Coca Cola causes chaos by drawing a map of Russia with Crimea
Coca Cola has caused chaos in both Russia and Ukraine after sending New Year greetings with two maps of Russia, one with Crimea and one without.
Coca Cola first released a map of Russia without Crimea, the Kuril Islands, which Russia disputes with Japan, and Kaliningrad on Vkontakte (Russia's Facebook-like social network) on December 30, ahead of the Russian New Year.
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| Coca Cola map of Russia with Crimea. |
On January 5, Coca-Cola continued to post New Year’s greetings, this time with a “complete” map that included the Kuril Islands, Kaliningrad, and Crimea. “We apologize. The map has been edited. Please understand,” the company wrote. But not long after, the new map was also removed.
The map of Russia with Crimea has drawn backlash from Ukrainian politicians. The Svoboda (Freedom) Party headed by Oleg Tyagnibok even called for a ban on Coca Cola in the country. On his personal Facebook page, the politician warned Coca Cola: “Immediately ban this company in Ukraine, when Crimea is recognized as part of Russia. I wonder… what will be the reaction of the US Embassy in Ukraine?”
Coca-Cola is not the first company to draw a map with Crimea as part of Russia. In October 2015, one of the world’s leading academic publishers, Oxford University Press, released a number of textbooks that described Crimea as part of Russia. Also in October, the French publisher Larousse released its 2016 edition of its world atlas depicting Crimea as part of Russia.
Citizens in Crimea and Sevastopol voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia in a referendum on March 16, 2014. Ukraine did not recognize the results.
According to News
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