Unusual Russia

Authorities in Dagestan painted a shark face on the world’s largest ekranoplan, angering locals and tourists.

The legendary Soviet missile-carrying craft Lun has been sitting at Patriot Park near Derbent, on the Caspian Sea, since 2021. After it was turned into a museum exhibit, locals and visitors often came to take photos, film videos, and tour the giant machine.

But recently, officials repainted its cockpit to look like a shark face with teeth. Not everyone appreciated the “creative” rebrand — many saw it as disrespectful to a unique Soviet-era object.

The “Caspian Monster,” as U.S. intelligence once called it, is a hybrid between a ship and an airplane. It is 242 feet long, 63 feet tall, and had a takeoff weight of 380 tons. The Lun could travel over land and water at speeds of up to 186 mph.

Park officials said they added the shark face because the missile-carrying ekranoplan visually resembles a predator.

The craft had originally been deliberately grounded right on the beach, about 15 miles south of Derbent, near the village of Arablar. It was later pulled out of the water and onto shore — a process that took about six months, moving it only around 4 inches per day.