Tradition / Region: Russian Mythology
Alternative names: Palkan
Category: Horse

The Myth

Polkan is a legendary creature from Russian folktales with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse. In some versions of the legend, he instead possesses the body of a dog. He is renowned for his immense strength and extraordinary speed.

Polkan first appears as the enemy of the hero Bova Korolevich. After battling the prince, however, he becomes Bova’s loyal companion and faithful ally, fighting alongside him in later adventures.

His story ends tragically when he sacrifices himself to protect Bova’s wife and children. During this defense, Polkan is killed while battling lions.

The Russian Polkan ultimately derives from the Italian character Pulicane, a half-dog creature from Andrea da Barberino’s I Reali di Francia. Through Slavic prose adaptations of the poem, Pulicane gradually transformed into the half-horse hero of Russian folklore. Folk tradition later reinterpreted his name as polukon, meaning “half-horse.”

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Polkan. In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polkan

The Myth

The Indrik, or Indrik-Beast, is a fabulous creature in Russian folklore and the Dove Book. It is regarded as the king of all animals and dwells upon the Holy Mountain, a sacred place where no other creature may set foot.

Whenever the Indrik moves, the earth itself trembles beneath its immense power.

The beast is described as having the gigantic body of a bull, the legs of a deer, the head of a horse, and a single enormous horn growing from its snout, giving it an appearance resembling both a unicorn and a rhinoceros.