Eduard Rossel


Eduard Ergartovich Rossel is a Russian politician, who was the governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast, an oblast in Russia. He was born in 1937 and is of German origin. He returned into office in 1995. He is a member of the Federation Council of Russia.

Childhood and war

Eduard Rossel was born in Bor, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to Volga German parents. His father was executed by the NKVD in 1938 and he was left living with his mother, who at that time found a Ukrainian man and married him instead. Rossel's original language was German, but due to his mother's marriage to a Soviet national, the German language was abandoned and Russian kicked in. He lived with his mother and stepfather until 1942, when both of his parents were sent to labor camps in Ukhta. He lived completely alone for three days, until a neighbor took him in. Realizing that she had many children to feed, he decided in fall 1942 to leave, taking along a bag and pocket knife.
He went to a train station, and while the train guard wasn't looking, sneaked into it and remained there until the train reached Kirov. There, he went out and decided to beg for food because he was hungry but the Soviet militsiya captured him and sent Rossel to a children penal colony. He escaped the colony three days later, returned to the station and took the train to Verkhnekamsk. Rossel's mother was released in October 1947, and she reunited with him the same year.
Following the reunion, mother and child moved to Gerd-Iol, a city on the outskirts of Ukhta, Komi Republic. Rossel attended first grade and after attending school for seven years, decided to attend the Agricultural TVET in Syktyvkar but was denied such option because of his German roots.
In 1962, Rossel graduated from the Ural State Mining University. He also holds a PhD in Technical Sciences and a doctoral degree in Economics and is an academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering and of the International Academy of Regional Cooperation and Development.

Career

Prior to his career, Eduard Rossel made up his mind that he should never skip a single promotion. Prior to his political career, he was the head of the Sreduralstroy, an Ural based company. In 1974, Rossel met Boris Yeltsin at the metallurgy factory, Blooming-1500. During that time, Rossel already worked as head engineer of the Tagilstroy Trust, which was under the control of Alexei Kosygin.
In 1978, Eduard Rossel declined promotion from Boris Yeltsin, who wanted him to become a mayor of Nizhny Tagil. A few days after his election as mayor, Rossel got a visit from Alexander Avdonin, a geologist and local historian, who back then discovered, along with Geliy Ryabov, the burial site of the Romanov Dynasty.
He served as a governor of the Sverdlovsk Oblast from 1991 to 2009.
Rossel supported Boris Yeltsin during his rise to power. Yeltsin and Rossel became more hostile for a time due to Rossel's demand that Sverdlovsk Oblast have a status equal to that of Russia's republics. Rossel eventually returned to Yeltsin's favor, and in January 1996 Rossel won passage of a special bilateral agreement between Moscow and Sverdlovsk.
In 2005, Eduard Rossel awarded his successor, Alexey Vorobyov, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class.
In 2009, Rossel left the gubernatorial post, citing his own failed competency.
In 2018, Eduard Rossel met with vice governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast Aleksey Orlov, finance minister Victoria Kazakova, director of trust company "Belaya Gora", and head of the administration of Nizhniy Tagil, Vladislav Pinaev to discuss whether Belaya Gora should become a tourist resort. The plan is to create a ski resort with the help from the Canadian company Ecosign.

Honours

Eduard Rossel has a daughter who resides in Düsseldorf.