When retired Major General Buldeev developed a toothache, his steward Ivan Evseich advised him to consult a folk healer. However, the steward had forgotten the surname of this healer-magician; he only remembered that it was “something horse-like.” The general’s family began going through surnames such as Kopytin, Troykin, Uzdechkin, Gnedov, Merinov, and so on.
