Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Research journey, archives Moscow and Yerevan
- Mikoyan’s vision of confederation for the USSR
- Artsakh’s status within Soviet constraints
- De-Stalinization and Armenia’s cultural thaw
- Mikoyan’s stance toward the Armenian Church
Episode 480 | Recorded on October 18, 2025
Show Notes
Ep-480 - Pietro Shakarian
Summary
Dr. Pietro Shakarian explains the core arguments and new archival findings behind his book on Anastas Mikoyan. We cover Mikoyan’s effort to devolve power inside the USSR during Khrushchev’s constitutional reform drive, what a confederal model could have meant, and why it stalled. We discuss Mikoyan’s role in Armenia’s cultural thaw, including rehabilitations tied to his 1954 Yerevan speech. Shakarian details his research trail across Russian and Armenian archives, 1960s Artsakh petitions, Mikoyan’s stance toward the Armenian Church, and how his Armenian identity surfaced during Cold War crises.
Main Topics Addressed
- Mikoyan’s confederation idea under Khrushchev’s reforms
- De-Stalinization in Armenia and 1954 Yerevan speech
- Research path across Moscow and Yerevan archives
- Artsakh petitions and 1960s activism
- Mikoyan’s view of the Armenian Church
Key Questions Discussed
- How far did Khrushchev’s reforms move the USSR toward a confederation, and why did it fail in practice
- What “radical devolution of powers” would mean for union and republic relations
- Which Armenian writers and officials were affected by post-Stalin rehabilitations
- What new evidence from Moscow and Yerevan archives changes prior scholarship
- How Mikoyan’s Armenian identity and stance toward the Church shaped decisions and relationships
Referenced Articles and Sources
- Anastas Mikoyan, an Armenian Reformer in Khrushchev’s Kremlin – Amazon
- Prior Groong episode with Pietro Shakarian (Episode 28)
Wrap-up
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Guests
Pietro Shakarian
Dr. Pietro Shakarian is a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union and a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Historical Research at the National Research University–Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is currently completing his book on the major role of Anastas Mikoyan in Soviet nationality policy reform and de-Stalinization during the era of Nikita Khrushchev’s Thaw. Dr. Shakarian’s analyses on Russian and post-Soviet affairs have appeared in The Nation, The Plain Dealer, and various other publications. He was previously a lecturer in history at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan.
Hosts
Hovik Manucharyan
Hovik Manucharyan is an information security engineer who moved from Seattle to Armenia in 2022. He co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020 and has been a contributor to Groong News since the late 1990s.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Hovik Manucharyan on the ANN/Groong podcast are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of his employer or any other organization.
Asbed Bedrossian
Asbed Bedrossian is an IT professional, and for years oversaw the central IT enterprise infrastructure and services at USC. His decades of experience spanned across IT strategy, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, data center operations, high performance computing, ITSM, ITPM, and more.
Asbed founded the Armenian News Network Groong circa 1989/1990, and co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020.