Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (; russian: Анаста́с Ива́нович Микоя́н; hy, Անաստաս Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան; 25 November 1895 – 21 October 1978) was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

Communist revolutionary, Old Bolshevik and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

statesman. He was the only Soviet politician who managed to remain at the highest levels of power within the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

while that power oscillated between the Central Committee and the Politburo. His career extended from the days of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

, to the eras of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

and Khrushchev, to his peaceful retirement under

Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and 198 ...

. An early convert to the Bolshevik cause, Mikoyan participated in the

Baku Commune Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world ...

under the leadership of Stepan Shahumyan during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. In the 1920s, he served as the First Secretary of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

region. During Stalin's rule, Mikoyan held several high governmental posts, including that of

Minister of Foreign Trade The Ministry of Foreign Trade (russian: Министерство внешней торговли СССР; Minvneshtorg) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union. The foreign trade of the USSR was a government monopoly and was conducted by t ...

. However, by the 1940s, Mikoyan began to lose favour with Stalin. In 1949, he lost his long-standing post of minister of foreign trade, and in October 1952, Stalin attacked him harshly at the 19th Party Congress. When Stalin died in 1953, Mikoyan again took a leading role in policy-making. Together, he and Khrushchev crafted the de-Stalinization policy and later he became First Deputy Premier under Khrushchev. Mikoyan's position during the Thaw made him the second most powerful figure in the Soviet Union at the time. Mikoyan made several key trips to communist

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, acquiring an important stature on the international diplomatic scene, especially with his skill in exercising soft power to further Soviet interests. In 1964 Khrushchev was forced to step down in a coup that brought Brezhnev to power. Mikoyan served as Chairman of the

parents in the village of

Sanahin Sanahin () is a village in the northern province of Lori in Armenia, now considered part of the city of Alaverdi (a cable car connects it with Alaverdi). The village is notable for its Sanahin Monastery complex, founded in the 10th century an ...

, then part of the

Tiflis Governorate The Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative center in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(today part of Alaverdi in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

's Lori Province) in 1895. His father, Hovhannes, was a carpenter and his mother, a rug weaver. He had one younger brother,

Artem Mikoyan Artem (Artyom) Ivanovich Mikoyan (russian: Артём Ива́нович Микоя́н; hy, Արտյոմ (Անուշավան) Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան, translit=''Artyom (Anushavan) Hovhannesi Mikoyan''; – 9 December 1970) was a ...

, who would be the co-founder of the

MiG Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...

aviation design bureau, which became one of the primary design bureaus of fast jets in Soviet military aviation. Mikoyan received his education at the

Nersisian School Nersisian School ( hy, Ներսիսեան դպրոց, ''Nersisian Dprots''; ka, ნერსისიანის სემინარია, ; russian: Нерсесяновское училище, translit=Nersisyanovskoye učilišče) was an ...

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

and the Gevorgian Seminary in Vagharshapat (Echmiadzin), both affiliated with the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

. Religion, however, played an increasingly insignificant role in his life. He would later remark that his continued studies in theology drew him closer to atheism: "I had a very clear feeling that I didn't believe in God and that I had in fact received a certificate in materialist uncertainty; the more I studied religious subjects, the less I believed in God." Before becoming active in politics Mikoyan had already dabbled in the study of

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

. At the age of twenty, he formed a workers'

soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

. In 1915 Mikoyan formally joined the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (later known as the

Bolshevik Party " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

) and became a leader of the revolutionary movement in the

. His interactions with Soviet revolutionaries led him to Baku, where he became the co-editor for the Armenian-language newspaper ''Sotsyal-Demokrat'' and later for the

Russian-language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living Eas ...

paper ''Izvestia Bakinskogo Soveta''. During this time, he is said to have robbed a bank in Tiflis with

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

and had his nose broken in

street fighting Street fighting is hand-to-hand combat in public places, between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g. a street) and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or occasionally even death. Some street fig ...

