Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak received a lot of criticism this weekend. On the podium of a World Cup competition, he showed his support for his country’s invasion of Ukraine. He did that by adorning his chest with the letter ‘Z’, next to the Ukrainian winner Illija Kovtun. In recent weeks, that letter has grown from a symbol on Russian military vehicles to a public sign of support for the invasion.
According to The Guardian The ‘Z’ was first found hand-painted on Russian war vehicles parked near the Ukrainian border on February 19. It is not a letter in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, but most Russians recognize it simply from the Latin alphabet, researcher Emily Ferris of the British think tank for defense and security told the BBC.
However, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, the ‘Z’ stands for ‘za pobedoe’, which means ‘for profit’. The ‘Z’ can also stand for ‘zapad’, which means ‘west’ in Russian, according to several experts. This can indicate the region in which the Russian troops are stationed, or the direction they are moving towards. Others suggest that the Z stands for ‘Zelenski’, as a target. It can also be a sign of mutual recognition for soldiers, preventing them from seeing each other as a target.
Russian channel sells Z merchandise
In recent weeks, however, the ‘Z’ has evolved from a military sign to an ultra-nationalist symbol of public support for the invasion. The Russian state television channel RT now also sells Z-merchandise via social media. At various flash mobs organized by the Russian authorities, young people have been spotted wearing a shirt with the letter on it. Schools and a hospice support the invasion by having children stand in a Z formation for a photo. The ‘Z’ is also said to have been spotted on large apartment buildings in Russia, on billboards on the street and on some cars of Russian citizens.
The ‘Z’ has now also been adopted abroad: at a demonstration in the Serbian capital Belgrade before the invasion, the letter was shown several times in support of the Russians.