2.32 Orthodox Armoured Polyethylene
From The Eastern Border by Kristaps Andrejsons
May 30, 2026 · 51 min · Season 2 · Episode 32
About this episode
This episode discusses the breakdown of Russian military logistics and the economic crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
The Russian state monopoly on violence is officially cracking. While the Kremlin legalises private corporate militaries for Gazprom and Rosatom to defend against systemic Ukrainian drone dominance, the regular troops are left stranded in a neo-feudal logistics nightmare. In this episode, we dissect the absolute breakdown of the Mariupol-Crimea "Highway of Life" under autonomous, AI-targeted UAV strikes—and how the Russian military brass responded by executing their own tech talent in frontline meat assaults. Meanwhile, the home front is facing an economic and physical infrastructure heart attack: VCIOM polling data is bleeding out despite intimidation tactics, the middle-class concrete housing market has entered a terminal Japanese-style zombie coma with 25% mortgage rates, and local authorities admit to an 85% wear-and-tear rate on utility grids. We cap it off with the ultimate "raspil"—the multi-billion-rouble grift to reopen an obsolete Soviet tank academy in Chelyabinsk in an era where drones cause 90% of casualties—and look at the dark, ultra-violent "Black Redistribution" civil war that the Z-patriots themselves are now predicting once the central authority collapses…
People in this episode
Host: Kristaps Andrejsons
Topics covered
- Russian military
- private militaries
- UAV strikes
- economic crisis
- infrastructure
- civil war
Keywords
- Russian state
- military logistics
- UAV
- economic infrastructure
- mortgage rates
- utility grids
- Soviet tank academy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Gazprom, Rosatom
Places: Mariupol, Crimea, Chelyabinsk
More episodes of The Eastern Border
- 2.37 The Simulated Empire · June 11, 2026 · 43 min
- 2:26 This was supposed to be SPIEF 2 · June 8, 2026 · 44 min
- The Eastern Border x Decoding Trolls Car4Ukraine Fundraising Stream · June 7, 2026 · 2h 34m
- 2.35 SPIEF 2026: We can. But why? · June 7, 2026 · 58 min
- 2.34 The Clone Trap Is Burning! · June 2, 2026 · 48 min
- 2.33 Eastern Border Special: Illusionary Calories · June 1, 2026 · 1h 19m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Eastern Border podcast page.