An ‘ordinary man’s’ protest: self-immolation as a radical political message in Eastern Europe today and in the past

Abstract

The article describes the tradition of self-immolation in Eastern Europe as a form of radical protest during periods of structural crisis. The authors describe cases of self-immolation (Ryszard Siwiec, Jan Palach, Evzen Plocek, Musa Mamut) which took place in the communist period, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. In the context of Eastern European tradition, they also describe the last case of self-immolation, when Piotr Szczęsny set himself on fire in Warsaw in October 2017 to protest against the authoritarian rule of the Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland. After this incident, Piotr Szczęsny and his memory have become an element of the ‘culture of protest’ in Poland. Quotes from his manifesto began to appear on walls and during anti-government demonstrations. Piotr Szczęsny has also become a protagonist of protest songs.