back then , it was often the case that such exhibitions of grandeur were only paper fine , a thin veneer of gloss to disguise a floundering ability beneath : with yershov , this was clearly not the case ; the man exuded power and competence ; here , there was none of the pointless bureaucracy that had thwarted him in so many of his dealings with the russians to date , instead garnet was faced with a man who purely wished to know facts , and on the basis of them would then give his decision , yes or no , final , no further discussion .