Oligarchs Flee, Beijing Hedges: Is Putin's Era Ending?

Silicon Bites Ep372 | 2026-07-21 | They've Started Burying Putin Alive. The oligarchs are running, Beijing is hedging, the ratings are collapsing — every group that holds this regime up is quietly preparing for the world after Putin. They have not yet moved against him, but the life support for his regime is being switched off one input at a time. Soon the plug will be pulled, as Putin’s relentless war is dragging Russia down the abyss and taking everyone in a benighted, failing empire with him. In a single week in July 2026, Bloomberg documented the oligarchs stampeding for the exits with tens of billions of dollars; the Wall Street Journal revealed that Xi Jinping now treats Putin as a supplicant and is quietly building relationships with the people who will run Russia after him; the Kremlin's own pollsters recorded the steepest one-week collapse in Putin's approval since the mobilisation panic of 2022; and Russia's Defence Ministry admitted its flagship drone force has recruited barely a quarter of its plan. Four pillars. One message. The people who know this regime best have stopped believing in it. ---------- ACTIVE CAMPAIGN: We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire Drones Silicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga’s Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones. https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain... These heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine’s largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconc...   / siliconcurtain   https://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up... ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-che... UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org ---------- SOURCES: Bloomberg — "Russia's Elite Are Moving Billions Beyond Putin's Wartime Grasp" (16 July 2026), via Yahoo Finance Meduza — "Russia's richest businessmen are moving billions abroad amid fears of asset seizures, Bloomberg reports" (16 July 2026) Ukrainska Pravda — "Russian oligarchs move billions abroad for fear of asset confiscation" (16 July 2026) The Wall Street Journal — "Putin Was Xi's Role Model. Now He's the Junior Partner." (14–15 July 2026), via tovima.com Meduza — recap of the WSJ report on Power of Siberia 2 and Putin's supplicant status (15 July 2026) RBC-Ukraine — "Xi preparing for power shift in Russia as Putin losing China's trust — WSJ" (15 July 2026) Meduza — "Putin's approval rating just posted its steepest drop since Russia invaded Ukraine" (17 July 2026) Kyiv Post — "Putin's Approval Rating Sees Biggest Weekly Drop Since 2022 Amid Fuel Crisis" (17 July 2026) Charter97 — "Putin's Approval Rating In Russia Has Fallen To A Record Low" (17 July 2026) Kyiv Post — "Russia Struggles to Staff New Drone Force as Military Recruitment Falters – Report" (20 July 2026, citing CIT and Ukraine's SZRU) Janis Kluge — "Federal budget data shows 71,216 new contract soldiers in Q1 2026, lowest in 3 years" (9 June 2026) Novaya Gazeta Europe — "Russia's military recruitment rate fell to three-year low in first quarter of 2026" (10 June 2026) Reuters — "Russia's largest oil refinery halts processing after drone attack, sources say" (7 July 2026), via US News The Moscow Times — "Russia's Largest Oil Refinery Halts Production After Drone Attack" (7 July 2026) CNN — "Almost every Russian region hit by fuel crisis, as Ukraine escalates drone attacks" (6 July 2026) Mediazona — "Running on empty: map of fuel rationing in 56 Russian regions" (26 June 2026) The Moscow Times — "Russian Regions Begin Odd-Even Gasoline Rationing" (10 July 2026) CNN — "Russia's overwhelming manpower advantage against Ukraine is starting to wane" (14 June 2026) ----------