MOSCOW, August 25. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor on Monday suspended work of the fourth McDonald’s restaurant, this time in the southern Stavropol region, according to the authority’s regional department.

The decision came after violations of sanitary and epidemiological regulations had been revealed at the chain’s restaurant.

On August 21, Rospotrebnadzor suspended operations at three chain’s outlets, including the restaurant on Moscow's Pushkin Square, which McDonald's says is the busiest in its global network. This was the first to open in Russia, in 1990, seen as a symbol that the Cold War was ending.

Suspended operations at several McDonald's restaurants in Moscow have been followed by state food safety watchdog inspections of the chain's outlets in seven Russian regions.

Last Wednesday, the agency filed administrative lawsuits against four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow. Snap inspections from August 18-20 revealed many violations of sanitary regulations, the agency said, adding that legal proceedings had begun ahead of court hearings.