There are various explanations being offered for the use of Z in the Ukranian invasion, including the pedestrian interpretation that it is being used to distinguish Russian military hardware from those belonging the enemy, meaning Ukraine, as essentially both countries have the same kind of military equipment due to the common past.What appears to be more insightful is the explanation that it denotes the first letter in the Russian word for ‘west’, which is the direction in which the forces were supposed to advance towards Ukraine.Yet another interpretation is that it stands for the ‘Z’ in Zelensky, the Ukrainian president whom Kremlin was planning to replace with a puppet.Within days of the Russian forces moving into Ukrainian territory, Z suddenly acquired a new meaning of support for the war within Russia. But outside of it, and to some extent inside the country as well, it became a symbol of Putin’s tyranny and evilness.Kremlin has used it as an icon of support to the war. Putin’s cronies were coming up with ingenious ways to use Z as a motif for solidarity with the Russian president, whose despot tag seems to be sticking longer than originally envisaged.The governor of a province is reported to have changed the spelling of the province’s name to use upper case Z instead of the lower case 3, although its position made the small letter more appropriate.Space agency Rscosmos’ director-general, similarly, started writing his name with capital Z appearing in the middle.Similarly, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, managed by the Russians, had all its equipment marked with Z or the alphabet V as in victory. A lot of government propaganda has been built around ‘Z’.
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