I, a journalist and the author of my own website, encountered a wave of aggression and threats after publishing a post on January 6 about a tragic traffic accident: “Tragic accident or violation of traffic rules. The degree of the driver’s guilt should be determined by the investigation — as far as is known, a criminal case has been opened. I do not believe in any punishments of fate. But some commenters on this tragic incident do believe in such punishments…” I accompanied the Facebook post with a screenshot of a reel posted by the mother of the person who died in the accident, in which a T-shirt with a large Z printed across the entire surface is visible. I called the T-shirt an advertisement of the genocide of Ukrainians.
After that, supporters of Z ideology became active in the Uzbekistan-related segment of the social network. Hundreds of comments were posted under my posts, the posts were shared more than a dozen times, and there were again many comments there. The wave of hate included insults, threats, hate speech, Z-rhetoric, humiliation, and attempts to intimidate me. Commenters did not limit themselves to discussing the accident but shifted the aggression to my personality, using nationalistic, xenophobic, and provocative expressions. At the time of publication of this article (January 11), the hate continues.
Below is an analysis of only a small part of such comments.
Insults, dehumanization, and direct threats
Some of the comments contain direct threats of physical violence and wishes of death.
Warning: Below are verbatim quotes of comments received by the author on the website and on Facebook after publication of the post. The comments contain insults, threats, and obscene language. They are published exclusively for the purpose of documenting harassment, verbal aggression, and hate speech. In the original comments there are no asterisks — everything is uncensored there (for original comments, see the Russian version of the article).
A comment was left on the site’s page “About the site and its author”:
“You old glory-to-Ukraine b**ch, you’ll wash yourself in bloody snot. Just like your ally, the f*got Makarenko. I promise you that. Live, b**ch, and keep looking over your shoulder!”
(Moydodyr, judging by the IP address, Tashkent, Uzbekistan)
On Facebook, users also wrote to me:
“Put Kozlova on a goat and into the forest!!! Kozlova herself will soon end up in an accident, preferably under a tank.”
(Karo Mistr)
This phrase contains a personalized threat of physical violence. Another user, “Memento Mori,” responded approvingly to the threat, adding:
“with a Z identification mark on it”
(Memento Mori)
This demonstrates ideological justification of the threat and collective approval of cruelty. The next user, “Madina Mans,” called the potential victim a “Nazi” and a “paid scum,” which constitutes dehumanization and incitement to repression.
Even these comments contain clear incitement to violence, can be perceived as normalizing physical reprisals, and also demonstrate the use of Z symbolism as an ideological marker.
More comments.
“I hope a train runs you over, author…”
(Nikolai Nikolaev)
“If there is a God in this world, may a car run you over the same way, and your child too.”
(Malenkaya Pakost)
“You’re finished, may a bulldozer run you over and your f***ing brats too.”
(Sar Dor)
“People like Marina KoZlova have no place on earth.”
(Yana Sarumyan)
“That … Kozlova must be punished.”
(Artur Ognev)
This is not “criticism.” These are direct wishes of death, threats, and calls for violence.
Political aggression and war rhetoric
A significant portion of the comments is directly connected with support for Russian military rhetoric and attacks on national grounds.
Examples:
“If you care so much about the Independent [Ukraine], go there and go ahead!”
(Khakim Ganiev)
“Then we’ll say, to hell with those khokhols. One more, one less — it doesn’t matter at all.”
(Sar Dor)
“This glory-to-Ukraine b*tch, Kozlova, must be punished.”
(Artur Ognev)
“There are 210 countries in the world — one less and the world wouldn’t even notice.”
(Binbegs Fergana)
Some commenters openly justify violence and transmit the language of dehumanization, using words such as “b*tch,” “scum,” “vermin,” “cattle,” “khokholka,” “pot-headed,” “saloreikh.”
Insults based on age, gender, and appearance
In addition to political hatred, the comments include attacks based on personal characteristics:
“Goat, nobody needs you, you sold yourself for 30 pieces of silver, b**ch.”
(Elvira Urmanova)
as well as “old Soros trash,” “a lonely woman without children and grandchildren,” “disgusting old hag,” “What a b**ch you are!”, “The surname speaks for itself” (repeated many times).
