beyond Russia’s borders. Any time he can intimidate Europe, or get a jab in at the U.S., he’ll do it.

While a fragile cease-fire holds in Ukraine, Europe is watching nervously to see what Putin will do next. The current focus is on the threat posed by Russia’s energy dominance. Russia shut off gas deliveries to Ukraine in June, citing unpaid bills, and Ukrainians will freeze this winter if the two sides don’t cooperate. A deal may be close, but the European Union also is worried about its relationship with Russia and wants to reduce energy reliance.

Russia has financial problems too. The price of oil — another big export — is plummeting and sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Europe are taking a toll. The ruble is trading near record lows while inflation has hit 8 percent. A big reason for the inflation jolt is Putin: In retaliation for the sanctions, Russia banned $9.5 billion in food imports from the West, causing shortages and price increases.

“Prices are increasing so fast right now that everyone’s noticing,” Lev Gudkov, a Russian pollster, told Canada’s Globe and Mail. “When it’s summer, it doesn’t feel so bad, but by November, the mood will change a lot. November is always a depressing month, even without the sanctions.”

It will be even more depressing without McDonald’s.

They are closed or under scrutiny for alleged sanitary violations, but don’t believe it. McDonald’s, which has its world headquarters in Oak Brook, always represents more than what’s in the fryer. To many parts of the world, the Golden Arches is a proxy for America as an idea — that freedom-loving, middle-class dream world. Naturally, Putin hates it.

The 440 Russian McDonald’s restaurants are company-owned, but most of the suppliers are Russian, so Putin is taking a small bite out of his own economy. The Russian public continues to back Putin’s aggressive actions, but going after McDonald’s is a dumb, petty ploy: It reminds Western investors, and the rest of us, to beware the bear. He can’t be trusted.

Editorial by the Chicago Tribune