CoG: Soviet or Armenian? The Life and Times of Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (#28 - Dec 3, 2020)

Born in Sanahin, Armenia in 1895, Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan was the most prominent Soviet state figure of Armenian origin. A survivor, Mikoyan managed to weather every Soviet leader from Lenin to Brezhnev.  He was once the #2 man in Moscow after Nikita Khrushchev, and his legacy is complex.  Today on Groong, we will explore this extraordinary historical figure.To help us unpack the historical legacy of Mikoyan, Pietro Shakarian joins us today from Cleveland. Pietro is a historian and a Ph.D. candidate in Russian History at the Ohio State University. His dissertation focuses on Mikoyan’s reforms in de-Stalinization and the nationality sphere in the Khrushchev-era USSR. His analyses on Russia, Armenia, and the post-Soviet space have appeared in The Nation, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Russian International Affairs Council, Russia Direct, and Hetq.  He has also worked with the Gomidas Institute in London on the republication of 19th century accounts of the Russian Caucasus and Armenia.Editors:  - Asbed Bedrossian  - Hovik ManucharyanSubscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong