Category: USSR
Ambassador Jack Matlock - Did the West Fumble the Post-Cold War Peace? | Ep 580, Aug 28, 2026 [EP580]
Posted on Friday, Aug 28, 2026 | Category: Armenia, US, Russia, Geopolitics, History, Soviet Armenia, USSR | Series: cog, video
Groong Links:
Guest(s):
Topics:
- Recollections from Soviet South Caucasus
- Why the Soviet Union collapsed
- How the Cold War ended
- Reagan and Gorbachev’s diplomacy
- America’s post-Cold War triumphalism
- NATO expansion and Russian backlash
- Great-power rivalry in the Caucasus
- Armenia’s geopolitical choices today
Episode 580 | Recorded: Aug 27, 2026
#JackMatlock #ColdWar #SovietUnion #Reagan #Gorbachev #NATO #Russia #SouthCaucasus #Armenia
Ambassador Jack Matlock - Did the West Fumble the Post-Cold War Peace? | Ep 580, Aug 28, 2026 [EP580]
Posted on Friday, Aug 28, 2026 | Category: Armenia, US, Russia, Geopolitics, History, Soviet Armenia, USSRGroong Links:
Guest(s):
Topics:
- Recollections from Soviet South Caucasus
- Why the Soviet Union collapsed
- How the Cold War ended
- Reagan and Gorbachev’s diplomacy
- America’s post-Cold War triumphalism
- NATO expansion and Russian backlash
- Great-power rivalry in the Caucasus
- Armenia’s geopolitical choices today
Episode 580 | Recorded: Aug 27, 2026
#JackMatlock #ColdWar #SovietUnion #Reagan #Gorbachev #NATO #Russia #SouthCaucasus #Armenia
Why the Soviet Union Collapsed from Within, Not by Western Pressure [EP580]
Posted on Friday, Aug 28, 2026 | Category: History, Geopolitics, USSRAmbassador Matlock argues that internal Soviet weaknesses, not Western military or economic pressure, caused the USSR’s collapse, and that the Cold War had already ended before the Union broke apart.
Transcript: Ambassador Jack Matlock - Did the West Fumble the Post-Cold War Peace? | Ep 580, Aug 28, 2026 [EP580]
Posted on Friday, Aug 28, 2026 | Category: Armenia, US, Russia, Geopolitics, History, Soviet Armenia, USSR, TranscriptIn this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Ambassador Jack Matlock, the last US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, about whether the West missed a historic opportunity to integrate Russia into Western security architecture after the Cold War. We discuss the internal collapse of the Soviet Union, Reagan-Gorbachev diplomacy, NATO expansion and Russian backlash, and how Cold War-era decisions shape Armenia’s geopolitical choices today, including Matlock’s firsthand observations of Soviet Armenia during glasnost and the Nagorno Karabakh movement.
