Case file · Cryptid
The Karadag sea serpent
Crimean lore tells of a giant reptile in the sea below the extinct volcano of Karadag near Koktebel; an often-repeated story says a Feodosiya newspaper reported it in 1921 and that soldiers were sent to catch it.
1921 CE · 44.92, 35.23 · status: claim
The account
Later reports came from fishermen and holidaymakers, and the poet Maximilian Voloshin, who lived at Koktebel, is said to have sent the 1921 clipping to Mikhail Bulgakov, inspiring the giant snakes of 'The Fatal Eggs' (1925). Photographs from tourists circulated as recently as 2020.
The sceptical view
No original 1921 article has been reliably cited; dolphins, logs and waves are likely explanations.