Freshwater Monster of Russia.
Etymology: After the lake.
Physical description: Serpentine. Length,
13–16 feet. Fish- or snakelike head. Large eyes.
Enormous tail.
Distribution: Lake Brosno (250 miles northwest
of Moscow), Tver’ Region, European Russia.
Significant sightings: A monster tradition dates
back to 1854.
In late 1996, tourists from Moscow snapped a
photo of the monster after their seven-year-old
son shouted that he had seen a dragon in the lake.
Possible explanation: The Sturgeon (Acipenser
sturio) often grows to 11 feet 6 inches long, with
outsize specimens reaching 19 feet. Some individuals
are thought to live as long as 100 years.
It is found in the Baltic Sea and spawns in rivers
that drain into it. The Tver’ Region would be a
bit remote for this species.
The Brosno Dragon, also known as Brosnya (Russian: Бросня), is the name given to alake monster which is said to inhabit Lake Brosno, near Andreapol in West Russia. It is described as resembling a dragon or dinosaur, and is the subject of a number of regional legends, some which are said to date back to the 13th century.
Many people treat the existence of Brosnya skeptically and still say that the creature may be a mutant beaver or a giant pike of 100–150 years. Others conjecture that groups of wild boars and elks cross the lake from time to time.
There are some more scientific hypotheses concerning Brosnya. One of them is a gas version saying that when hydrogen sulfide goes up from the lake bottom it makes water boil up; this boiling in its turn resembles a dragon head. But the amount of hydrogen sulfide must be considerable to produce this effect. Other version says that there is a volcano in Lake Brosno that makes ejections on the water surface from time to time. It is well known that there are several fractures at the bottom of the lake, the depth and the direction of the fractures cannot be defined. It is not ruled out that the volcano crater is inside of one of the fractures. This explains why the volcano, if it actually exists, has not been discovered yet. See limnic eruption.
Fishermen say that the underwater world of Lake Brosno has a structure of several levels. From time to time, burbots and yellow perchcan be found in the lake. For example, herring can be found in a lake in Peno District in the Tver Region. Some consider it strange that sea fish may live in the lake at all. Smelt shoals can be found in Lake Brosno as well. The phenomenon of Brosnya can be explained from the physical point of view: huge smelt shoals are reflected on the water surface through refraction of light and produces the effect of a huge reptile head. Physicists say that any mirage appears in hot weather. Indeed, witnesses say that they came across Brosnya in summer. However, the origin of the rumors of this strange monster remain a mystery.
Rumors of a strange, giant creature living in Lake Brosno have existed for several centuries. One legend says that the lake monster scared to death the Tatar-Mongol army that headed for Novgorod in the 13th century. Batu Khan stopped the troops on the sides of Lake Brosno to rest. Horses were allowed to drink water from the lake. However, when the horses ventured down to the lake, a huge roaring creature emerged from the water and started devouring horses and soldiers. The Batu-khan troops were so terrified that they turned back, and Novgorod was saved. Old legends describe an "enormous mouth" devouring fishermen. Chronicles mention a "sand mountain" that appeared on the lake surface from time to time. According to another legend, some Varangians wanted to hide stolen treasure in the lake. When they approached the small island, a dragon came to the surface from the lake and swallowed the island up.
It was rumored in the 18th and 19th centuries that the giant creature emerged on the lake surface in the evening, but immediately submerged when people approached. It is said that during World War II the beast swallowed up a German airplane. Today, there are lots of witnesses who say they chanced to see Brosnya walking in the water. Locals say that it turns boats upside-down and has to do with disappearance of people.
This bio-luminescent, aquatic reptile has inspired terror in the fishing villages surrounding Russia’s little known Lake Brosno for generations.
Laying just 250 miles north-west of Moscow near Andreapol in West Russia is a relatively small body of water known as Lake Brosno, which, according to eyewitness accounts, is the home of a bizarre, glowing, reptilian creature. Reports of this luminous beast, which allegedly lurks near the bottom of their lake, date back to at least 1854.
