Yakov Feygin
@buddyyakov.bsky.social
Political economy, Russia, ext. Also pictures of cats. Recovering historian doing financial engineering for the public sector the Center For Public Enterprise and still sometimes missing academia.
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674240995
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674240995
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
petro-masculinity; or, oil is the new gender
January 5, 2026 at 3:04 AM
petro-masculinity; or, oil is the new gender
God I missed the easy upside of the days of the Saudis playing whack a mole with US shale before they kind of accepted that they are now set permanently lower. You could get paid to store oil on ships going in circles.
Anyone who spent time in the oil patch when prices shit their bed in 2014 saw the stark generational divide between boomer oilies (fuck-you rich or too deep in debt to ever have their notes called before they die) and Xer oilies (eyes like a hunted rabbit)
The general mood from mid level execs and up is my idiot boss or investor got lucky in the 2000s and doesn’t understand why he can’t just print money/go bankrupt 20 times anymore and blames the libs.
January 5, 2026 at 3:06 AM
God I missed the easy upside of the days of the Saudis playing whack a mole with US shale before they kind of accepted that they are now set permanently lower. You could get paid to store oil on ships going in circles.
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
A reminder that this entire to-do started because Sky pointed out - with their relevant professional experience - that Venezuelan oil is Not Great and offers really no advantage over Canadian Tar Sands oil, and therefore, to the extent that this war *is* about oil, it's a dumb reason to go to war
January 5, 2026 at 2:39 AM
A reminder that this entire to-do started because Sky pointed out - with their relevant professional experience - that Venezuelan oil is Not Great and offers really no advantage over Canadian Tar Sands oil, and therefore, to the extent that this war *is* about oil, it's a dumb reason to go to war
Don’t look up Canada’s post WWI reputation.
A warning of sorts: ~ "Canadians see themselves as friendly & affable people. However, Canada’s current self-image of 'niceness' only exists b/c they’re at peace. War changes people very quickly, & Canadians are no more innately peaceful than any other human beings."
Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States
Americans have already been defeated by insurgents all over the world. Invading Canada would be no exception.
theconversation.com
January 4, 2026 at 11:52 PM
Don’t look up Canada’s post WWI reputation.
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
Anyone who spent time in the oil patch when prices shit their bed in 2014 saw the stark generational divide between boomer oilies (fuck-you rich or too deep in debt to ever have their notes called before they die) and Xer oilies (eyes like a hunted rabbit)
The general mood from mid level execs and up is my idiot boss or investor got lucky in the 2000s and doesn’t understand why he can’t just print money/go bankrupt 20 times anymore and blames the libs.
January 4, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Anyone who spent time in the oil patch when prices shit their bed in 2014 saw the stark generational divide between boomer oilies (fuck-you rich or too deep in debt to ever have their notes called before they die) and Xer oilies (eyes like a hunted rabbit)
My toddler has made me turn on the Japanese railroad association’s new technology exhibition and watch their sessions on the next generation of grade crossing control systems.
January 4, 2026 at 10:16 PM
My toddler has made me turn on the Japanese railroad association’s new technology exhibition and watch their sessions on the next generation of grade crossing control systems.
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
I mean this belongs in a museum but also it shows how much the average person was/is paying attention to Ukraine, like, actually following events rather than just absorbing opinions
January 4, 2026 at 7:16 AM
I mean this belongs in a museum but also it shows how much the average person was/is paying attention to Ukraine, like, actually following events rather than just absorbing opinions
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
With the Trump regime backing the Chavista regime, any remaining democratic opposition is going to be eradicated. Probably anyone in the United States involved with it is going to be rendered to Venezuela and imprisoned or executed. It will be a global collapse.
January 4, 2026 at 4:09 PM
With the Trump regime backing the Chavista regime, any remaining democratic opposition is going to be eradicated. Probably anyone in the United States involved with it is going to be rendered to Venezuela and imprisoned or executed. It will be a global collapse.
This is part of a bigger trend of the political valence of oil disconnecting from the actual economics of O and G. I keep telling people to do a little humorous anthropology and read the industry sub Reddit. Half the posts are joking that the industry boosters are morons or old and out of touch.
The amount of “this is clearly about oil” posting across all platforms as story after story comes out where the oil industry is saying that the oil isn’t worth extracting is making me feel a little insane
January 4, 2026 at 2:59 PM
This is part of a bigger trend of the political valence of oil disconnecting from the actual economics of O and G. I keep telling people to do a little humorous anthropology and read the industry sub Reddit. Half the posts are joking that the industry boosters are morons or old and out of touch.
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
No touching kids in the war room
January 4, 2026 at 2:35 PM
No touching kids in the war room
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
No nazi salutes in the war room
January 4, 2026 at 2:34 PM
No nazi salutes in the war room
The option to go forward or not was solely in the hands of get government. It’s not the presses job to ensure operational opsec. In this regard not publishing is the same as approval.
