YouTuber MotoTanya Dies in Crash

Russian YouTuber Tatyana Ozolina, popularly known as MotoTanya, has died in a motorcycle accident in Turkey. The popular social media star, branded the “most beautiful biker,” was killed when she lost control of her BMW motorbike and collided with a truck near Milas, halfway between provincial capital of Mugla and the resort of Bodrum.She was 38.

Ozolina was reportedly traveling with two friends and fellow motorbike enthusiasts – Onur Obuk and Sergei Khadrikov – at the time of the crash, according to Türkiye Today. The outlet reported that when Ozolina and Obuk slowed down to wait for Khadrikov, who had fallen behind, a truck came between Obuk and Ozolina’s motorcycles. As she attempted to overtake the truck, Ozolina’s motorcycle reportedly collided with Obuk’s, causing both to be thrown from their bikes. Ozolina was declared dead at the scene. Obuk sustained injuries in the crash and received medical treatment.

Ozolina was in Turkey after being refused entry into the European Union at the Greek border amid President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. In a July 18 Instagram post, the social media star shared a video from the Greek border as she wrote, “4000km from home. Greece missed me but didn’t miss my motorcycle. Yes. I was in Greece on foot. I bought a magnet and returned back to Turkey. I was upset that I didn’t manage to ride around Europe, but not much, because I knew that this could happen. Therefore, I moved on. To conquer beautiful, warm and hospitable Turkey.”

Ozolina was best known to her fans as MotoTanya. She rose to social media stardom by sharing pots from her travels, with newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda stating that Ozolina “was one of the biggest bloggers in the motorcycle industry.” She had 5 million TikTok followers, 2 million YouTube subscribers, and a million Instagram followers.

“MotoTanya is not with us anymore. She had a bright and beautiful life. Millions of people followed her,” Andrei Ivanov, head of the MotoMoscow Association, shared in tribute, per The Sun. “Perhaps there is not a single motorcyclist in the country who was indifferent to Tatyana. She was adored, envied, admired, copied, awarded as a top blogger and at the same time discussed and slandered. Now all that remains is her memory. Sleep well.”

Ozolina is reportedly survived by a 13-year-old son.