That having been said, the legends of this aquatic horror have been told and retold for centuries. One of the most famous tales associated with the dragon concerns its encounter with the Tatar-Mongol army that headed for Novgorod in the 13th century. Their leader, Batu Khan, allegedly stopped his troops on the shore of Lake Brosno to rest and allow the horses to drink but, when the horses ventured to close to the lake, a colossal roaring beast emerged from the dark water and devoured animals and soldiers alike. The troops were so terrified that they turned back and Novgorod was saved.
Other ancient legends describe an “enormous mouth” that ate fishermen and a “sand mountain” that appeared on the surface of the lake. More recently, locals claim that during World War II, the dragon – apparently an Allied sympathizer – managed to swallow a Nazi airplane.
Described as being a 16-foot long, “iridescent,” dragon-like creature, with a fish-like or serpentine head, this animal is said to have spread terror throughout the small fishing communities located not only on Lake Brosno, but situated on the Volgo river as well.
This bizarre form of bio-luminescence is rare among cryptids, and has been reported in only two other animals, the winged predators known as the DUAH and the ROPEN, both of which are reputedly “flying” creatures that hail from across the globe.
Although most descriptions of Brosnya suggest it is reptilian, some researchers believe that due to the often frigid climate around lake Brosno, this creature cannot be a reptile. They have surmised that this animal is likely mammalian, although what manner of mammal they do not know.
In 1996, the Itar-Tass news agency reported that many of the residents of Brosno Lake are terrified of what the local press has dubbed “Brosnie” or “Brosnya” and that many of the citizens of these tiny villages have taken to fortifying there homes, as quoted from an article released by Reuters News Service:
“I’m afraid,” said one elderly woman, Varya, who lives in the small lakeside village of Benyok about 400 km northwest of Moscow. “I do not feel comfortable staying in this place. The monster could crawl into my house any day.”
Although there have been some (admittedly blurry and difficult to find) photos taken of this creature, not everyone is taking the reports of this animal so seriously. This was evidenced by the flippant remark made by an obviously skeptical scientist – Lyudmila Bolshakova, of Moscow’s Institute of Paleontology – in the same article, who refused to even entertain the notion of investigating this phenomenon:
“It sounds like a country fairy tale, the kind of story told over the years in the countryside.”
Thankfully, not all scientists seemed to share Bolshakova’s limited assessment of the situation. Tver region paleontologist, Nikolai Dikov, was quoted as saying that based upon the photographs this creature was probably related to an animal of decidedly prehistoric origin:
“The creature’s alleged shape suggested an extinct order of reptiles with teeth like mammals.”
The “extinct order of reptiles,” which Dikov was referring to is probably of the family known as Synapsids, whose teeth were differentiated into molars, canines, and incisors, similar to mammal’s teeth.
In 1996, an anonymous tourist from Moscow allegedly snapped a picture of this beast after his 7 year-old son screamed that he saw a “dragon” in the Lake. Sadly, this photograph, like so many others, is seemingly impossible to find.
In November of that same year, the Karavan weekly started an expedition to Lake Brosno. The expedition consisted of journalist Yeugeny Novikov, head of the Tver Regional Legislative Assembly’s press-service Nikolay Ishchuk, journalist Marina Gavrishenko, photographer Anaida Jilavyan and editor-in-chief of the Karavan newspaper Gennady Klimov. Gavrishenko, had this to say about Brosnya:
“At first sight, the whole of the monster story looks like a fairytale. After the expedition to Lake Brosno, I do believe that the place is actually mysterious. Stories told by witnesses prove this opinion. We met with local people who were perfectly sane and adequate. What is more, all legends about the mysterious monster trace the roots back to the old times. I am sure that legends and rumors cannot arise from nothing.”
In 1997, additional reports of this animal swimming close to onshore settlements caused yet another frenzy of terror along Brosno’s coast, and in the summer of 2002, experts of the Kosmopoisk Research Association went for an expedition to Lake Brosno and did echo deep sounding. The results of this expedition have yielded perhaps the most bizarre development in this case to date.
