this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2023
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A video appeared from Kazakhstan. Local residents made a person cover a Z symbol on his car with paint.

He tried to justify himself that his last name, Zinovyev, starts with a Z, and apologized for his actions.

https://t.me/pravdaGerashchenko_en/27934

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago

Check this Kazakhstan chocolate ad released shortly after Russia's first mass mobilization (and flight) for another Kazakh win

I'll probably never have the chance to eat whatever the fuck brand of Kazakh chocolate that is, but being nice to a Russian guy fleeing the draft while also implying that being outside of Russia is his first taste of freedom is peak international trolling, I love it.

[–] lazylion_ca 21 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Why would they find the Z offensive?

[–] Wilshire 80 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

"Z" is a military symbol that the Russian military has been painting on vehicles in Ukraine. It's become a pro-war symbol for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 years ago (3 children)

To expand, it's essentially the Russian version of the German iron cross in ww2, and has very similar connotations.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm not sure that analogy really holds. The iron cross had been part of German military iconography since before Germany was even a united country, whereas this Z thing appears to have popped up specifically for the current Russian invasion

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

The connotations of the iron cross during ww2 and the Russian Z now are very much similar.

Nowhere did I claim the connotation of the iron cross outside of ww2 carried the same connotation, because it very clearly doesn't.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

I heard Zorro will be suing any day now.

[–] Epilektoi_Hoplitai 40 points 2 years ago

Upvote for a sincere question. Here's the wiki article on its use as a fascistic pro-war symbol. Kazakhs are unhappy with it because they too are a country that Russia makes territorial claims against and are thus largely opposed to the war and its symbols.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 years ago (2 children)

"It's not a Nazi symbol... a swastika is a symbol of luck and health in India!"

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

β€œIt’s the start of a maze.”

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I don't disagree with the sentiment, but Z is still a letter of the alphabet and should have a bit more leeway. What their true intention is, I don't know, but it is a lot harder to say for certain it was in bad taste.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago

Dude is just dense.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Correction to that Russki: his last name doesn't start with a Z. It starts with a Π—.

[–] troyunrau 11 points 2 years ago

That depends. Kazakhstan switched the Kazakh language to the roman alphabet recently. So now Russian names, when transliterated to Kazakh can start with Z. Still, in this context, it's probably not being used that way.