Giant Labubu Effigy Burned at Argamach Park During Maslenitsa in Western Russia

A giant, monster-like effigy modeled on the designer-toy character Labubu was set ablaze at Argamach Park in Lipetsk Region as Maslenitsa celebrations culminated on Saturday, organizers and regional reporting said. RT described the figure as having sharp teeth and resembling Labubu, a line of small dolls that has gained global popularity in recent years.

Local reporting and a regional post show slightly different timelines: Zamin Uz carried the regional government's Telegram announcement that “A Labubu effigy will be burned on Maslenitsa at the Argamach archaeological park in Lipetsk region. This was announced on the regional government's Telegram channel,” and added that the burning was scheduled for February 21. Other outlets, including RT and Eng Pressbee, reported the effigy was burned “on Saturday,” the main day of Maslenitsa festivities, which fell this weekend amid nationwide celebrations.

Festival organizer Aleksandr Galatvin, named by RT, framed the choice of Labubu as part of an existing park pattern, saying the character was chosen to “logically continue” the lineup of pop-culture villains previously burned at Argamach. RT and Pressbee listed prior effigies including Voldemort from the Harry Potter series, the Night King from Game of Thrones, and Freddy Krueger from horror films. Zamin Uz added Venom and a White walker to its account and noted, with a numeric inconsistency in the text, that “last year, five 'villains' were burned,” then listed four names.

Argamach Park has leaned into sculptural spectacle as part of the Maslenitsa ritual that marks the week before Orthodox Lent, preserves pre-Christian elements and culminates in public festivities and pancake feasting. RT placed the Labubu burning in that wider context and said Maslenitsa celebrations “took place across Russia on Saturday,” welcoming spring after an unusually cold and snowy winter.

Elsewhere in Russia, organizers staged other large installations during the same weekend. RT reported Nikola-Lenivets park burned a 25-meter-tall heart installation as a nod to Maxim Gorky’s short story Old Izergil and its Danko figure. A YouTube description of the Altai international Siberian Maslenitsa festival reported a record-breaking 39,000 visitors despite temperatures plunging to -15°C and quoted Festival Director Alexei Kopeykin saying turnout “surpassed all previous years”; that Altai video was posted with 304 views on 22 Feb 2026 in the excerpt provided.

Social posts mirrored the coverage: an Instagram excerpt showed Lipetsk region had “showcased a huge Labubu effigy to be burnt at the weekend,” and several outlets republished RT-style copy. The Labubu burning at Argamach, whether scheduled on February 21 as posted to the regional Telegram or carried out on Saturday as other reports state, joins a deliberate pattern at the park of turning pop-culture figures into seasonal effigies and places this year’s Labubu within a string of high-profile Maslenitsa installations across Russia.