The Moscow newspaper “Arguments and Facts” interviewed Vadim Chernobrov, the Kosmopoisk coordinator, who discussed the strange discovery they made in the depths of the lake:
“Echo deep sounding registered an anomaly. There was a huge jelly-like mass of a railway car size handing five meters above the bottom. The mass stood motionless. We waited for some time and then decided to make it move: we threw an underwater petard, a low capacity explosive device. When the device blew up, the creature started slowly going up. We stared at the water, and it was clear; there was nothing resembling a monster, however something unusual was still felt in the lake water.”
Whatever this gigantic GLOBSTER-like creature actually was, this encounter adds a new twist on an already fascinating mystery.
The Brosno dragon or Brosnya is a creature believed to reside in Lake Brosno which is situated, in the Tver region, near the town of Andreapol in Russia It is a deep lake with a maximum depth, as discovered recently of 160 meters .Stories about a giant creature living in Lake Brosno have been around for centuries. . One of the legends says that the lake monster scared to death the Tatar-Mongol army that headed for Novgorod in the 13th century. Batu Khan stopped the troops to rest on the sides of Lake Brosno, when horses came down to the lake, a huge creature emerged from the water roaring and started devouring horses and soldiers. The Batu-khan troops were so terrified that they turned back, and Novgorodwas saved. Old legends say that some enormous mouth devoured fishermen. Chronicles mention some "sand mountain" that emerged above the lake surface from time to time. Once, Varangians (Swedish mercenaries) wanted to hide stolen treasures in the lake. But when they approached the small island, a dragon came to the surface from the lake and swallowed the small island up.
The thought of the monster became fixed in people's minds over the 18th - 19th centuries. It was rumoured that the creature emerged on the lake surface in the evenings, but immediately submerged when people approached. Supposedly during WWII the beast swallowed up a German airplane. Numerous witnesses say that they have seen a head above water that looked like a dinosaur or a dragon head with a long thin tail. Other people said that the creature was covered with scales like a reptile .
In November 1996, the Karavan weekly (A Russian magazine) started an expedition to Lake Brosno in the Tver Region. The expedition consisted of writer and journalist from Tver Yeugeny Novikov, head of the Tver Regional Legislative Assembly's press-service Nikolay Ishchuk, journalist Marina Gavrishenko, photographer Anaida Jilavyan and editor-in-chief of the Karavan newspaper Gennady Klimov. Gennady Klimov says: "The lake actually keeps some secret. When the depth of Lake Brosno was measured, it turned out that in some parts it was 120-160 meters deep. It means that Lake Brosno is the deepest inEurope. What is more, the lake belongs to the preglacial epoch that is why mysterious phenomena are quite possible in it. As for me, my concerns about the whole of the story are quite particular. The nature here in the Tver Region is wonderful and pure. There is a unique technology of making and using myths. These technologies will be extremely important in the future." Marina Gavrishenko, the journalist who took part in the expedition says: "At first sight, the whole of the monster story looks like a fairytale. After the expedition to Lake Brosno, I do believe that the place is actually mysterious. Stories told by witnesses prove this opinion. We met with local people who were perfectly sane and adequate. What is more, all legends about the mysterious monster trace the roots back to the old times. I am sure that legends and rumours cannot arise from nothing." Nikolay Ishchuk, the head of the Tver Regional Legislative Assembly press-service says: "I do not believe in wonders. What we chanced to see at Lake Brosno is actually mysterious and incomprehensible. If the phenomenon can be explained with the laws of the planet's life, I believe this is a miracle indeed. I recollect our expedition to Lake Brosno and our attempts to take pictures of the creature as a wonderful journey. This is wonderful that people may have such interesting adventures. May it be so that the expedition actually came across some miracle? Inexplicable things must exist in this world. When people do not understand some things they want to know more and reveal more new facts."
A tourist took a photo of something in the Lake in 1996 but it was blurry and inconclusive.
Experts of the Kosmopoisk research association went on an expedition toLake Brosno together with Karavan in the summer of 2002 and did echo deep sounding. Vadim Chernobrov, the Kosmopoisk coordinator said in an interview to the Moscow newspaper Argumenty i Facty (Arguments and Facts): "Echo deep sounding registered an anomaly. There was a huge jelly-like mass of a railway car size , five meters above the bottom. The mass stood motionless. We waited for some time and then decided to make it move: we threw an underwater petard, a low capacity explosive device. When the device blew up, the creature started slowly going up. We starred at the water, and it was clear; there was nothing resembling a monster, however something unusual was still felt in the lake water."
