Mr Prusak insists politely that no Novgorod model should be imposed across Russia.

ECONOMIST: Russia: An old-fashioned, modern look | The

But the main author of Novgorod's revival has been its regional governor, Mikhail Prusak, 37, the youngest governor in Russia when first appointed by Boris Yeltsin in 1991.

ECONOMIST: Russia: An old-fashioned, modern look | The

Mr Prusak cloaks his go-ahead convictions in a conservative exterior.

ECONOMIST: Russia: An old-fashioned, modern look | The