The "Z” first drew attention several weeks ago when it was painted a couple feet high on the sides of the thousands of tanks, armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles mustering along the Russian border with Ukraine.
In Russia, the letter then began to pop up all over the place. There are Z stickers on the backs of cars and commercial vehicles, and one talk show pundit recently appeared wearing a T-shirt with a large white Z on it.
Some corporate logos and newspaper names that contain a Z manipulated the letter to highlight it. An advertising campaign using billboards in large cities featured a large Z created out of a black-and-orange ribbon, the St. George ribbon, which is a symbol of the Russian military.