Though West Europeans have been cultivating Mr Rossel, he is not yet quite one of them.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The

In the past, Moscow tried to keep people like Mr Rossel in their place.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The

One neighbour is blocking free trade, and Mr Rossel can do little about it.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The

Mr Rossel courts foreign investors enthusiastically, but shows little understanding of the obstacles that face them.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The

Sverdlovsk may be the centre of Mr Rossel's universe, but these days it looks like the middle of nowhere for foreign investors.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The

The push for decentralisation in Russia, which Mr Rossel exemplifies, is startling.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The

Mr Primakov has invited the eight most important governors, heads of economic associations such as Mr Rossel, to join his government as super-ministers.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The

Back home, however, Mr Rossel is doing a fair job of shepherding his people through the current troubles, and particularly the oncoming winter.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The

Mr Rossel and his fellow supergovernors are a rising class, but the new arrangement that gives them increasing clout in the centre is not backed by unfettered power over their fiefs at home.

ECONOMIST: Edward Rossel, Russia’s ungovernable governor | The