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Activist Dmitry Ivanov returned home one day to find the message “Don’t betray your country, Dima” written on his door, along with a large letter ‘Z’. In Russia, acts of vandalism to intimidate anti-war activists have become more common as the war in Ukraine continues. The letter Z has been a major factor in these messages and is now used as a symbol of support for Russia’s “special military operation”.
The letter Z first appeared painted on the side of military vehicles when Russia began amassing troops around Ukraine. The symbol identifies Russian equipment, differentiating it from similar Ukrainian vehicles.
But the Z has taken on a new meaning across Russia, where it is now used as a symbol of support for what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
After the beginning of the invasion, the letter Z began to appear everywhere. People posted photos online showing the pizzas they made in the shape of a Z. Another photo posted online shows patients in a hospital lining up to form the letter Z. People also shared children’s drawings of the letter Z.
“Not every day someone comes to vandalize the door of your house”
The symbol has also been used to intimidate those who oppose the war. That was the case for Ivanov, a computer science student at Moscow State University, who told the France 24 Observers team how the letter Z has taken on a new meaning for him and other activists.
“The first time, they wrote: ‘Don’t betray your country, Dima.’ The second time there was a poster with a photo of me that they had found on the Internet, along with the numbers of the new military censorship law, which threatens people who share information about the war in Ukraine or say they oppose it. The first time it happened, I was shocked. It’s not every day that someone comes and vandalizes your front door. It’s not exactly nice. It is as if they are sending a message: ‘We know where you live, we can come back at any time,’” says Dmitry Ivanov.
“What does the letter Z mean? For me, it’s like a swastika. That is what it has become. It looks a bit like a swastika and is used in the same way. It might intimidate some people. But personally, I’m not afraid. I would be more afraid of an official visit from the police”, she concludes.
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