Baku Commune

After the February 1917 revolution that toppled the Tsarist government, Mikoyan and other Bolsheviks fought against anti-Bolshevik elements in the Caucasus. Mikoyan became a commissar in the newly formed

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

and continued to fight in Baku against anti-Bolshevik forces. He was wounded in the fighting and was noted for saving the life of fellow Party-member

Sergo Ordzhonikidze Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze,, ; russian: Серго Константинович Орджоникидзе, Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze) born Grigol Konstantines dze Orjonikidze, russian: Григорий Константино ...

. Afterwards, he continued his Party work, becoming one of the co-founders of the

under the leadership of Stepan Shahumyan. In Baku, he worked as the editor of the commune's official Armenian newspaper ''Teghekatu'', and as the political commissar supervising its armed Armenian militia. He directed the seizure of the banks in April 1918, and the defence of Baku against the advancing Turkish army in July 1918. After the fall of Baku, Shahumyan and other Bolshevik leaders were arrested by the

Centrocaspian Dictatorship The Centro-Caspian Dictatorship, also known as the Central-Caspian Dictatorship (russian: Диктатура Центрокаспия, ''Diktatura Tsentrokaspiya'') (Azerbaijani: Sentrokaspi Diktaturası), was a short-lived anti-Soviet administr ...

. A commando unit, led by Mikoyan, organized their escape from prison, and they fled across the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

to Krasnovodsk (today Türkmenbaşy in present-day

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

). However, at Krasnovodsk, they were arrested by the

Transcaspian Government The Transcaspian Government (1918 - July 1919) was a "Menshevik- Socialist Revolutionary" coalition set up by the Railway workers of the Trans-Caspian Railway in 1918. It was based at Ashgabat, Transcaspian Oblast. Origin Autonomous sentiments ...

, which was controlled by the British-allied

Socialist Revolutionaries The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...

. The SR authorities executed the

26 Baku commissars The 26 Baku Commissars were Bolshevik and Left Socialist Revolutionary (SR) members of the Baku Commune. The commune was established in the city of Baku, which was then the capital of the briefly independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and ...

, including Shahumyan, on 20 September 1918 in the Turkmen desert. It was only by accident that Mikoyan avoided their fate. As American journalist

Harrison Salisbury Harrison Evans Salisbury (November 14, 1908 – July 5, 1993), was an American journalist and the first regular ''New York Times'' correspondent in Moscow after World War II. Biography Salisbury was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He gradu ...

wrote: After his release in February 1919, Mikoyan returned to Baku and resumed his activities there, helping to establish the Baku Bureau of the Caucasus Regional Committee (''kraikom''). After the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, the Central Committee assigned Mikoyan to the party organization in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

in 1920. In 1922-26, he became Secretary of the South East Bureau of the

and its successor, the North Caucasus ''kraikom''. It was in that position that Mikoyan advocated granting Chechnya autonomous status. In 1923, he was elected to the Central Committee and remained a member of that body for more than 50 years.

Politburo member

Mikoyan supported Stalin, whom he had first met in 1919, in the power struggle that followed Lenin's death in 1924; During the 11th Congress of the CPSU, in 1922, before the power struggle between Stalin and

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

had broken out into the open, Mikoyan characterised Trotsky as "a man of the state but not of the party". By saying that -according to Trotsky's biographer,

Isaac Deutscher Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

, "he summed up what many members of the Old Guard thought but did not yet utter in public." As People's Commissar for External and Internal Trade from 1926, he imported ideas from the West, such as the manufacture of

canned goods Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although ...

. In 1935 he was elected to the Politburo and was one of the first Soviet leaders to pay goodwill trips to the

in order to boost economic cooperation. Mikoyan spent three months in the United States, where he not only learned more about its food industry but also met and spoke with

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...

and inspected

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

in New York. When he returned, Mikoyan introduced a number of popular American consumer products to the Soviet Union, including American

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

corn flakes Corn flakes, or cornflakes, are a breakfast cereal made from toasting flakes of corn (maize). The cereal, originally made with wheat, was created by Will Kellogg in 1894 for patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium where he worked with his bro ...

, popcorn, tomato juice, grapefruit and corn on the cob. Mikoyan spearheaded a project to produce a home cookbook, which would encourage a return to the domestic kitchen. The result, ''

The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food ''The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food'' (', ''Kniga o vkusnoi i zdorovoi pishche'') is a Russian cookbook written by scientists from the Institute of Nutrition of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. The cookbook was first published in ...

'' (', ''Kniga o vkusnoi i zdorovoi pishche''), was published in 1939, and the 1952 edition sold 2.5 million copies.Russell, Polly; ''The history cook''; The Financial Times (FT Weekend Magazine), 17/18 August 2013, p36. Mikoyan helped initiate the production of ice cream in the USSR and kept the quality of ice cream under his own personal control until he was dismissed. Stalin made a joke about this, stating, "You, Anastas, care more about ice cream, than about communism." Mikoyan also contributed to the development of meat production in the USSR (particularly, the so-called Mikoyan cutlet), and one of the Soviet-era sausage factories was named after him.

The Great Purge

In the late 1930s Stalin embarked upon the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secret ...

, a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated against members of the Communist Party, as well as the peasantry and unaffiliated persons. In assessing Mikoyan's role in the purges, historian

Simon Sebag-Montefiore Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore (; born 27 June 1965) is a British historian, television presenter and author of popular history books and novels, including ''Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar' (2003), Monsters: History's Most Evil Men and ...

states that he "enjoyed the reputation of one of the more decent leaders: he certainly helped the victims later and worked hard to undo Stalin's rule after the Leader's death." Mikoyan tried to save some close-knit companions from being executed. However, in 1936 he enthusiastically supported the execution of Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev, claiming it to be a "just verdict." As with other leading officials in 1937, Mikoyan signed death-lists given to him by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

. The purges were often accomplished by officials close to Stalin, giving them the assignment largely as a way to test their loyalty to the regime. In September 1937, Stalin dispatched

Georgy Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov ( – 14 January 1988) was a Soviet politician who briefly succeeded Joseph Stalin as the leader of the Soviet Union. However, at the insistence of the rest of the Presidium, he relinquished control over the p ...

and Mikhail Litvin of the NKVD to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, the capital of

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

, in response to the death of

Sahak Ter-Gabrielyan Sahak Mirzayi Ter-Gabrielyan ( hy, Սահակ Միրզայի Տեր-Գաբրիելյան; 1886 – 19 August 1937) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet Armenian statesman. Born in Shushi to the family of a tailor, he became a member of the ...

. Their mission was to oversee the purge of the Armenian Communist Party and its leaders First Secretary Amatuni Amatuni and NKVD chief Khachik Mughdusi, both

Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

loyalists. Stalin later dispatched Mikoyan too, in order to test his loyalty and send a signal to Soviet Armenian leaders. Stalin did not trust Mikoyan due to his leniency towards the persecuted. In several instances, Mikoyan had intervened on behalf of his friends and colleagues to save them. During his trip to Armenia, he tried, but failed, to save one individual ( Daniel "Danush" Shahverdyan) from being executed. However, on Stalin's orders, he led the attack during a stormy session of the Central Committee of the Armenian Communist Party in September 1937, during which Amatuni angrily called him a "liar." More than a thousand people were arrested and seven of nine members of the Armenian Politburo were sacked from office.

World War II

In September 1939, under the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and the Soviet Union each carved out their own spheres of influence in Poland and Eastern Europe. The Soviets arrested 26,000 Polish officers in the eastern portion of Poland and in March 1940, after some deliberation, Stalin and five other members of the Politburo, Mikoyan included, signed an order for their execution as "nationalists and counterrevolutionaries". When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Mikoyan was placed in charge of organizing the transportation of food and supplies. His son Vladimir, a pilot in the

Red Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

, died in combat when his plane was shot down over Stalingrad. Mikoyan's main assignment throughout the war was supplying the

with

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...

, food and other necessities. Mikoyan is also credited for his significant role in the 1941 relocation of Soviet industry from the threatened western cities, such as

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, eastward to the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia (russian: Западная Сибирь, Zapadnaya Sibir'; kk, Батыс Сібір) is a part of the larger region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russian Federation. It lies between the Ural region an ...

