"A huge snowman was seen in Russia's Kazan earlier this month. The work of blogger Gayaz Iskandarov, the frozen giant soars 15.3 metres into the sky - and is decorated with a scarf, carrot nose and traditional hat. Footage captured in early March shows the construction process and another from last Thursday has the finished snowman: "The idea came to me way back in 2019. I had already set a Russian record - I built a snowman that was 9.4 metres tall. Then, in 2022, the guys from Sheregesh built a snowman that was 11.7 metres tall. After that, the idea just wouldn’t leave me alone," Iskandarov said. The Kazan resident thanked family for helping him complete the work, admitting he could never 'have completed it alone'. "I was working almost every day from 6 am to 11 pm. Sometimes my brain didn’t even let me sleep. I slept for about four hours, suddenly woke up, and couldn’t fall back asleep. My brain kept telling me, 'Go build it, go build it.' So I’d get up, go there, and keep building," he continued. Iskandarov said he had to use a crane to lift the heavier parts. "I used a truck crane solely to put the finishing touches on it. This skullcap weighs around 45 kilograms - actually, closer to 50 kilograms. Up there the wind is strong. I mean, we’re standing here as if there’s no wind, but if we go up 15 metres, the wind is incredibly strong. It blows everything away, but I installed it, as well as the eyes, the arms and so on," he added. Iskandarov submitted an application to the Russian Book of Records for official recognition of the achievement."