This is not a discussion of the publication. This is personal harassment.
Attempts to declare the author an “enemy of the state”
Some commenters demand to “punish,” “imprison,” and “expel from the country”:
“Pack your bags and get out of here.”
(Nazarova Sofia)
“For this you yourself should be jailed for 15 days, foreign agent.”
(Nazarova Sofia)
“Foreign agent.”
(Nazarova Sofia)
There is no institution of “foreign agents” in Uzbekistan; such an institution exists in the Russian Federation. In other words, this demonstrates the transfer of Russian political categories into the Uzbek context.
“That … must be punished.”
(Artur Ognev)
This is an attempt to attach a political label and legitimize repression based on personal opinion.
Distortion of the content of the post
Another line is the mass attribution to the author of things that were not in the original post. Commenters claimed that I allegedly “rejoice in the tragedy,” “justify it by karma,” “hype on grief,” although the text explicitly stated the opposite: that the degree of guilt should be determined by the investigative body and that I do not believe in “punishments of fate.”
The conclusion suggested by the body of comments
The publication about the traffic accident became a pretext not for discussing the tragedy but for an organized wave of harassment. The comments document:
- direct threats to life and health;
- wishes of death to the author and family members;
- political aggression and the language of war;
- xenophobia and dehumanization;
- attempts at pressure and intimidation;
- calls for punishment and reprisals.
This is no longer an “emotional reaction.” This is documented aggression.
How many supporters of Z ideology are there in Uzbekistan
The question of how many supporters of Z ideology there are in Uzbekistan remains open. There are no sociological studies. Even in the comments, opinions are diametrically opposed.
Commenters assess the number of such people in the country differently. Some call them a “statistical error,” others claim that there are “very many.” There is no common understanding of the scale of the phenomenon. Objective studies on this topic in Uzbekistan, at least those known to the general public, have not been conducted.
Below are the opinions of Facebook users under my posts. The poll I conducted cannot be considered sociology and the assessments remain subjective; however, in the absence of truly representative data, it may still be of interest.
Fakhriddin Berkenov:
“Before I learned about such a blogger as Aziz Hakimov, who is now under investigation, I thought there weren’t many of them. Now it seems to me that there are a lot of them. Especially among the 40+ generation. The presence of Z-supporters should be regarded as a threat to Uzbekistan’s national security.”
Kozimkhon Ma’dikhonov:
“Don’t pay attention to these …, there are really few of them compared to the population, at the level of a statistical error. And all of them are brave on the internet and on FB, but in practice they sit lower than grass and quieter than water. Recently their ‘führer’ was jailed and most of the Z-supporters immediately shut up; only the most aggressive ones remained.”
The comments referred to the arrest of blogger Aziz Hakimov (“Comrade Aziz”), known for promoting a pro-Russian propaganda agenda. According to official information, the charges brought against him include, among other things, Article 150 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (“propaganda of war”) and Article 156 (“incitement of national, racial, ethnic or religious enmity”). We previously wrote in detail about Hakimov’s case.
What the wave of hate showed
The comments under my posts do not show the scale of the phenomenon but its existence: in the Uzbek segment of social networks there are people who transmit Z-rhetoric, including in the form of aggression and threats. Should the state do something? Most likely, yes. As a first step, at least urgently disable Russian so-called news channels, which in essence are propaganda channels.
And I would like to end this piece with an absolutely adequate comment under my Facebook post:
Tatyana Rubtsova:
“I have one question: where will Uzbek Z-supporters get a tank with a Z on it here? Are they provoking an invasion by the Russian Federation? Calling for war? That is criminally punishable.”
Note: Z ideology is an ideology that arose in Russia in the context of military aggression against Ukraine. It includes symbolism used to mobilize society and support the war, including the use of the Latin letters “Z” and “V” on military equipment. The core value components of this ideology include the defense of Russia’s sovereignty and the portrayal of the West as hostile. In the contemporary context, Z ideology is regarded as a form of propaganda that may be associated with fascism or neo-fascism, but with certain modifications in the context of current events.