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
14Dec96 RUSSIA: RUSSIA'S "NESSIE" FRIGHTENS VILLAGERS.
By Nikolai Pavlov BENYOK, Russia, Dec 14 (Reuter) - Near the bottom of Lake Brosno, or perhaps deep in the recesses of man's imagination, a monster of huge proportions lurks. The evidence, much like that of Scotland's Loch Ness monster, is based on a single photograph and a few alleged sightings. The picture shows a panoramic view of LakeBrosno with an object floating in the foreground. As with the Scottish "Nessie," it is not clear whether the object is a large log -- or something more ominous from the deep. "I'm afraid," said one elderly woman, Varya, who lives in the small lakeside village of Benyok about 400 km (250 miles) northwest of Moscow. "I do not feel comfortable staying in this place. The monster could crawl into my house any day."
"It was big like this," said Tanya, another grandmotherly type who believes the creature hides from humans near the lake bottom. "I saw a head, like a fish -- and big." She sketched a snake-like head rising from the water with a large eye on the side. Tourists from Moscow camping near the lake added to the legend by taking a photograph after their seven-year-old son shouted out that he had seen a dragon monster. A newspaper in Tver, the nearest major town, recently published the photo, and the story was picked up in the local media. "It is completely possible that the creature which you see in this photo is a relative of the famous Loch Ness monster," wrote the newspaper, Caravan-1. Locals who believe in the monster -- and there are certainly a fair number of sceptics -- say it is much like a serpent, and one report estimated its length at five metres (16 feet).The alleged sightings are not prompting scientists to rush to the attractive lake surrounded by trees to conduct tests however ."It sounds like a country fairy tale, the kind of story told over the years in the countryside," said Lyudmila Bolshakova, an expert at Moscow's Instituteof Paleontology. Regional media said there are written reports of sightings of the monster dating back to the 19th century, and the legend is even older. But a group of journalists visiting the lake this week saw no sign of the monster. Source:(c) Reuters Limited 1996
And more from Tanya:
Babushka Tanya (Grandmother Tanya) and her husband, whose house is metres away from the shore, claim to have seen the monster on more than one occasion. Tanya took a Reuters Television camera crew to the lakeshore site from where she claims to have seen the monster. "I only saw a head of this creature, so I was not scared at all," she said while trying to draw the beast. "It is now on the bottom of the lake, deep, and it is hiding from the winter cold", she explained. Local press reports describe a creature about five metres (16 feet) long living in Lake Brosno, 80 km (50 miles) northwest of the Russian capital, and have published photographs, though they are too indistinct to be convincing according to some experts. Natalya Istratova, Professor of Biology at Moscow State Zoo, says it is "absolutely impossible" to say what kind of animal the monster might be without examining it. However one Lake Brosnoresident, Baba Nadya (Grandmother Nadya), is terrified of the beast fearing it will crawl out of the lake and into her house "any day." A local press report describes a creature about five metres long. It quoted a local palaeontologist, Nikolai Dikov, as saying the creature's alleged shape suggests an extinct order of reptiles with teeth like mammals. Recent palaeontological excavations at Russia's old lakes of the tectonic origin, like Lake Brosno, are reported to have provided evidence to a theory linking the Brosno monster to pre-historic dinosaurs. Near the Siberianlake of Shestakovo, palaeontologists are said have found the bones of a pre-historic creature, quite similar to the descriptions of Brosno's babushkas. source :
http://www.nfo.ac.uk/collections/records/0017-0004-0069-0000-0-0000-0000-0.html
However, some people are sceptical and say that the creature may be a mutant beaver or a giant pike possibly 100-150 years old . Maybe it is a sturgeon? I am surprised no one brought that one up. The descriptions vary from fish to dragon but anyone with experience of eye witness testimony knows it is unreliable and what looks like a fish to one person looks like a fowl to another! It’s a wonderful story though and I would love to see some serious investigation there with a mini sub or diving bell. Certainly the legend has been around almost as long as the story of Nessie and should be investigated in two strands, one on the folklore and one on the biology of the lake.
