Gorbachev’s Russia is long gone

Feted abroad and despised at home in practically equal measure, Mikhail Gorbachev left a complex legacy as the last leader of the Soviet Uni [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Feted abroad and despised at home in practically equal measure, Mikhail Gorbachev left a complex legacy as the last leader of the Soviet Union. His death last night, aged 91, prompted no declaration of national mourning from the Kremlin, which couldn’t even say whether Gorbachev will receive a state funeral. State TV reported Gorbachev’s demise well down its news schedules. Key reading: - [Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Leader Who Ended Cold War, Dies at 91]( - [IAEA Team Leaves Kyiv to Inspect Nuclear Plant in War Zone]( - [Ukraine Counterattacks in South, Leaves World Guessing on Scale]( - [Russians Face European Travel Hurdles as EU Mulls Restrictions]( - [Latvia Topples Soviet World War II Monument in Swipe at Russia]( The superpower leader who helped end the Cold War and argued for a “Common European Home” to rule out military conflict on the continent died as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine in a confrontation between the two largest republics of his former Communist empire. Europeans now worry how to heat their homes in winter as Russian President Vladimir Putin squeezes gas supplies. Where Gorbachev advocated “glasnost” (openness), Putin has restored Soviet-era repression to crush domestic dissent. Nationalists and Communists cheer his war in Ukraine as a reassertion of Kremlin power that Gorbachev betrayed by acceding to the Soviet Union’s dissolution, with relatively little bloodshed, as republics declared their independence from Moscow. Older Russians who experienced extreme hardship in the economic collapse that followed often share their disdain for the Nobel Peace Prize winner. They’re joined by younger Russians who’ve been raised under Putin to romanticize the Soviet past, ignoring the mass killings and economic ineffectiveness, even as they strive to enjoy the greater freedoms that Gorbachev’s rule ushered in. More than 30 years after he stood down as Soviet leader, there’s confrontation again between Russia and the US and its allies. The indifference that mostly greeted his death at home and the effusive tributes abroad show that, for all the hopes Gorbachev inspired, the man who helped dismantle the Iron Curtain lived long enough to see much of his legacy undone. Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev hold their historic “fireside chat” in Geneva in 1985. Photographer: David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images Click [here]( to sign up for our Equality Newsletter running tomorrow and share this newsletter with others. They can sign up [here](. Global Headlines Records wrangling | The White House records that former President Donald Trump held at his Florida home may have been concealed or removed before an FBI visit in June, suggesting possible attempts to [obstruct]( the investigation, the US Department of Justice said. Its assertion was a response to Trump’s lawsuit seeking the appointment of a “special master” to review the documents. - A group of former federal prosecutors and ex-New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman criticized Trump’s lawsuit seeking a third-party review of the documents seized, calling his executive-privilege claims unprecedented and “[frivolous](.” A photo of documents from Trump’s home submitted as evidence by the DOJ. Source: Department of Justice Pipeline worries | Europe faces the risk of [blackouts, rationing and a severe recession]( if Russia further cuts gas deliveries, and the next reality check is at hand. A three-day halt of the Nord Stream pipeline — a key source of natural gas for the European Union — started today, with concerns that Moscow will find another excuse to curb supplies. Russian state energy giant Gazprom meanwhile told French utility Engie it would halt deliveries from tomorrow amid a disagreement over payments. - Gazprom’s board recommended an interim dividend payout for the first time in its history yesterday after reporting [record first-half revenue]( and net income despite international sanctions. US [life expectancy]( fell by almost a year in 2021 after plunging by 1.8 years in 2020, the biggest two-year decline in nearly a century as Covid-19 ravaged the country. Many nations saw declines in life expectancy during the pandemic, though a study published last year found the 2020 fall was steeper in the US than in comparable developed economies. Climate damage | The toll of extreme flooding on Pakistan’s food security is becoming apparent: large swathes of farmland under water, crops and food stocks washed away, homes and livelihoods wiped out. The deluge has damaged rice and cotton crops, while wheat planting is also at risk at a time when the world can ill afford [another disruption]( to grain supplies. - Pakistan’s [flooding]( is a natural disaster that no country can fully prepare for, but early warning systems could save many lives, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Putin Will Exploit Gorbachev’s Death: Clara Ferreira Marques]( - [Masks Down, Singapore Smiles on High-Earners Again: Daniel Moss]( - [Britain’s Energy Crisis Won’t Steal Christmas: Andrea Felsted]( Murky ties | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his party will [cut ties]( to the Unification Church after revelations of links to the group crimped support for the government and clouded a state funeral for former leader Shinzo Abe. The man arrested for Abe’s murder was quoted by police as saying he was motivated by a perceived connection between him and the church. Explainers you can use - [Why Xi Jinping’s Third Term Doesn’t Mean He’ll Rule for Life]( - [Here Are Pro-Military Contenders to Replace Prayuth as Thai PM]( - [Why 70% Inflation Is Just One of Argentina’s Problems]( Out of work | Xi Jinping’s push to tighten the regulatory screws on China’s tech industry has escalated a [jobs crisis]( for the youngest and brightest minds needed to power the economy, as companies from Alibaba to Tencent fire people by the thousands. With a record of almost 11 million graduates expected to flood the labor market this year, many will join the jobless ranks in an economy where one-in-five people aged 16 to 24 are already out of work. Young people at a job fair in Beijing on Aug. 26. Photographer: Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images Tune in at 8am ET for our weekly global Twitter Space and a conversation with reporters about how the next leader of the UK (chosen in just a few days) might approach ties with Europe, Russia, China and the US. [You can listen via this link]( which will also be available afterward. News to Note - Malaysia’s longest-serving leader Mahathir Mohamad was admitted to hospital today after he [tested positive]( for Covid-19. - Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee will meet with mainland officials tomorrow, as [pressure mounts]( on the finance hub to reopen both its international and Chinese borders. - The US Army grounded its entire fleet of some 400 CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters after [engine fires]( broke out on a few of them. - South Africa’s central bank asked legal advisers for President Cyril Ramaphosa to respond by Sept. 8 to requests for further information as it probes [the theft]( of an unspecified amount of foreign currency from a game farm he owns. And finally ... When a $1 billion Shell-backed cleanup began in 2019 of the disastrous [oil contamination]( in the southern Nigerian region of Ogoniland, it was heralded as the most ambitious initiative of its kind anywhere. But as [Neil Munshi]( and [William Clowes]( report exclusively, United Nations Environmental Programme documents indicate the project — far from being exemplary — is making one of the Earth’s most polluted regions even dirtier. Abandoned fishing boats as crude oil covers the shoreline of an estuary in B-Dere, Ogoni. Photographer: George Osodi/Bloomberg Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022