Anastas Mikoyan is a fascinating figure. His career was perhaps one of the most colorful in Soviet history.
His accomplishments are consequential and varied, from defusing the Cuban Missile Crisis to writing a popular cookbook.
In his career, he proved to be among the most humane Soviet politicians, advocating for economic reforms, détente, and soft power on the international stage.
He was among the few Soviet figures to actually argue with Stalin.
And despite Soviet Russia being largely pro-Russian, he remained proud of his Armenian heritage.
Of course, Mikoyan was far from a saint. He himself had tons of blood on his hands, having helped purge Armenia during the 1930s (although he did this with great reluctance). He was also guilty of the Katyn Massacre. He also may have had a hand in the Slansky Trial, an anti-Semitic purge of Communist Czechoslovakia.
What would Soviet Russia be like if he had managed to gain the top job? Would it have been able to reform the USSR into something sustainable, or would Mikoyan have just pushed off the inevitable.
His accomplishments are consequential and varied, from defusing the Cuban Missile Crisis to writing a popular cookbook.
In his career, he proved to be among the most humane Soviet politicians, advocating for economic reforms, détente, and soft power on the international stage.
He was among the few Soviet figures to actually argue with Stalin.
And despite Soviet Russia being largely pro-Russian, he remained proud of his Armenian heritage.
Of course, Mikoyan was far from a saint. He himself had tons of blood on his hands, having helped purge Armenia during the 1930s (although he did this with great reluctance). He was also guilty of the Katyn Massacre. He also may have had a hand in the Slansky Trial, an anti-Semitic purge of Communist Czechoslovakia.
What would Soviet Russia be like if he had managed to gain the top job? Would it have been able to reform the USSR into something sustainable, or would Mikoyan have just pushed off the inevitable.