Russian soldiers occupying Mariupol unveiled a strange statue in the embattled Ukrainian city on Thursday. The statue, of a Ukrainian peasant woman holding a Soviet flag, is of “Babushka Z” – who appeared in a video recorded by Ukrainian soldiers and has now become the unlikely latest icon of Russian propaganda.
In recent weeks, the elderly Ukrainian woman – whose image is a throwback to a stereotypical peasant woman of the Soviet era – has become the new face of Kremlin propaganda as well as a star among pro-war Russians. Giant placards depict her waving a Soviet flag in Moscow while postcards of her with the same banner are being sold all over Russia.
