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

• Bova Korolevich
• Centaur

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