In the bowels of the deepest lake in Europe, lies a monster feared for centuries. Lake Brosno, in Russia’s Tver region, is the home of Brosnya, a dragon rumored to flip boats and be involved in numerous disappearances. The dragon has invoked terror in the small fishing community living along the shores of the Brosno. One resident of the community, Baba Nadya, is terrified the beast will crawl out of the lake and into her house “any day.” Multitudes of witnesses claim to have seen Brosnya walking in the water. The dragon is said to be about 5 meters in length (16 ft) and iridescent. Also, according to many, this dragon glows. Many Ocean creatures are capable of bioluminescence, but it rarely reported in cryptids. The only other glowing cryptids the Duah and the Ropen, believed to be flying predators reported around the world.
In the summer of 2002, Brosno Dragon Experts of the Komsomolsk research association went to Lake Brosno and did an echo deep sounding. Vadim Chernobrov, head of the investigative team said in an interview to the Moscow newspaper Argumenty i Facty (Arguments and Facts):
“Echo deep sounding registered an anomaly. There was a huge jelly-like mass of a railway car size handing five meters above the bottom. The mass stood motionless. We waited for some time and then decided to make it move: we threw an underwater petard, a low capacity explosive device. When the device blew up, the creature started slowly going up. We starred at the water, and it was clear; there was nothing resembling a monster, however something unusual was still felt in the lake water.”
Marina Gavrishenko, the journalist who took part in the expeditions stated: “At first sight, the whole of the monster story looks like a fairytale. After the expedition to Lake Brosno, I do believe that the place is actually mysterious. Stories told by witnesses prove this opinion. We met with local people who were perfectly sane and adequate. What is more, all legends about the mysterious monster trace the roots back to the old times. I am sure that legends and rumors cannot arise from nothing.”
A paleontologist in the region, Nikolai Dikov, has said the pictures and descriptions of Brosnya suggest a reportedly extinct order of reptiles with mammalian teeth. Recently, the findings from excavations of old lakes of tectonic origin suggest Brosnya may be related to the creatures of the prehistoric era. Near the Siberian lake of Sestakovo, Paleontologists excavated the bones of a creature exceedingly similar to the description of Brosno.
The water dragons are believed to have existed for centuries. One of the legends tells of the monster scaring an entire Tatar-Mongol army in the 8th century, preventing them from invading Novgorod. According to the story, the Baty-khan stopped for the troops to rest on the side of the lake, but when the horses were allowed to drink, a gigantic creature roared as it began devouring horse and Tatars alike. Other references in the Primary Chronicle include a legend attesting that some enormous mouth devoured fishermen. Chronicles mention some “sand mountain” that emerged above the lake surface every once in a while. Another story says Varangians wanted to hide stolen treasure in the lake, but when they approached a small island, a dragon came and swallowed the entire island. I have studied the Primary Chronicle extensively, although there undoubtedly a narrative quality to the Primary source there is certainly historically valuable and factual information embedded within the Chronicles.
Some people have offered up alternative explanations. One hypothesis involves the gases of hydrogen sulphide. Proponents of this theory explain how gas, rising from the bottom to the surface can create boiling effect, which could resemble a dragonhead. Of course, It would certainly require a substantial amount of hydrogen sulphide to produce this effect.
Others believe this is a volcano at the bottom of Lake Brosno and the explosions rising to the surface are being mistaken for Brosnya. Why this would be mistaken for a dragon, I can’t say. Several fractures exist at the bottom of the lake, the depth and the direction of which cannot be determined. So, if a volcano did exist it would have to be in one of the fractures. Some people say it must be a mutated beaver instead, I’m guessing the sardonic skeptics.
Keep in mind Lake Brosno is 120-160 meters deep and could very well connect the Sea. For such a creature to survive in the lake it would need access to the Sea for its food supply (unless it is a vegetarian). Such an enormous creature would require more space for breeding as well. The water of the lake is too cold for traditional reptiles to survive so some believe the creature must be a mammal. (Are dragons mammals?)
