What is the Brosno Dragon?
The Brosno Dragon is an unidentified creature said to live in Lake Brosno in Tver Oblast in western Russia. Described as dragon- or plesiosaur-like, it is also affectionately called “Brosnya.”
Legend and sightings
Lake Brosno has a legend that in the 13th century, when the armies of the Mongol Empire invaded the area, soldiers and horses camped on the lakeshore were swallowed by a giant monster that rose from the lake, and the frightened army turned back. Toward the end of the 20th century, sightings of a giant creature in the lake and of the water surface bulging up came one after another and were covered by the Russian media.
What is the Brosno Dragon really?
Lake Brosno is more than 40 m deep, and gas formed by decomposing plants and other matter is thought to accumulate on the lake bed. One theory suggests that this gas occasionally erupts to the surface in large amounts, making the water bulge or swirl, and that this phenomenon gave rise to monster sightings.
