Zurich Insurance removes the “Z” logo and the letter becomes the symbol of Putin Business

At the start of the war, the “Z” symbol was only used by a handful of people to show support for Russian soldiers, but it has since become commonplace and is no longer just a letter of the alphabet.

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

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

Zurich turned away from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and is no longer accepting new domestic customers in the country. It is one of Europe’s largest insurers with a market capitalization of $66.5bn (£50.4bn).