Whether visitors to Lake Brosno believe in Brosnya or not, they all agree there is an eerie, otherworldly energy to the area. They come away saying if such a thing were to exist, it would be there. Modern day legend says the dragon ate a Nazi plane during WWII. Yet like the Primary Chronicle, the existence of the dragon is apocryphal in nature, but may very well contain truth.
Lake Brosno is a relatively small lake situated near the town of Andreapol in the Tver Region of Russia, roughly 250 miles north of Moscow. According to sonar tests Lake Brosno has a depth of 129 feet, with areas which seem to go much deeper, and has a long history of mystery and intrigue from legends of giant snakes and dragons to underwater volcanoes. Legends of the Lake Brosno monster, or Brosnie, supposedly go as far back as the 13th century when the creature saved a Russian city from the Mongol horde.
The story goes that a Tatar Mongol army, heading for Novgorod, was giving their horses a chance to drink on the shores of Lake Brosno when a huge beast reared up from the depths and began to devour both man and steed, causing the army to retreat. Other legends tell of an enormous mouth devouring unwary fisherman and of so called sand mountains that emerge from time to time. One chronicle relates how a group of Varagians, Swedish mercenaries, planned on hiding stolen treasure in the lake but when they approached the small island they had chosen, a dragon came from the depths and swallowed the island whole.
Brosnie was sighted again in the 18th and 19th centuries, appearing several times on the surface of the lake during the evening hours only to quickly disappear when approached. The creature was even rumored to have swallowed a German plan during World War II. To this day locals still insist Brosnie turns boats upside down and is involved in the disappearance of several people.
In the summer of 2002, Experts from the Kosmopoisk Research Association along with members from Karavan Magazine, went on an expedition to Lake Brosno and did deep echo location sounding. Vadim Chernobroiv, the Kosmopoisk coordinator said in an interview to the Moscow newspaper that the sonar research registered an anomaly. There was a huge jelly like mass the size of a railway car roughly five meters above the bottom of the lake. The mass stood motionless, until the group decided to throw an underwater petard, a low capacity explosive devise, at the mass. When the device detonated the mass started going up and although nothing ever surfaced resembling a monster the test did return some interesting results.
Today many people treat the existence of Brosnie skeptically and often suggest that the creature may be some form of giant pike or possibly groups of wild boar or elk known to cross the lake from time to time. A more scientific theory states that hydrogen sulfide is some times released from the lake bottom causing the water to bubble up, as this bubbling reaches the surface it could possibly be mistaken for a monster, however, the amount of hydrogen sulfide must be considerable to produce this effect.
Other scientific theories suggest that there is an underwater volcano at the bottom of Lake Brosno which makes ejections from time to time. It is well known that there are several fractures at the bottom of the lake; however the depth and the direction of the fractures cannot be defined. It has not been ruled out that the volcano crater is inside of one of the fractures.
Lyudmila Bolshakova, a member of Moscow’s Institute of Paleontology, dismissed ideas of a Brosno “dragon”, stating that it sounds like a country fairy tale, the kind of story told over the years in the countryside. Research into the creature and trips to the lake in search of Brosnie are increasingly popular among the researchers of the region and it may be just a matter of time before they bring back evidence of this remarkable creatures existence.
The Evidence There is currently no physical evidence to suggest the existence of Brosnie.
The Sightings No documented sightings of Brosnie could be found at this time.
The Stats – (Where applicable)
• Classification: Lake Monster • Size: Unknown • Weight: Unknown • Diet: Carnivorous • Location: Lake Brosno, Russia • Movement: Unknown • Environment: Lake Bottom
Far away, in a remote region of Russia, about 250 miles NW of Moscow, lies a mysterious deepwater lake known as Lake Brosno. People have reported seeing what they described as a dragon lurking in its cold, dark waters for centuries.
They named the dragon Brosnya and blamed it for overturning fishing boats and being responsible for the disappearance of many a person. Residents in the small towns ringing the lake live in terror to this day. They claim that it can actually crawl out of the lake and onto land.
Brosnya is described as being 5 meters long (16 feet), and iridescent. Some have reported that it glows.
