Overview

Veteran Soviet statesman and longtime Politburo member Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan is perhaps best remembered in both the West and the post-Soviet space as a master political survivor who weathered every Soviet leader from Lenin to Brezhnev. Less well known is the pivotal role that Mikoyan played in dismantling and rejecting the Stalinist legacy and guiding Khrushchev's nationality policy toward greater decentralization and cultural expression for nationalities. Based on new discoveries from the Russian and Armenian archives, Anastas Mikoyan is the first major biographical study in English of a key figure in Soviet politics. The book focuses on the Armenian statesman's role as a reformer during the Thaw of 1953–1964, when Stalin's death and Khrushchev's ascension opened the door to greater pluralism and democratization in the Soviet Union. Mikoyan had been a loyal Stalinist, but his background as a native Armenian guided his Thaw-era reform initiatives on nationality policy and de-Stalinization. The statesman advocated a dynamic approach to governance, rejecting national nihilism and embracing a multitude of ethnicities under the aegis of ""socialist democracy,"" using Armenia as his exemplar. While the Soviet government adopted most of Mikoyan's recommendations, Khrushchev's ouster in 1964 ended the prospects for political change and led to Mikoyan's own resignation the following year. Nevertheless, Mikoyan remained a prominent public figure until his death in 1978. Following a storied statesman through his personal and professional connections within and beyond the Soviet state, Anastas Mikoyan offers important insights into nation-building, the politics of difference, and the lingering possibilities of political reform in the USSR.

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9780253073549

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Reviews

""Shakarian's study reflects a significant amount of scientific work. Especially noteworthy is his ability to analyze historical events and personae in a context that was constantly changing throughout the lifetime of Anastas Mikoyan. His work with sources is particularly impressive.""—Mark Grigorian, author of Yerevan: Biography of a City ""Shakarian's painstaking research produces new and comprehensive insights into Mikoyan's deft and consequential role in the reforms that came to define Nikita Khrushchev's post-Stalin Thaw.""—Edward P. Djerejian, former US Ambassador ""Pietro Shakarian's remarkable, comprehensive examination of one of the great, emblematic figures of the Soviet past—Anastas Mikoyan—stands as an invaluable contribution to the study of the role of the individual in history.""—Edward Nalbandian, former foreign minister of Armenia

""Shakarian's study reflects a significant amount of scientific work. Especially noteworthy is his ability to analyze historical events and personae in a context that was constantly changing throughout the lifetime of Anastas Mikoyan. His work with sources is particularly impressive.""—Mark Grigorian, author of Yerevan: Biography of a City ""This splendid piece of research and writing deals with important issues that have not been adequately explored before in historical scholarship. The archival revelations are stunning, and Shakarian brings new light to obscured topics, showing the inner workings of the Soviet system under Stalin and Khrushchev. Well-organized, readable, and never verbose, it is a much-needed and original contribution to the field of Soviet studies.""—Ronald Grigor Suny, author of Stalin: Passage to Revolution ""Shakarian's painstaking research produces new and comprehensive insights into Mikoyan's deft and consequential role in the reforms that came to define Nikita Khrushchev's post-Stalin Thaw.""—Edward P. Djerejian, former US Ambassador ""This book is unquestionably an important contribution to scholarship on Soviet policymaking and nationality policy. Mikoyan has until now been an unjustly neglected figure in Soviet policymaking. By focusing on his personal networks and groundbreaking initiatives in the field of de-Stalinization, Shakarian has made an important and invaluable contribution to greater understanding not only of the Khrushchev period, but of Soviet history as a whole.""—Alex Marshall, author of The Caucasus Under Soviet Rule ""Pietro Shakarian's remarkable, comprehensive examination of one of the great, emblematic figures of the Soviet past—Anastas Mikoyan—stands as an invaluable contribution to the study of the role of the individual in history.""—Edward Nalbandian, former foreign minister of Armenia

Author Information

Pietro A. 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 earned his PhD in History at The Ohio State University and his MA at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He was previously a lecturer in history at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan.

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