# 2.17 Relegation, Russian Style

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-eastern-border-1102925/2-17-relegation-russian-style
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-eastern-border-1102925/2-17-relegation-russian-style.md
Podcast: [The Eastern Border](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-eastern-border-1102925)
Published: 2026-03-19T11:00:19+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/theeasternborder/episodes/217-relegation-russian-style
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/theeasternborder/e/69bbd743a1476488b7a5a5e8/media.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-eastern-border-1102925/episodes/2-17-relegation-russian-style
Duration seconds: 2074

## Resource

The front office is panicking, the franchise player just demanded a trade, and the owner is literally burning down the stadium to pay the referees. Welcome to the ultimate geopolitical relegation zone. This week, we use the lens of a rigged sports bracket to break down the cascading failures inside the Russian Federation. We're tracking everything from Ilya Remeslo’s spectacular defection and the staggering demographic wipeout reported by the Free Russia Foundation, to the Federal Tax Service liquidating domestic shoe brands just to fund the meat grinder. Plus, we look at the physical collapse of the Russian internet, and how a digital blackout is leaving frontline trenches completely severed from reality. Make sure to stay until the very end to hear Evita’s incredibly accurate reading of some genuinely pathetic Z-doomer poetry. (Premium supporters on Patreon, Substack, and Fourthwall will get this poem as a separate, downloadable bonus track!) SUPPORT THE SHOW: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheEasternBorder Merch Shop: https://theeasternborder-shop.fourthwall.com/ Direct Donations & Crypto: https://theeasternborder.lv Support the frontline: https://car4ukraine.com/ Source Material: Michael Naki (Analysis of the Telegram attack and tactical comms): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRl2qXBeHP4 Michael Naki & Vladimir Milov (Budget Deficit and Financial Trap): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktXr3VqM2l0 Alexander Stefanov (The Latynina Debate): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tz7_3fFm0U Maxim Katz (The "Cannibal" Latynina Analysis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh0lDmsXm2k Maxim Katz on Ilya Remeslo: https://youtu.be/gFp7uQk_bFA?si=CN3MTUqd19NgFewd RealLifeLore (Middle East Geopolitical Conflict): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fst58LTo9U8 Ramy Zaycman (Fi…

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## Transcript

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