What is It?
Local paleontologist, Nikolai Dikov, reports that the pictures taken of Brosnya, along with descriptions of eyewitnesses, suggests a supposedly extinct order of reptiles with mammalian teeth. Further fueling this controversy, paleontologists working near the Siberian lake of Sestakovo, excavated bones of a creature believed to be similar to the description of Brosnya. We’ve been unable to determine where lake Sestakovo is in relation to Lake Brosno. It would lend more weight to this creature’s existence if they were relatively close together.
Legends
Here’s a brief list of the legends associated with Brosnya:
- One 8th century legend reports that the entire Tatar-Mongol army was scared by the creature, preventing them from invading Novgorod. The Batu-khan ordered the troops to rest lakeside so the horses were allowed to drink from the lake and the men drew close to the shore. Suddenly the creature appeared roaring at the disturbance and devoured a horse and some of the soldiers.
- A reference from the Primary Chronicle reports that fishermen were devoured by the beast. This chronicle also mentions that a “sand mountain” rose from the lake periodically.
- Another story describes how the Varangians planned to hide stolen treasure in the lake, but when they approached a small island, a dragon appeared and swallowed the whole island.
- During WWII, it was reported that the dragon rose out of the water and ate a Nazi plane.
The Facts
None of these legends seem plausible to us, especially when you consider what else is happening in that area. Let’s explore those facts:
- Lake Brosno was formed during the ice age, so it was carved by a glacier. It is deep, one report we read stating it was 43 meters (140ft) at its deepest, while another reported it is 120-160 meters (394-525 ft) deep.
- There is volcanic activity deep below on the lake floor. Volcanic eruptions can release gasses into the water that rise to the surface looking suspicious and odd to onlookers.
- Saltwater fish have found their way into the lake, surprisingly. These would include burbot and perch. Just below is the Burbot fish, part of the Northern Pike family. Below that is the photo of the Perch fish.
- What to Make of All This
People may be mistaking large eruptions of gasses from the volcanic activity below as the dragon. In other, unrelated investigations, science has proven that large eruptions of gasses can sink ships of all sizes. So that could explain what happened to the fishing boats.
It’s also been reported that very large boars, and elk/moose, swim across the lake and could be mistaken for another large creature, like a dragon. We’re not sure we buy this explanation because the people in that area are used to seeing boars, elk, moose – are they really going to be fooled by them?
As far as swallowing an island and eating horses and soldiers – who knows. Those tales were from so long ago that nothing about them can be substantiated so we’re filing them under “folklore”.
But let’s look at the fish in the lake. Burbot and perch are saltwater fish. How did they get into a fresh water lake? The lake is deep enough to hide a cave system that may reach the sea, or a backwater of the sea.
That begs the question, if these fish are making it back and forth, could an elusive creature like Brosnya also be going from the sea to the lake, and vice versa?
Echo Location
In the summer of 2002, Brosno “Dragon Experts” from the Komsomolsk research association visited Lake Brosno to perform deep echo sounding. When interviewed by the Moscow newspaper Argumenty i Facty, lead investigator Vadim Chernobrov said, “Deep Echo sounding registered an anomaly. There was a huge jelly-like mass of a railway-car size [hovering] five meters above the bottom. The mass stood motionless. We waited for some time and then decided to make it move; we threw an underwater petard, a low capacity explosive device. When the device blew up, the creature started slowly going up. We stared at the water and it was clear; there was nothing resembling a monster. However something unusual was still felt in the lake water.”
We think that explanation lost something in the translation. Echo sounding into water is supposed to cause animals that echo-locate (dolphins, porpoises, etc) to reply. We’re wondering if they were doing that, or just using echo location to “map” the water and lake bottom underneath them. A “jelly like” mass could have been anything from lake debris, to a pocket of gas, who knows.
One thing is clear – there isn’t much scientific data written about Lake Brosno, much less Brosnya. And what is written is not always clear upon translation.
Verdict, Please!
So the mystery remains. Because the lake is so deep, and seems to connect to the ocean, we’ll agree that the Brosnian dragon could possibly exist. But for now, there’s no way to prove it.