Musa Mamut

Musa Mamut was a deported Crimean Tatar who immolated himself in Crimea as a sign of protest against the enforced exile of indigenous Crimean Tatars. His self-immolation symbolized the Crimean Tatar belief that deportation back to exile was worse than death. Today, he remains an icon of the Crimean Tatar civil rights movement. His act of ultimate self-sacrifice was later repeated by other Crimean Tatars, but Mamut remains the most well-known Crimean self-immolator, with his act being commemorated annually with large memorials. Crimean Tatar literature often describes him as an eternal flame illuminating Crimea.