This Russian Artist Drew Countries As People And They're Totally Badass

Each country is illustrated as a kind of sci-fi/fantasy hero.

Meet Anastasia Bulgakova. She's a Russia-based artist who specializes in fantasy and sci-fi art.

Instagram: @sintorisky

Anastasia's art has been all over Tumblr, Reddit and other corners of the internet lately because of her series re-imagining countries of the world as sci-fi/fantasy warriors.

Anastasia Bulgakova / Via sinto-risky.deviantart.com

You've probably already guessed, but this one is America. Bulgakova describes her as, "A bit naive and idealistic, but quite vicious on the inside. Very attractive and charismatic, and easily turns others to her side."

For each country, Anastasia draws on their past — and even the occasional stereotype — to create these otherworldly characters. For example, England here has a clear '80s punk influence...and an English bulldog.

Anastasia Bulgakova

"I had this idea for quite a while, but maybe the whole recent political situation in the world has pushed me to actually do it," Bulgakova told BuzzFeed. "I wanted to add some humor into the mix, to lighten up the mood of the real-world situations."

Some of the takes are lighter and more humorous, like this illustration of Canada.

Anastasia Bulgakova

Canada is the only one in the series who isn't depicted as a warrior. In Bulgakova's description, she says that her version of Canada "only fights in sports," specifically hockey. She also calls him a "simple guy with puppy eyes" who "prefers to be at home and not look for any problems in others' battles."

Others — like Bulgakova's home country of Russia — are a little bloodier.

Anastasia Bulgakova

Bulgakova notes that this isn't to make a political point, but rather the manner in which she's used to drawing. "All of them will be militant and warrior-like, with dirt and blood," she writes in the gallery. "Not because of some political persuasion, but simply because that's what I always draw in any case, and the idea of warrior-countries gives a lot of creative freedom."

Here's Germany, who wears a mech suit as a nod to the country's pride in their engineering.

Anastasia Bulgakova

And her depiction of Japan draws on the country's samurai history.

Anastasia Bulgakova

Bulgakova plans on continuing the series, with China being the next country on her slate, and says that she gets a lot of requests for specific countries, too.

Anastasia Bulgakova

(This one is Mexico, btw, complete with "Aztec/Mayan-themed tattoos" and venomous snakes.)

For now, you can check out the whole series (which includes France, Israel, and others), and even buy prints, at Bulgakova's Gumroad store.