"That Spark of Life" (Russian: Живинка в деле, romanized: Zhivinka v dele) is a short story (skaz) written by Pavel Bazhov.
[4][5] It generated a Russian catchphrase "spark of life" meaning "creativity", "initiative", or "great interest in something".
[6][7] A docufiction feature film Tales of the Ural Mountains (Russian: Сказы уральских гор, romanized: Skazy uralskikh gor), released by Sverdlovsk Film Studio in 1968, included a live-action adaptation of "That Spark of Life".
[10] "That Spark of Life" was published in mainstream media with an assistance of the Soviet poet Demyan Bedny.
[11] In his letter as of 2 November 1943 to the Ural historian Andrian Pyankov, who had sent him the story, Bedny wrote: You made me very happy by sending Bazhov's tale "That Spark of Life".
Others try to dissuade him, explaining that no life is long enough and it's better to excel in one craft rather than be Jack of all trades, master of none, but Timokha is adamant.
He creates a timetable for himself: two winters to learn logging, two springs for timber rafting, two summers for gold prospecting, a year for mining, ten years for factory work, then farming, hunting, fishing, gem cutting and so on.
One day he decides to try the charcoal burning, although his wife claims that it is dirty work and there's nothing to learn in it.
Timokha finds a teacher, the old master Nefyod, who is known for making the best charcoal in the area.
He agrees to take an apprentice, but he says that he will teach Timokha all he knowns and hold nothing back on one condition—Timokha will not leave until he can make better charcoal than Nefyod.
The charcoal burning was considered a complicated chemical process, many aspects of which were unclear to regular workers.
[15] Valentin Blazhes noted that "That Spark of Life" described the situation similar to the one mention in the article published in the Perm Governorate newspaper after the end of serfdom.
Slobozhaninova commented that Bazhov describes Timokha Maloruchko not with pathos, but with good-natured humour.