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
much like how Taibbi is now worse than his old nemesis Tom Friedman, Yggy is now worse than Jonah Goldberg
I was wondering how this might all turn out to have been my fault
January 4, 2026 at 2:30 PM
much like how Taibbi is now worse than his old nemesis Tom Friedman, Yggy is now worse than Jonah Goldberg
There it is.
TRUMP: U.S. MAY REIMBURSE OIL COMPANIES FOR REBUILDING VENEZUELA INFRASTRUCTURE – NBC
January 6, 2026 at 12:24 AM
There it is.
Very good thread but I just wonder what the underlying economics of all this look like if Trump is perceived as vulnerable domestically and the energy firms that will have to execute the resource state international he wants to build don’t play ball.
1/Leaders are abducted/allies are threatened but pundits and governments are scratching their heads on what the US is doing. Danish PM on Greenland "It makes absolutely no sense". Why? Because actors using old IR models when we need a new lens. Enter neo-royalism.
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
Denmark's PM urges Trump to 'stop the threats' of annexing Greenland
The prime minister of Denmark called on Trump to “stop the threats” of the U.S. annexing Greenland after renewed comments garnered international attention.
abcnews.go.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Very good thread but I just wonder what the underlying economics of all this look like if Trump is perceived as vulnerable domestically and the energy firms that will have to execute the resource state international he wants to build don’t play ball.
Reposted by Yakov Feygin
I've been vocal in saying groups like the ADL are much too quick to label all anti-Zionism as necessarily antisemitism, and I will continue to say so. But if you want to see why many Jews instinctively feel like criticisms of Zionism are antisemitism, look at this. www.i24news.tv/en/news/inte...
'Zionist attack:' Venezuela’s acting gov't blames Israel for Maduro seizure - i24NEWS
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez asserted that the US operation that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro "seems Zionist"
www.i24news.tv
January 5, 2026 at 12:42 PM
I've been vocal in saying groups like the ADL are much too quick to label all anti-Zionism as necessarily antisemitism, and I will continue to say so. But if you want to see why many Jews instinctively feel like criticisms of Zionism are antisemitism, look at this. www.i24news.tv/en/news/inte...
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
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
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