७ मार्च, २०२२

"A Russian gymnast has been placed under investigation for wearing a 'Z' symbol linked to support for President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on his leotard while sharing a podium with a Ukrainian rival...."

"[Ivan] Kuliak wore it in place of the Russian flag, which had been banned by the governing body of gymnastics.... The symbol, which has been used as a designation on Russian military vehicles deployed in Ukraine, has become a symbol in Russia of support for Putin and the war.... The Russian Defence Ministry has previously issued a statement saying that 'Z' means victory."

The London Times reports.

If would be trivial and not worth saying, but because we are talking about symbols and victory, I will add that the Ukrainian gymnast, Kovtun Illia, won the gold. The Russian was on the podium to pick up the bronze. 

Is "Z" supposed to be the Roman letter Z? It doesn't look any of the letters in the Russian alphabet. If you were using that shape to mean something other than a letter, what would you be trying to say. Perhaps it means "anti-Nazi" — half of a swastika.

At the London Times link, there's a photo with the caption: "In Kazan, Russia, terminally ill children and their parents made a Z formation at their hospice to show support for the invasion."

२१ टिप्पण्या:

tds म्हणाले...

"Z" is one of several symbols painted on military vehicles of the Russian Armed Forces involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the "Z" symbol means "for the victory" ("За победу" – the 'З' transliterates to 'Z').

Z symbol wiki

rehajm म्हणाले...

Zed for dead.

gilbar म्हणाले...

we used an upside down V on our vehicles.. Stood for "Don't shoot, we're americans!"

Their "Z" just stands for "Don't Shoot, we're russians"!

rhhardin म्हणाले...

He's studying zoology.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

The mark of Zorro!

Browndog म्हणाले...

Invasion force from the east is designated with "Z" marking. Invasion force from the north out of Belarus is designated "V". Different theaters of operations, different markings.

Temujin म्हणाले...

"Z" was one of the great foreign films of the 60's. Trailer for "Z".

The film's title refers to a popular Greek protest slogan (Greek: Ζει, IPA: [ˈzi]) meaning "he lives," in reference to Grigoris Lambrakis, a Greek anti-war activist who was assassinated.

Left Bank of the Charles म्हणाले...

Z for Zelensky

JK Brown म्हणाले...

"Perhaps it means "anti-Nazi" — half of a swastika."

I've been rather amazed at the revival of the 1930s ideological wars. I suppose the professors did spend 70+ years reforming the parties of the Third International (international socialists) and blaming it all on the fascists (national socialists). After reading von Mises, 'Liberalism' (1927), I came away with a view not ever even approached in my schooling of the inter-war period in Europe.

Yes, it all must be tempered with our knowledge of what happened after the 1920s, but the Nazis learned from the communists. Hitler's sociopaths killed millions, Stalin's killed millions in the 1930s. And Mao's killed double digit millions in the 1950/60s.

And yet, here we are "ooh, Nazis bad, communists good" due to the long concerted efforts of the professors to reform the communist label.

Sadly, since 1920, classical liberalism has been losing ground, even in the war of ideas.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

The Cyrillic ‘z’ looks like the digit ‘3.’ Probably an innocent explanation, especially since she was picking up the bronze medal for third place.

rcocean म्हणाले...

za pobedy = victory.

joe म्हणाले...

There is no innocent explanation. There is no reason other than to show support for Putin to wear the cyrillic backwards 3 that makes the z sound looks nothing like a Z. https://www.ptl.global/cyrillic-alphabet/

Also, what the gymnast wore was exactly the same wide Z that is found on Russian tanks.

The real story is the restraint shown by the Ukrainian gymnast.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"she was picking up the bronze medal"

It's a guy. And it's a Z.

Scott M म्हणाले...

Within certain military circles I'm still in, I've heard that vehicles with Z were for a certain sector while other symbols/letters were used in other sectors. Hysterical if true and, from my own military experience, completely and utterly plausible.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Snoozer story...

n.n म्हणाले...

They're reading the emanations from penumbras and speaking truth through projection, again, where in Slavic Springs and violent, Western-backed coups, democracy dies in darkness, and demos-cracy is aborted at the Twilight Fringe. #HateLovesAbortion

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

'It's a guy.'

These days, does it really matter?

Just ask Lia Thomas...

Mark म्हणाले...

Russia is using it in the same way Germany used the swastika. Regular Russians are putting it on everything, either because they support the war or in order to show that they are loyal.

rcocean म्हणाले...

Rusia is using the Z the same way American Troops in Ww2 would use the "V for victory" sign.

Bunkypotatohead म्हणाले...

In the US all we can do is put those Biden stickers that read "I did that!" on gasoline pumps.

n.n म्हणाले...

The mark of Zorro.