Pietro Shakarian - Anastas Mikoyan, An Armenian Reformer in Khrushchev's Kremlin| Ep 480, Oct 22, 2025 [EP480]
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025 | Category: Armenia, History, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, History, Armenian Genocide, USSR, Armenian Church, Russia, Genocide, China, Georgia, Turkey, Economy, NATO, Iran, Lebanon, Middle East, Ukraine, India, Soviet Armenia, Modern Armenia | Series: cog
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Research journey, archives Moscow and Yerevan
- Mikoyanâs vision of confederation for the USSR
- Artsakhâs status within Soviet constraints
- De-Stalinization and Armeniaâs cultural thaw
- Mikoyanâs stance toward the Armenian Church
Episode 480 | Recorded on October 18, 2025
Pietro Shakarian - Anastas Mikoyan, An Armenian Reformer in Khrushchev's Kremlin| Ep 480, Oct 22, 2025 [EP480]
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025 | Category: Armenia, History, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, History, Armenian Genocide, USSR, Armenian Church, Russia, Genocide, China, Georgia, Turkey, Economy, NATO, Iran, Lebanon, Middle East, Ukraine, India, Soviet Armenia, Modern ArmeniaGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- Research journey, archives Moscow and Yerevan
- Mikoyanâs vision of confederation for the USSR
- Artsakhâs status within Soviet constraints
- De-Stalinization and Armeniaâs cultural thaw
- Mikoyanâs stance toward the Armenian Church
Episode 480 | Recorded on October 18, 2025
Sopo Japaridze - USSR: A Common Home & History | Georgia’s Foreign Agent Bill | Armenian Georgian Relations | Ep 330 - May 18, 2024 [EP330]
Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2024 | Category: Georgia, Armenia, USSR, Armenian Genocide, Russia, Turkey, China, Genocide, NATO, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, European Union, Human Rights | Series: cog
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- USSR: A common Home & History
- Georgiaâs Foreign Agent Bill
- Armenia-Georgian Relations
Episode 330 | Recorded: May 17, 2024
Sopo Japaridze - USSR: A Common Home & History | Georgia’s Foreign Agent Bill | Armenian Georgian Relations | Ep 330 - May 18, 2024 [EP330]
Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2024 | Category: Georgia, Armenia, USSR, Armenian Genocide, Russia, Turkey, China, Genocide, NATO, Ukraine, Iran, Israel, European Union, Human RightsGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- USSR: A common Home & History
- Georgiaâs Foreign Agent Bill
- Armenia-Georgian Relations
Episode 330 | Recorded: May 17, 2024
Thirty Years After the USSR | Ep #109 - Dec 26, 2021 [EP109]
Posted on Sunday, Dec 26, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Russia, USSR, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Economy, Artsakh, Turkey, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, NATO, European Union | Series: cog
Thirty Years After the USSR
- Dr. Pietro Shakarian is a Lecturer in history at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan. His research focuses on the history of Eastern Armenia and the Caucasus, especially Soviet Armenia during the era of Nikita Khrushchevâs Thaw. His analyses on Russia and the former Soviet region have appeared in The Nation, The Plain Dealer, the Russian International Affairs Council, Hetq, and more.
Topics:
- How did the USSR Dissolve, who were the personalities behind it?
- Did Ethnic Nationalism Have a Hand in it?
- Did Ronald Reagan Defeat the Soviet Union?
- What are the
Thirty Years After the USSR | Ep #109 - Dec 26, 2021 [EP109]
Posted on Sunday, Dec 26, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Russia, USSR, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Economy, Artsakh, Turkey, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, NATO, European UnionThirty Years After the USSR
- Dr. Pietro Shakarian is a Lecturer in history at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan. His research focuses on the history of Eastern Armenia and the Caucasus, especially Soviet Armenia during the era of Nikita Khrushchevâs Thaw. His analyses on Russia and the former Soviet region have appeared in The Nation, The Plain Dealer, the Russian International Affairs Council, Hetq, and more.
Topics:
- How did the USSR Dissolve, who were the personalities behind it?
- Did Ethnic Nationalism Have a Hand in it?
- Did Ronald Reagan Defeat the Soviet Union?
- What are the
Pietro Shakarian - Soviet or Armenian? The Life and Times of Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan | Ep 28, Dec 4, 2020 [EP28]
Posted on Friday, Dec 4, 2020 | Category: Armenia, History, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, History, USSR, Russia, Georgia, China, Economy, Ukraine, Soviet Armenia, Modern Armenia | Series: cog
Groong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- The Life and Times of Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan
Episode 28 | Recorded on December 3, 2020
Pietro Shakarian - Soviet or Armenian? The Life and Times of Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan | Ep 28, Dec 4, 2020 [EP28]
Posted on Friday, Dec 4, 2020 | Category: Armenia, History, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, History, USSR, Russia, Georgia, China, Economy, Ukraine, Soviet Armenia, Modern ArmeniaGroong Links:
Guest:
Topics:
- The Life and Times of Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan
Episode 28 | Recorded on December 3, 2020