, the

Volga region The Volga Region (russian: Поволжье, ''Povolzhye'', literally: "along the Volga") is a historical region in Russia that encompasses the drainage basin of the Volga River, the longest river in Europe, in central and southern European Russ ...

, and other safer zones. In February 1942, by order of Stalin, Mikoyan became a Special Representative of the State Defense Committee. He had not been a member until that point because Beria believed he would be of more use in government administration. Mikoyan was decorated with a

Hero of Socialist Labor The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

in 1943 for his efforts. In 1946, he became the Vice-Premier of the Council of Ministers. As Minister of Foreign Trade, he was responsible for the dismantlement of industry and infrastructure in Soviet-occupied Eastern Germany for collection as

reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from G ...

Thaw and de-Stalinization

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-49000-0329, Berlin, Chruschtschow trägt sich ins Goldene Buch ein

Shortly before his death in 1953, Stalin considered launching a new purge against Mikoyan,

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...

, and several other Party leaders. Mikoyan and others gradually began to fall out of favor and, in one instance, were accused of plotting against Stalin. Stalin's plans never came to fruition, however, as he died before he could put them into motion. Mikoyan originally argued against punishing Stalin's right-hand man, Beria, but later gave in to popular support among Party members for his arrest. Mikoyan remained in the government after Stalin's death, in the post of Minister of Trade under Malenkov. He supported

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

in the power struggle to succeed Stalin, and became First Deputy Premier in recognition of his services. In 1956, Mikoyan helped Khrushchev organize the "Secret Speech", delivered by Khrushchev at the 20th Party Congress, which denounced Stalin's personality cult. It was he, and not Khrushchev, who made the first anti-Stalinist speech at the 20th Congress. Along with Khrushchev, he helped roll back some of the stifling restrictions on national cultures imposed during Stalin's time. In 1954, he visited his native Armenia and gave a speech in

, where he encouraged Armenians to republish the works of

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

and the purged writer

Yeghishe Charents Yeghishe Charents (; March 13, 1897 – November 27, 1937) was an Armenian poet, writer and public activist. Charents' literary subject matter ranged from his experiences in the First World War, socialist revolution, and frequently Armenia an ...

. Behind the scenes, he assisted Soviet Armenian leaders in the rehabilitation of former "enemies" in the republic, and worked with

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

returnees Alexei Snegov and Olga Shatunovskaya on the process of de-Stalinization. In 1957, Mikoyan refused to back an attempt by Malenkov and Molotov to remove Khrushchev from power, and thus secured his position as one of Khrushchev's closest allies during the Thaw. He backed Khrushchev because of his strong support for de-Stalinization, and his belief that a triumph by the plotters might have given way to purges similar to those in the 1930s. In recognition of his support and his economic talents, Khrushchev appointed Mikoyan First Deputy Premier. In 1962, Khrushchev sent Mikoyan and

Frol Kozlov Frol Romanovich Kozlov (russian: link=no, Фрол Рома́нович Козло́в; – 30 January 1965) was a Soviet politician. Hero of Socialist Labour (1961). Biography Kozlov was born in the village of Loshchinino (), Kasimovsky Uyezd ...

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known ...

to deal with growing unrest in the southern city. Although Mikoyan opposed force and sought dialogue with the demonstrators, Kozlov pushed for a harsh response, resulting in the

Novocherkassk massacre The Novocherkassk massacre (russian: Новочеркасский расстрел, Novocherkasskiy rasstrel) was a massacre which was committed against unarmed civilians who were rallying on 2 June 1962 in the Soviet city of Novocherkassk by th ...

