At the start of the war the ‘Z’ symbol was used by only a handful of people to show their support for Russian soldiers, but it has since gone mainstream and is no longer just a letter of the alphabet. 

After rising to prominence following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, the letter has appeared on Russian army vehicles, roads, cars, buildings and t-shirts in a public sign of support for Vladimir Putin and his campaign. 

Earlier this month a Russian cancer charity organised for children and their mothers to line up in a giant ‘Z’ in the snow to show Kremlin support. Separately, during the Gymnastic World Cup in Doha, Russian athlete Ivan Kuliak wore the letter ‘Z’ on his kit at the medal ceremony. Videos on social media have also shown Russians wearing identical black sweatshirts emblazoned with a white ‘Z’ and shouting support for Putin and his war.

Zurich has turned away from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine and is no longer taking on new domestic customers in the country. It is one of Europe’s biggest insurers with a market cap of $66.5bn (£50.4bn).