The former owner of Scottish football club Hearts has mounted a ‘busty Sphinx’ atop his mansion.
The giant golden statue with prominent female breasts has turned the property into an unlikely local landmark.
The busty monument is positioned on the three-storey mansion of flamboyant tycoon Vladimir Romanov.
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The 78-year-old Lithuanian-Russian billionaire lives in Mytishchi, located about 15 miles from Moscow, Russia.
It is considered an area popular with wealthy residents seeking spacious homes near the Russian capital.
Romanov, former owner of Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian, commissioned the eye-catching sculpture to sit above the pillars of his pink, white and dark-brown brick mansion.
Defending his bizarre design choice, the ex-banker said the colossal lion-bodied structure was built to honour his mediaeval ancestor Ivashka of Romanov, who reportedly fought as a knight for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
He said: “I started digging into the past and realised there is nothing better than immortalising the history of my ancestors in the form of a Sphinx.
“It had to be convincingly large and convincingly beautiful.”
Despite drawing crowds of mocking onlookers to his security gates, the flamboyant tycoon insisted the buxom Sphinx perfectly reflects his personal interest in ancestral heritage.
Social media users focused on the statue’s eclectic mix of Egyptian motifs with conventional suburban architecture, with some criticising the prominent breasts as excessive.
Local officials have not yet confirmed if the voluptuous roof decoration violates building restrictions or community decency codes.
The billionaire, who also owned the Lithuanian football team FBK Kaunas and the Zalgiris basketball team, was a candidate for the Lithuanian presidency but was barred by citizenship rules as he was born in Russia.
The controversial businessman fled to Russia after the dramatic 2013 collapse of his Lithuanian banking empire, Ukio Bankas, subsequently gaining political asylum to avoid international arrest warrants.
He lost control of Hearts at the same time following eight years at the club, as reported by Need To Know.
In 2006, Hearts lifted the Scottish Cup while finishing second in the league.
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