It appeared for the first time on Russian tanks and military vehicles ready to invade and attack Ukraine. But the letter “Z”, which is now often seen also painted on buildings in Russian cities and which stands out on hats and sweatshirts sold online (and even on the uniform of a Russian gymnast, Ivan Kuliak), remains a mystery.
Military analysts and experts have tried to find a unique meaning for this symbol, but have so far failed. The letter “Z”, however, it does not exist in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet (it’s a strange choice, for a nationalist symbol). The one representing the sound “z” graphically resembles the number 3: it is more rounded.
So far, the most popular theory among military experts assumes that “Z” stands for “Zapad”, which means “west”, which is where Russian troops fighting Ukraine are stationed. Others believe that letter is coming drawn in an attempt to avoid friendly firewhile according to other military experts it could stand for the name of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on any of the theories, but on its Instagram channel it wrote that “Z” meant «Za pobedu» («for the victory»).
Starting on the third day after the invasion, the Kremlin-funded state television network, RTannounced on his social media that he was selling merchandise marked “Z”, to show support for Russian troops. Since then, even in the flashmobs organized by the authorities in Russia, young Russians have been seen wearing T-shirts with “Z” to confirm their support for the war. Several schools have even published pictures of posing children who, together, form a “Z”.
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Some officials have even pledged to show their support for the war include the letter in toponyms of their territory. According to New York Times“The ubiquity of the campaign has led many to conclude that it was an orchestrated effort by the Kremlin to gather support for the war, also because it resembled many previous initiatives ». And again: «This is definitely a meme introduced by the stateVasily Gatov, a Russian-American media analyst, told the American newspaper. “There are always people receptive to this type of message.”
The “Z” is also used for intimidation purposes: Anton Dolin, a prominent film critic who left Russia for his opposition to the war, posted a photo of a giant white ‘Z’ painted on his apartment door on Facebook.
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Source: Vanity Fair
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