NEW: Plans for secret U.S. raid to capture Maduro leaked to the Washington Post and New York Times before it happened, but both decided not to publish to protect U.S. troops - Semafor
January 4, 2026 at 2:28 PM
The option to go forward or not was solely in the hands of get government. It’s not the presses job to ensure operational opsec. In this regard not publishing is the same as approval.
Which national Dem is most likely to put political enemies in camps?
Non-Americans supporting the Maduro ouster are such rubes. Suppose in 2029 POTUS Kamala decides Javier Milei has to stand trial in the US for the crypto scam. She fires missiles at Buenos Aires and loads him and his sister on a helicopter. How can you oppose that if you support outsing Maduro?
January 4, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Which national Dem is most likely to put political enemies in camps?
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
Lots of head scratching about US intervention in Venezuela but increasingly looks part of a broader Trump strategy — neo-royalism. Foreign policy driven not by national interest but those of elites. For broader context check out this piece.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
January 4, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Lots of head scratching about US intervention in Venezuela but increasingly looks part of a broader Trump strategy — neo-royalism. Foreign policy driven not by national interest but those of elites. For broader context check out this piece.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
So ... we got suckered into providing a free coup for the Venezuelan VP?
I mean this is a Newspaper, so it's at least plausible
I mean this is a Newspaper, so it's at least plausible
"Senior Venezuelan government officials, led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez...have quietly promoted a series of initiatives in recent months aimed at presenting themselves to Washington as a “more acceptable” alternative to Nicolás Maduro’s regime...funneled through intermediaries in Qatar."
Exclusive: Venezuelan leaders offered U.S. a path to stay in power without Maduro
Delcy and Jorge Rodríguez used Doha backchannels to offer Washington a 'Cartel Light' plan for a managed Venezuela transition that keeps chavismo in power.
www.miamiherald.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:04 AM
So ... we got suckered into providing a free coup for the Venezuelan VP?
I mean this is a Newspaper, so it's at least plausible
I mean this is a Newspaper, so it's at least plausible
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
The real problem for everyone is that the military operation appears to have been very well executed, which will definitely embolden the US to do it again elsewhere
January 3, 2026 at 11:50 PM
The real problem for everyone is that the military operation appears to have been very well executed, which will definitely embolden the US to do it again elsewhere
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
Btw this is a good illustration of why the long-term mainstream refusal to even use the term “fascist” was so damaging.
Not bc history repeats or some stupid thing, but bc we can see that certain political characteristics often cluster together.
Not bc history repeats or some stupid thing, but bc we can see that certain political characteristics often cluster together.
January 3, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Btw this is a good illustration of why the long-term mainstream refusal to even use the term “fascist” was so damaging.
Not bc history repeats or some stupid thing, but bc we can see that certain political characteristics often cluster together.
Not bc history repeats or some stupid thing, but bc we can see that certain political characteristics often cluster together.
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
A jury in New York has the opportunity to do the funniest thing
January 3, 2026 at 10:37 PM
A jury in New York has the opportunity to do the funniest thing
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
APNewsAlert: CARACAS, #Venezuela (AP) — No visible signs yet that US is running Venezuela after Trump claims, as country's security forces control key sites.
January 3, 2026 at 5:04 PM
APNewsAlert: CARACAS, #Venezuela (AP) — No visible signs yet that US is running Venezuela after Trump claims, as country's security forces control key sites.
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
Very annoying that we live in a world where a dumber version of Putin has a way more effective military at his disposal
russian war bloggers on telegram are very mad right now, but I suspect it's mostly because russia tried to do the exact same thing in the opening phase of the invasion (see Battle of Hostomel Airport) and failed miserably
January 3, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Very annoying that we live in a world where a dumber version of Putin has a way more effective military at his disposal
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
just gonna note that @matthewdownhour.bsky.social was calling it back in december 2024: the "isolationism" of trump II was always in fact compatible with foreign aggression
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-bellicos...
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-bellicos...
January 3, 2026 at 4:24 PM
just gonna note that @matthewdownhour.bsky.social was calling it back in december 2024: the "isolationism" of trump II was always in fact compatible with foreign aggression
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-bellicos...
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-bellicos...
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
justifications for vance's arguments in real time from these ghouls
January 3, 2026 at 3:37 PM
justifications for vance's arguments in real time from these ghouls
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
I distinctly remember in the first Trump years when people would be like “no, you can’t call them fascist”
January 3, 2026 at 4:22 PM
I distinctly remember in the first Trump years when people would be like “no, you can’t call them fascist”
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
building the case to the rest of the world isn’t to explain Trump’s actions are wrong—that’s clear. It’s to demonstrate elite dissent & rejection of Trump’s actions, to reassert Congress’s role in authorizing force, & to create the kind of public noisiness about policy that characterizes democracies
impeach him. try to do it once a month, if necessary. build the case over and over to not just the American people but to the world that this isn’t the way things should be here, that this isn’t the way we should use our power abroad.
January 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM
building the case to the rest of the world isn’t to explain Trump’s actions are wrong—that’s clear. It’s to demonstrate elite dissent & rejection of Trump’s actions, to reassert Congress’s role in authorizing force, & to create the kind of public noisiness about policy that characterizes democracies