A shoddy flea is a Russian miracle

It is unlikely that there are those who are not familiar with the history of the Left-hander, who have shod the flea. The story of the brilliant N.S. Leskov, published in 1881 (a separate edition - 1882), is included in the compulsory school curriculum. This work is put in the basis of the wonderful animated film "Lefty". The very phrase "shoe a flea" was included in the lexicon and it meant the high skill of Russian craftsmen.

Brilliant fiction

"The Tale of the Tula Lefty Spit and the Steel Flea" is written in a beautiful, witty language, easy to read, and the aching story of a brilliant craftsman leaves absolutely no one indifferent. The story has so entered into real life that most people do not question whether there was a legendary left-hander in real life and whether the savage flea remained after him. And very disappointing is the fact that the national master of all trades and the result of his work is the fruit of the brilliant imagination of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov. The left-hander did not exist, the documents confirming the fact of the forging of the steel English miniature and its further transfer to England, too, in reality there.

Highly developed western engineering thought

However, the savvy flea, which became a symbol of the unsurpassed mastery of Russian craftsmen, is available (and not only one), but all copies were created much later than the events described in the story. Actually, the tale is a continuation of the statement made by MV Lomonosov: "Russian land can give birth to its own Newtons". A miniature metal flea, a miracle of mechanics, was bought from the English by the Russian tsar, the victor of Napoleon. Certainly, in the demonstration of a unique product, Alexander I had both a hint and a reproach: "but we are still smarter and better than you".

A wonderful response gift

A shoddy flea is the answer to "arrogant neighbor". A tiny dancing insect was shod. True, the flea stopped dancing because of the severity of the paws - the Russian craftsmen "did not finish universities". To understand the worthiness of a reciprocal gift, one must imagine how the fleas look. Actually, out of all this little attractive picture, only one fact is interesting - she has six legs. All six left-handers and two of his comrades and shod. In microscopic horseshoes, the corresponding size of the carnation was driven. According to the story, Russian craftsmen did all the operations with metallic insects without a "melkoscope", as their eyes, according to Levsha himself, "shot".

An ingenious prototype

Shocked engineers of the foggy Albion invited the craftsmen to study to themselves. And this fact took place in reality. The Russian arms business of the master from Tula AM Surnin was invited to England for training, where he quickly gained recognition and became an assistant to the owner at one of the best factories of Henry Knock. Surnin, who went to study in England a hundred years before writing a brilliant tales, almost all experts consider Lefty's prototype, although his fate was much happier than the fate of the hero of the work. AM Surnin, who died in 1811, returning to his native Tula, took a good position at a local weapons factory. This master did incredibly much to introduce advanced English developments into Russia's weapons production, which played a big role in the victory of Russian weapons in the Patriotic War of 1812. His legacy was legendary, which gave Leskov the idea of describing the most interesting life of the Tula gunsmiths, capable of surprising foreigners with their skill and really creating something that would fit the definition of the Russian miracle.

"There is no prophet in his own country"

No wonder the word craftsman has such synonyms as the master, the master of all trades and the creator. There are many products of Russian craftsmen in all crafts, but little is known about their names. This is because the representatives of the upper strata of society, domestic products and local masters have never been held in high esteem, and all foreign ones were praised to the skies. And is not the first domestic steam locomotive of the Cherepanov brothers a Russian miracle?

A real ingenious craftsman who shoed a flea

But back to the savvy flea. This product became the yardstick of skill. And of course, that the Russian craftsman on the family was written to achieve this standard and shoe a flea. For the first time this was done by the remarkable artist Nikolai Sergeevich Aldunin, who died in 2009. This masterful forge hammer stuffed on a real sleepy flea. Telling about this masterpiece, which Aldunin did not consider as such (the best achievement he considered a microcopy of a real T-34 tank, mounted on an apple seed), it is again necessary to recall how fleas look. Their feet are hairy, nature for horseshoes are unforeseen. The amazing master cut the hairs, removed the claws and made the lightest horseshoes made of 999 gold. How small they are, you can imagine, having learned about such data: from one gram of gold it is possible to make 22 million such shods. Is not it brilliant?

A fairy tale that has become a reality

The man who flew the flea, lived with us at one time. He has amazing masterpieces, about which not so much and often was told in the media. All his works differ not only in dimensions that do not fit into their heads, but also because they are exact copies of these samples, and, of course, beauty and grace. It was a real creator and a Russian ingenious craftsman who in fact realized Leskov's invention.

Museum of Microminiatures

As a pioneer, as a rule, there are continuers. And now the savvy flea, like the caravan of camels in the eye of the needle, are indispensable indicators of the skill of the microminiaturist. Now in St. Petersburg there is a museum "Russian Lefty", in the permanent collection of which there are 60 exhibits, among them, of course, there are the above-mentioned brilliant examples of the excellence of the skills of microminiaturists. Presented and a rose in the hair, and books on the cut of the poppy seed. The shod flea in the museum is central, it's a legend-symbol, sung by Leskov.

Modern creators

To the most famous nowadays living Russian microminiaturists are A. Rykovanov (Petersburg), A. Konenko (Kazan), Vl. Aniskin (Omsk). Their ingenious works are awarded with many international competitions. The remarkable master Anatoly Konenko gave his first flea-shaved fleece to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Legal storage

And what about Lefty's homeland? Here in the weapons museum was kept the famous Aldunin shod flea. Tula is very proud of this exhibit, because this is the first wingless insect in Russia with horseshoes. Quite recently this legend moved from the museum of weapons to the "Old Tula Pharmacy", located on Lenin Ave. - the main artery of the city.