The village of Kamenka in Russia’s Lipetsk region has become legendary from its stunning life-size rendition of a three-headed fire-breathing dragon. Located in the Kudykina Gora family park on the banks of the Don River, the statue of Zmei Gorynich (“son of snake”) is a rendition of a dragon that appears as an evil denizen in dozens of Slavic folk stories.
Ukrainian sculptor Vladimir Kolesnikov spent two years constructing the 50-feet tall three-headed piece. Made from a concrete exoskeleton over an iron frame, the meticulously detailed dragon sits atop an elevated dirt mound in the middle of the park where it occasionally terrifies visitors by belching fire while letting out a Godzilla-like roar.
According to Russian folklore, Zmei Gorynich (or Zmey) is often depicted as having multiple heads with the 12-headed version being the most difficult to defeat, and is known to shapeshift into a deceptively handsome youth.
