by Marco Imarisio
From a symbol of support for their soldiers to be displayed on cars and jackets, to a mark of shame to be embossed on those who don’t think it’s a fair conflict
Z is everywhere in Russia. The letter, which does not exist in the Cyrillic alphabet, appeared on the sides of Russian tanks entering Ukrainian Donbass from RostovonDon on February 24. Although no one has yet understood what it originally meant, it has since become the graphic symbol of the socalled military special operation, and the state media managed to make it a sign of popular support for their army.
Whoever issues the Z stays with Russia, that’s the message. A few days ago, the Moscow Times published a photo gallery that was incredible to our western eyes. An orthodox priest who conjures the letter onto the window of his car with adhesive tape and strokes it with a loving gesture. The patients of a children’s hospital in Kazan forming a Z in the snowy courtyard, the Duma deputy wearing it on the collar of his jacket, even the participants of a demonstration that took place in Moscow in recent days. for peace and in support of our President, they wore Z badges.
Now this icon appears even where it shouldn’t be. Many activists from Moscow and St. Petersburg found it on their doorstep, almost always accompanied by the word “traitor”. That was inevitable after so many talk shows picked up and amplified Putin’s nowfamous speech about proWestern “mosquitoes” resenting military special operations and, by extension, their homeland.
A few hours after the words of the Russian President, former student Dmitry Ivanov, who made a name for himself during the 2018 World Cup by protesting against the fan zones set up near his university’s dormitory, three redpainted ones were found in front of the house. “It’s just vandalism. Although I have to admit that it has a deep meaning ». Alexei Venediktov, the editor of Radio Echo, the first station to close after the war began, was even worse off. Five days ago, someone made sure to leave him a pig’s head on the landing, topped with antiSemitic writing. “If you are implicitly asked to come forward, these are the consequences,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
The parable of the Z takes place in just a month. As a symbol of support for their soldiers, a stigma to be placed on those who do not believe this is a just war. As Venediktov says, this is the climate that prevails in Russia today. And the news that Z has been declared illegal in two German states, Bavaria and Lower Saxony, certainly won’t change that. The boys will continue to walk around with this letter on their sweatshirts. With the Z or against Russia.
March 29, 2022 (Modified March 29, 2022 | 10:56 PM)
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