Polkan

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A depiction of a polkan on the lid of a chest

Polkan or Palkan (Russian: Полка́н or Палкан, from the Italian Pulicane) is a half-human, half-horse (in some variants, half-dog) creature from Russian folktales which possesses enormous power and speed. He appears first as the enemy of the hero Bova Korolevich but after a battle becomes his loyal friend and ally.

Prince Bova fights Polkan

Polkan is originally based on Pulicane, a half-dog character from Andrea da Barberino's poem «I Reali di Francia», which was once popular in Slavonic world in prosaic translations.

See also

    This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the Russian Wikipedia.
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