Yesterday at 22:17
His fate was particularly tragic. While he was awarded the highest military awards for his bravery on the frontline in World War II. Then the Soviets took away his ancestral homeland and deported his people.
One could see them from afar, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags waving in the wind. Kids carried flowers in their arms. The Crimean Tatar community gathered near the bust of Sultan in the Alley to the Glory of World War II Heroes in Kyiv, to honor of his memory.
“I personally do not know any comparable hero who is celebrated and remembered as much as him, neither on May 9 or other holidays. People come here every year to show respect to Amet-Khan Sultan,” head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Rafat Chubarov said.
This week marked the 99th birthday of the World War II fighter pilot. One of the most decorated fighter pilots of the Soviet Union, he was declared ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ twice.
“He was a courageous person, not only in battle but also in public life. He defended the rights of then, already deported Crimean Tatar people. He was not afraid to lose his status or his freedom. On the contrary, he joined the movement for the rights of the Crimean Tatar people in the 1950’s,” Historian Andriy Ivanets said.
The German pilot aces nicknamed Sultan the “Lion of the Air” and feared his squadrons entering German territory. Whenever their howling sirens sounded and Sultan was sighted, the best pilots of the Third Reich would be put on alarm. Even though Sultan lived to witness the defeat of the Nazis in Berlin, he was unable to return to his own home – Crimea.
In 1944, and in plain sight of Sultan, the Soviet authorities started forced deportations of Crimean Tatars to Central Asia. His relatives were partially spared due to his status as a war hero, and were able to relocate to Dagestan. Shots from the “Khaitarma’ (Return) movie depict the fate of the Crimean Tatar people.
After the war, Sultan began to fight for the rehabilitation and right to return for Crimean Tatars.
“He never hid, never ran away. When representatives of our people came to him, he always tried to help them. He met and assisted them with documents and signed them off, despite all the repressions,” Chubarov said.
In addition to military merit, Sultan also became a hero for his people, by actively participating in the Crimean Tatar national movement. In 2015, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution on naming Simferopol International Airport after Sultan.
