Kazakhstan Seeks to Ban Symbols Supporting War Against Ukraine

The government and prosecutor's office of Kazakhstan are taking joint measures to impose a ban on products featuring "ethnopolitical symbols." This includes symbols associated with the Wagner private military company and unofficial symbols like the letters Z and V that support Russia in the war against Ukraine.

Additionally, a ban may be implemented on products that bear inscriptions such as "Russian Army" and "Polite People." The list also includes symbols of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and "East Turkestan." According to the prosecutor of the public interest protection department, "individual representatives of different ethnic groups display various ethnic symbols in public spaces, creating an ambiguous impression in society." An administrative liability is being proposed for the import, production, and distribution of such products in Kazakhstan.

The letters Z and V are seen as unofficial symbols of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and have been repeatedly used in actions supporting the war, including those involving children. The term "Polite People" is associated with Russian special forces that carried out the annexation of Crimea in the spring of 2014.