Losing influence

The legacy of Russia’s war in Ukraine may be that Moscow’s influence over former Soviet nations finally collapses. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Signs of President Vladimir Putin’s waning power in what the Kremlin calls its “near abroad” of former Soviet republics are visible all around Russia’s borders. Georgia offers the latest evidence after the ruling party today abandoned controversial “foreign agents” legislation that had triggered two nights of violent clashes between police and protesters. Key reading: - [Georgia Drops ‘Foreign Agent’ Law After Night of Violent Clashes]( - [Five Dead After Azerbaijan, Armenia Clash in Disputed Region]( - [US Closely Eyes Sanctions Evasion in Central Asia, Blinken Says]( - [Moldovan Leader Accuses Russia of Ouster Plot in Security Push]( - [Putin’s War in Ukraine Pushes Ex-Soviet States Toward New Allies]( For two decades, Georgia has worked to detach itself from Russia’s orbit, drawing closer to the European Union and NATO. The EU and the US told the government in Tbilisi in unusually blunt terms that relations would be harmed by legislation they warned had much in common with one that Putin has used to silence civil society in Russia. That together with the protests was enough to force a climbdown for a government that had no wish to be left out in the cold with Moscow again. While Ukraine continues to battle Russia’s invasion, the president of neighboring Moldova last month called out what she said was a Russian plot to destabilize her tiny republic and turned to Europe for support. Elsewhere, it is the EU and the US that have been driving recent negotiations to try to reach a final peace agreement between Georgia’s Caucasus neighbors. That is a change from a few years ago, when Putin brokered a truce deal that halted a 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Russia worked for years to reduce US influence in central Asia after ties intensified during American military operations in Afghanistan. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s summit talks with five central Asian republics during a visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan last month was an assertion of American interest in Moscow’s former backyard. The shock of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted nations across the ex-Soviet empire to strengthen US and EU ties. The legacy of the war may be that more than 31 years after the Soviet Union was formally dissolved, much to Putin’s chagrin, Moscow’s influence as “the center” finally collapses. WATCH: Georgian authorities in Tbilisi detained dozens of protesters. Click [here]( to listen to our weekly global politics Twitter Space conversation on the political and economic turmoil hitting emerging market nations from Nigeria to Pakistan. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines New salvo | Russia launched a devastating [bombardment]( across Ukraine, killing at least five people and casting hundreds of thousands more into sporadic blackouts with a mix of weapons that mostly evaded air defenses. At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for reinforcements to defend the city of Bakhmut, to prevent Moscow from gaining an “open road” to capture more territory in the eastern Donbas region. - The Kremlin’s [cyberwar]( against Ukraine began with a bang, but like the conflict on the ground, it has fizzled, failing to produce the full-blown digital chaos that many predicted. Tax hike | US President Joe Biden is proposing a series of [tax increases]( on billionaires, rich investors and corporations as part of his budget request set to be released today. But the proposal has little chance of passing Congress, particularly now that Republicans control the House of Representatives. - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will meet with Iowa Republican legislators in Des Moines tomorrow amid [rising expectations]( that he will run for president in 2024, sources say. - Coming Soon: Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. Find out how the worlds of money and politics intersect in the US capital. [Sign up now for the new Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter](, delivered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Egypt has come almost [full circle]( in winning back and then losing the confidence of bond investors just over two months after sealing a deal with the International Monetary Fund. Credit-default swaps, used to insure against non-payment of debt, have risen by the most worldwide after Ecuador in the past month and signs of distress are flashing in the bond market again. Diminished role | For decades, China’s premiers were towering figures in Beijing. When Li Qiang, 63, ascends to the job this weekend, he’ll inherit a position [greatly reduced]( in both political stature and direct authority. Perhaps no other office has lost as much under President Xi Jinping’s efforts to consolidate power than the premier, who officially leads China’s cabinet. - Shares in Chinese suppliers of materials for semiconductors surged after unsubstantiated reports of impending Japanese export curbs circulated on social media, [underscoring the nervousness]( surrounding US efforts to isolate Beijing’s chip industry. - A Chinese city will use lockdowns and school and business closures as part of its plan to [contain influenza outbreaks](, sparking concern among citizens about a return to the country’s economically crippling Covid-19 restrictions. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [New Delhi Is Already Back to Its Bad Old Ways: Ruth Pollard]( - [Hong Kong’s New Normal Isn’t Fooling Anyone: Matthew Brooker]( - [Why Block TikTok When You Can Put It on Probation?: Minxin Pei]( Hitting the buffers | What’s left of Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s [progessive]( agenda has been thrown into doubt after the government’s landmark overhaul of the tax system was unexpectedly defeated in parliament yesterday. Coming six months after voters rejected a new constitution that looked to enshrine a series of social rights — and after just a year in office — questions are now being asked about Boric’s political acumen, and of his administration’s ability to push through any kind of meaningful reforms. Boric speaks during his inauguration ceremony in Santiago on March 11, 2022. Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg Explainers you can use - [Why Spain’s Sexual Consent Law Is Dividing the Left]( - [Cyberattacks Are Just One Part of Hybrid Warfare]( - [$52 Billion Plan to Make Chips in the US Faces a Labor Shortage]( Island haven | The tiny island of Mauritius spent years trying to clean up its image as a base for money launderers and shell firms. But as [Chris Kay]( reports, short-seller Hindenburg Research’s allegations against billionaire Gautam Adani are reviving questions about the country’s role as a [tax haven]( for India’s tycoons. Bloomberg TV starting Monday March 13 will relaunch Balance of Power at 5pm to 6pm ET weekdays with Washington correspondents [Annmarie Hordern]( and [Joe Mathieu](. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here](. News to Note - Protests over the government’s plan to cut the Supreme Court’s powers continue to [roil Israel]( and the chief of the army has expressed alarm over a threat from reservists to withhold service. - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was taken to a [hospital]( last night after a fall at a Washington-area hotel. - Australia’s new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines will be based on a modified British design with US parts and upgrades, sources say, as the three countries push ahead with a security pact meant to [counter China](. - Northwestern University Professor Janice Eberly is the [frontrunner]( in the White House search for a successor to Lael Brainard as vice chair of the Federal Reserve, sources say. - Bolivians formed a line three blocks long outside the central bank’s headquarters in La Paz yesterday as they rushed to convert their savings into dollars amid [growing fears]( over the bank’s dwindling cash reserves. - South Korea will send its leader to Japan for the first time in four years, announcing a trip days after the neighbors signaled a [breakthrough]( to end a feud that had disrupted ties on trade and security. And finally ... There are more than 170 trillion tiny plastic particles — or 2 million tons of them — [clogging]( the world’s oceans, a sharp rise since 2005 that shows no sign of slowing down, the journal PLOS One reported in a peer-reviewed paper. As [Leslie Kaufman]( writes, the oceans supply half the planet’s oxygen, absorb more than a third of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and feed billions of people. But they’re being overwhelmed from overfishing, plastic dumping and acidification. Plastic waste on a beach in Iki, Japan, in October 2021. Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg Follow Us 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 Bloomberg Politics newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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