Ivan Kuliak: Why has ‘Z’ become a Russian pro-war symbol?

Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak is facing disciplinary proceedings from the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for showing the letter ‘Z’ on the podium next to a Ukrainian rival in Qatar. But what does the symbol mean?

In Russia, the “Z” is quickly being recognized as a decidedly wartime symbol of President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It has been worn by politicians, seen on the sides of cars, vans and billboards – as well as scrawled on bus stops. It was even used by Serbs at pro-Russian demonstrations in Belgrade. The photos were shared widely on social media.

It has become a social media conversation, says Aglaya Snetkova, a lecturer in international politics at UCL’s School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies. “In many ways, this shows how much Russia is or was part of the global world.”

While zed is spelled differently in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet – and looks like a 3 – most Russians recognize Latin letters. Emily Ferris, Research Fellow Russia and Eurasia at RUSI, says the “Z” is a strong and easily recognizable symbol.

“Often, the simplest things get through the quickest when it comes to propaganda,” she says. “It looks pretty intimidating and pretty strong. From an aesthetic point of view, it’s a very powerful symbol.”

It took less than two weeks for the “Z” to spread among supporters of President Putin’s invasion.

In the central Russian city of Kazan, about 60 children and staff at a hospice were photographed outside in the snow forming a giant “Z” in front of their building.

There are several theories as to what the “Z” symbol actually means. It first attracted attention on social media after Russian tanks with “Z” on the side were spotted heading into Ukraine.

Initially it was thought that the “Zs” were actually a number “2” – representing February 22 (02/22/2022). On that day, Russia ratified an agreement of “friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance” with the self-proclaimed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine – Donetsk and Luhansk.

But it’s now believed that the symbol is simply a way for the Russian military to identify its own armed forces. RUSI’s Emily Ferris says the Russian military labels its vehicles with Latin letters instead of Cyrillic.

Last week, viewers of a news program on Russia’s state-controlled Channel One were told that a “Z” was a common designation on Russian military equipment. The pro-Putin Orthodox Christian website Tsargrad told readers the simple mark could “avoid friendly fire” and “couldn’t be confused with anything else.”

Russian special forces veteran Sergei Kuvykin told Russia’s Life magazine website that different symbols mean different military units. “Symbols like these are used – a ‘Z’ in a square, a ‘Z’ in a circle, a ‘Z’ with a star, or just a ‘Z’ by itself.” He said the markings helped ensure troops who may not be in contact with other comrades were where they were supposed to be.

But two experts who spoke to the Task and Purpose website are more skeptical about the effectiveness of sticking symbols on tanks. Russian fighter jets are flying too fast to see the white markings, says Air Force Lt Col Tyson Wetzel — a senior Air Force fellow at the Washington DC think tank The Atlantic Council. Although he agreed, it was a “conflict resolution measure to prevent incidents of fratricide — or friendly fire.”

And former Marinecapt Rob Lee, who spent a year at a defense-oriented think tank in Moscow and now works at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, concludes the most likely reason they put up these kinds of symbols is “around another task force to indicate another level”.

But the spread of ‘Z’ in Russia isn’t just due to spontaneity on social media – warns UCL’s Aglaya Snetkov. “It was also pushed by the regime”.

A Russian politician, Maria Butina, shared a video showing how to write the “Z” badge on a business jacket – explains Ms Snetkov – “so you can go to work and show everyone without shouting about it “.

But Aglaya Snetkov says the symbol shouldn’t be seen as fascist. “There are a lot of memes that turn the ‘Z’ into a swastika, but that’s what people do to fight back against the regime.”

And other symbols appear as well.

For example, the letter “V” – also not in the Cyrillic alphabet – appears next to images of “Zs” in posts on the Russian Defense Ministry’s official Instagram account.

There are written captions. One reads ‘Za PatsanoV’ meaning ‘for the boys’ – while another reads ‘Sila V pravde’ which translates into English as ‘strength in truth’.

One theory suggests that the two Latin letters could stand for “vostok” meaning “east” and “zapad” meaning “west”. But further social mediaIt was also suggested that the Ukrainian military believes the “Z” refers to Russia’s “Eastern Forces” – and the “V” to the “Marines”.

Picture above: International Gymnastics Federation (FIG)