Marichka (Azovchan)

**Marichka** (a.k.a. AzovChan, Mari4ka, Mari) is a character created by Ukrainian artist @ep867 in late 2021. She is considered the anthropomorphic representation of the Azov Brigade and is the first and most popular internet mascot of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

## Personality

Marichka has a dominating, playful, and smug personality. She is a tomboy and enjoys humor. She is often depicted as violent or sadistic towards Russians.

## Trivia

* She is a smoker.
* She is friends with Kraken and Eva.
* Marichka is a diminutive form of Maria.
* She wears a Christian cross and is presumably Christian.
* She has a tattoo of a Ukrainian trident (tryzub) on her left arm.
* She is often depicted with either a moe fang or sharp teeth.
* Her headgear is called Mazepinka, a historical Ukrainian military cap.
* It is not confirmed, but her original design might have been based on an Azov soldier.
* However, it was never mentioned or implied by the original creator that Marichka is a member of Azov. Her nickname "Azovchan" came from English-speaking Internet after 24 February 2022.
* @ep867 once published a comic titled "What if it all was just a bad dream", which explores Marichka living in an alternative universe where the Russian 2014 invasion of Ukraine never happened. In the comics, Marichka passes Austronauts' Avenue while riding the bus, so It's assumed she lives in Vinnytsia.

* Her unofficial love interest is Stepan.

## Chest tattoo

* The tattoo on her chest was originally a half-hidden symbol. It resembles a swastika, but could also be read as a stylized Cyrillic У. The original author never showed the full tattoo, so it's left to the interpretation of the audience.

* Some claim the tattoo was a mockery of Russian claims about nazis in Ukraine and is not an actual swastika, but stylized У made look like one. It is important to note that Marichka was created a year before the Russian full-scaled invasion of Ukraine, and in 2021 Russian propaganda was only a popular subject of mockery on the Ukrainian Internet.

* Another theory suggests the tattoo means УН (reads as UN), which refers to a popular Ukrainian meme telegram channel called УкрНаступ (tr. Ukrainian Offensive). In December 2022, the channel commissioned ep867 to draw Marichka with a bag with an УН logo, stylized the same way as the У on her tattoo.

* As her popularity grew, artists started interprenting her tattoo differently, stylizing it as УПА (Ukrainian insurgent army of WW2 era), УДАР (Ukrainian for "strike" but also a political party), Azov's ꑭ (Idea of Nation symbol), the White Crest of the Ukrainian 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive, or swastika.

## Gallery

Marichka by @ep867Marichka by @ep867Marichka by @ep867Marichka by @ep867Marichka by @ep867La creature Marichka by @ep867Marichka by @ep867Marichka as a Saint Mykolai by @ep867УДАР Tattoo variation by anonTattoo dilemma by LinyvetsCossack Marichka by Wass NonnamCossack Marichka shaking Sahaidachny's hand by Wass NonnamMarichka shaking Valerii Zaluzhnyi's hand, by USERGOREMarichka with President Biden, by USERGOREMarichka with President Macron by JapanonMarichka with President Macron by @lenumerodixseptMarichka by USERGOREPunished Marichka by USERGOREMarichka with a trench cake USERGOREFumo Marichka by KorzynkaMarichka by anonMarichka by anonMarichka by JapAnonMarichka by JapAnonMarichka by JapAnonMarichka by JapAnonMarichka by anonRealest of all of them Marichkas, by /uhg/ anon
## External Links

@limestone\_block - ep867's twitter

@ep867 - ep867's telegram

@MarichkaArt - TG channel dedicated to gathering artworks with Marichka and the others.

MEGA Art Archive - Archive run by @MarichkaArt. Contains a lot of old artworks, but doesn't update very often.