How is #Z used as a symbol of fear to intimidate opponents and activists in #Russia? A thread🧵I'll start with the black-Z-shirted Anton Demidov, who vows not to leave city streets-"the rear of the Russian army"-unguarded from "hypocritical" protestors
But the Z threat can be more direct & personal, like when it's painted on the door of your home. This happened to Rita Flores from Pussy Riot (reported 5 March)
Next to the door, someone had stuck up a poster of Flores offering sexual services, including a photo she believes was hacked from her phone while she was being held in detention over summer. whatisyournameinsider.com/politika/24907…
The "illiterate" graffiti misspells "закончим войну" (zakonchim voynu), "we will end the war": ч (ch) missing & Latin Z replaces Cyrillic з . Pussy Riot's an offshoot of political street-art group Voina (War) so this was a threat en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voina
Totally normal day at #Russia space agency Roscosmos. In this 10 March video, everyone must wear their swanky #Z badge with St George's ribbon (a memorial of fight vs Nazis in WW2) over their white coats. Badges say ZА МИР=FOR PEACE en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribbon_of…
Of course proper Russian would be ЗА not ZA, but Latin Z is invading the Cyrillic alphabet right now (see thread). "For peace" is one of the more Orwellian invasion slogans: the Russian Ministry of Defense has used it too
The TV screen in the background is also Z'd up & comes complete with St George's ribbon. It starts off with ZА АРМИЮ! ZА РОССИЮ! ВМЕСТЕ С ПРЕЗИДЕНТО! which is FOR THE ARMY! FOR RUSSIA! TOGETHER WITH THE PRESIDENT! which is the sign of a very normal country
Maria Butina is a Pro-Putin activist & member of parliament in #Russia, who served jail time in the US for being a Russian agent (she's the famous NRA gun photo lady!). On 3 March she showed her Telegram fans how to draw #Z on their clothes. HT @francska1en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_But…
@francska1 In the accompanying comment she talks about "our Z army". She thought about using a Z badge instead, but disliked that it was costly & temporary. Marking your clothes (especially designer ones) shows more commitment; can neither be erased nor hidden t.me/mariabutina/42…
@francska1 At the end she says "Работайте, братья! Мы с вами навсегда!" (Rabotayte, brat'ya! My s vami navsegda!) "Keep working brothers! We are with you forever." The "keep working brothers" refers to the last words of a Russian policeman kidnapped by militants ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Работайте…
The Cyrillic alphabet #Russia uses has a Ze ("З", like Greek Zeta "ζ") which in pro-Putin circles is now often replaced by its Latin equivalent #Z. Aside from the graphical symbolism of Z, does it have a verbal meaning, or stand for something? A thread on how Z's used in words🧵
First things 1st: I can't see any consensus that the original use of #Z as tactical recognition markings for parts of #Russia's invasion force was supposed to stand for a word. It's not a letter in their alphabet after all. There were some speculative guesses but nothing concrete
If so, it's fair to guess words seen with a Z have been "retrofitted" to the military symbol. That gives a lot of flexibility: mostly Z is just being used to replace З, which is a more frequently occurring letter in Russian than Z is in English sttmedia.com/characterfrequ…