One wears “sartorial” black turtlenecks, the other prefers bright stripy alpaca wool sweaters – even at diplomatic meetings. Yet Vladimir Putin and Bolivian President Evo Morales, both of whom have seen their presidencies enormously affected by political issues surrounding natural gas, are looking into striking an energy deal – yet another seemingly ideal marriage of resource populists. Reports indicate that Gazprom is currently negotiating with YPFB (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos), the Bolivian state energy company, on a $2 billion investment in two gas exploration sites in the resource-rich Tarija region of the South, despite the many difficulties experienced by other energy investors. Has Gazprom, one of the world’s leading practitioners of resource nationalism, lost its sense of risk aversion in Bolivia?