In the Finnish city of Lappeenranta, the letter Z has been removed from the names of bus routes. This decision was made by the carrier following complaints from residents – for them, the letter was associated with the tactical designations of Russian troops during a special operation in Ukraine.
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«We have received feedback that the letter Z appears in Street View,” the transportation company said. “We decided to replace the Z with an X.»
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Previously, changed routes were marked with the letter Z. There were not too many complaints, according to the carrier, but it was decided to satisfy them.
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Recall that the letters Z and V, which became known as tactical designations of Russian military groups in Ukraine in February of this year, are now associated in the world with support for Russia and its army, which is considered undesirable in Western countries unfriendly to the Russian Federation. In a number of States, the expression of such support is prohibited under pain of administrative or even criminal penalties.
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In this regard, a number of foreign brands have decided to abandon the accented letter Z in their symbols – among them, for example, the Swiss insurance group Zurich. Meanwhile, the complete “cancellation” of this letter, for obvious reasons, should not be expected.
