After Long Dispute, a Russian Starbucks

The first Starbucks in Russia opened Thursday in a mall near Moscow. The company was slow to enter this market, initially because of the economy and later because of a trademark squatter.

By ANDREW E. KRAMER

KHIMKI, Russia, Sept. 6 — With the hiss of an espresso machine and a note in Russian explaining the meanings of “tall,” “grande” and “venti,” Starbucks opened its first coffee shop in Russia on Thursday in a mall in this city near Moscow.

The opening sealed a victory for the company in a fight with a trademark squatter who had kept Starbucks from coming to Russia for more than three years, just as a coffeehouse culture was emerging here. Starbucks refused to pay the squatter to yield the Starbucks name in Russia and eventually prevailed in court.

The dispute illustrates the challenges Starbucks will face as it strives to expand outside the United States, where growth is expected to slow. Starbucks intends to open 20,000 coffee shops overseas while expanding to about that number at home.

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