The first Russian academician M.V. Lomonosov wrote what became textbook lines about his own “mind-fast Newtons,” which the Russian land can give birth to. These lines turned out to be prophetic. They have the best attitude towards the brilliant Russian self-taught inventors Kulibin, Polzunov, father and son Cherepanov. Fate was not at all kind to these people. On the contrary, by the force of family tradition or low serfdom, she in every possible way hindered their endeavors. And even when the first Russian inventors, at the cost of incredible efforts, took on the desired task, there were few people around who understood them, and even fewer who helped and supported. The authorities squeezed all the juice out of Kulibin, Polzunov, Cherepanov, suffocated them with everyday routine, clipping the wings of their creative flight. Much of what they invented and created with their own hands was not properly appreciated or recognized by their contemporaries. This also applies to Cherepanov’s locomotives, and Kulibin’s “navigable vessel”, which was handed over as unnecessary for firewood, and Polzunov’s steam engine, which lived out its life in the factory yard. During their lifetime, these inconvenient, stubborn people, who seemed to many to be either holy fools or sorcerers, were not particularly favored, and if they were rewarded, it was not often and not generously. But they did not complain, but only asked to be given the opportunity to complete their plan. The champions of what we will call scientific and technological progress achieved everything not so much with borrowed books, but with their own minds; they achieved success thanks to talent and enormous hard work.