Dr. Pietro Shakarian’s Article on Anastas Mikoyan and Nationality Policy Reform Published in “Europe-Asia Studies”
Pietro A. Shakarian, research fellow at the Centre for Historical Research at HSE – St. Petersburg, published a new article in the journal Europe-Asia Studies, entitled Towards a More Perfect Union? Anastas Mikoyan and Nationality Policy Reform in the Soviet Union, 1954–1964.
Based on materials from the Russian and Armenian archives, the article argues for the significant role of Anastas Mikoyan on the direction of the post-Stalin nationality policy of the USSR. During the Thaw, Nikita Khrushchev’s government, as part of the expressed effort to combat the legacy of Stalin’s “cult of personality,” directed special attention to questions of domestic political reform and democratisation. Within this framework, greater emphasis was placed on expanding the room for national expression and granting greater self-governance to national republics. Such an approach contrasted sharply with the repression and centralisation that characterised the Stalinist regime. Shakarian reveals that Mikoyan, who acted as Khrushchev’s “point man” on nationality matters, had a significant influence on the formation of attitudes towards Soviet nationality policy in this period. The statesman’s role is evidenced by his March 1954 speech in Yerevan, his contributions to the Third Program of the CPSU, and his advocacy for greater de-centralisation in Khrushchev’s constitutional reform initiative of the 1960s.
At the same time, the article concludes that Mikoyan’s contributions underscore the desire for the democratisation of Soviet politics in general. Unfortunately, the new constitutional project, and with it, the proposed reforms to the union state, failed to materialise. After Khrushchev’s ouster in 1964, Mikoyan remained in office for one more year, resigning in December 1965. Nevertheless, many of the transformations that he and Khrushchev envisioned found new expression in the New Union Treaty advanced by Mikhail Gorbachev during perestroika.
Thus, the article demonstrates that the role of Anastas Mikoyan is essential for understanding developments in Soviet nationality policy during the Thaw. Based on Mikoyan’s proposals, it is possible to trace the turn not only towards greater decentralisation on nationality issues, but also towards the democratisation of the USSR more generally. Despite the fact that these projects were not implemented immediately after their development, they demonstrate an ambitious attempt at a radical departure from the Stalinist legacy to a new alternative.
The article Towards a More Perfect Union? Anastas Mikoyan and Nationality Policy Reform in the Soviet Union, 1954–1964 was written within the framework of the Basic Research Programme at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University), St Petersburg.