Abstract
The article examines the image of the dragon/aydakhar in Russian and Kazakh mythopoetics from a comparative perspective. The study is based on an interdisciplinary approach that combines folklore studies, mythology, and cultural anthropology, and employs the historical- typological method, as well as the concept of the “basic myth” and theoretical views on the functional nature of dragon-slaying. It is shown that in the Russian tradition the Serpent most often appears as an antagonist and a marker of liminal space, associated with social and historical threat and the motif of liberation. In Kazakh epic tradition, the aydakhar, while preserving its chthonic nature, is frequently interpreted as a fi gure of a fateful pact and heroic initiation connected with the restoration of cosmic order. The article identifi es both common structural features and national- specific diff erences in the semantics of victory over the monster.