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

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

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