Foreign diplomacy

China

Mikoyan was the first Politburo member to make direct contact with the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

chairman,

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

. He arrived at Mao's headquarters on 30 January 1949, one day before the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek was forced to abandon

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, which was then China's capital, and move to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

. Mikoyan reported that Mao was proclaiming Stalin to be the supreme leader of world communism and 'teacher of the Chinese people', but in his report he added that Mao did not genuinely believe what he was saying. It was at Stalin's behest that Mikoyan asked that the Chinese communists arrest the US journalist

Sidney Rittenberg Sidney Rittenberg (; August 14, 1921 – August 24, 2019) was an American journalist, scholar, and Chinese linguist who lived in China from 1944 to 1980. He worked closely with Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and other leaders of the Chinese ...

Czechoslovakia

On 11 November 1951, Mikoyan made a sudden visit to Prague to deliver a message from Stalin to President

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953–titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman fro ...

insisting that

Rudolf Slánský Rudolf Slánský (31 July 1901 – 3 December 1952) was a leading Czech Communist politician. Holding the post of the party's General Secretary after World War II, he was one of the leading creators and organizers of Communist rule in Czechosl ...

, former Secretary-General of the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comint ...

, should be arrested. When Gottwald demurred, Mikoyan broke off the interview to ring Stalin, before repeating the demand, after which Gottwald capitulated. This was the biggest single step towards the preparation of the

Slánský Trial The Slánský trial (officially English: "Trial of the Leadership of the Anti-State Conspiracy Centre Headed by Rudolf Slánský") was a 1952 antisemitic show trial against fourteen members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), incl ...

. Mikoyan's role in the repression in Czechoslovakia was kept secret until the Prague Spring of 1968.

Hungary

In July 1956, Mikoyan visited the

People's Republic of Hungary The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet U ...

to oversee the removal of the dictator

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892
– 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian communis ...

. He returned in October to gather information on the developing crisis caused by the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

against the

Hungarian Working People's Party The Hungarian Working People's Party (, abbr. MDP) was the ruling communist party of Hungary from 1948 to 1956. It was formed by a merger of the Hungarian Communist Party (MKP) and the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP).Neubauer, John, ...

government there. Together with

Mikhail Suslov Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov (russian: Михаи́л Андре́евич Су́слов; 25 January 1982) was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1965, and as uno ...

, Mikoyan traveled to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in an

armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Ac ...

, in view of the shooting in the streets. He sent a telegram to Moscow reporting his impressions of the situation. "We had the impression that

Ernő Gerő Ernő Gerő (; born Ernő Singer; 8 July 1898 – 12 March 1980) was a Hungarian Communist leader in the period after World War II and briefly in 1956 the most powerful man in Hungary as the second secretary of its ruling communist party. Ear ...

especially, but the other comrades as well, are exaggerating the strength of the opponent and underestimating their own strength," he and Suslov wrote. Mikoyan strongly opposed the decision by Khrushchev and the Politburo to use Soviet troops, believing it would destroy the Soviet Union's international reputation, instead arguing for the application of "military intimidation" and economic pressure. The crushing of the revolution by Soviet forces nearly led to Mikoyan's resignation.

United States

Khrushchev's liberalization of hard-line policies led to an improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States during the late 1950s. As Khrushchev's primary emissary, Mikoyan visited the United States several times. Despite the volatility of the Cold War between the two superpowers, many Americans received Mikoyan amiably, including Minnesota Democrat

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

, who characterized him as someone who showed a "flexibility of attitude" and New York governor

Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...

, who described him as a "less rigid" Soviet politician. During November 1958 Khrushchev made an unsuccessful attempt to turn all of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

into an independent, demilitarized "free city", giving the United States, Great Britain, and France a six-month ultimatum to withdraw their troops from the sectors they still occupied in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

, or he would transfer control of Western access rights to the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

s. Mikoyan disapproved of Khrushchev's actions, claiming they violated "Party principle." Khrushchev had proposed the ultimatum to the West before discussing it with the Central Committee. Ruud van Djik, a historian, believed Mikoyan was angry because Khrushchev didn't consult him about the proposal. When asked by Khrushchev to ease tension with the United States, Mikoyan responded, "You started it, so you go!" However, Mikoyan eventually left for

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, which was the first time a senior governing member of the USSR's

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

visited the United States on a diplomatic mission to its leadership. Furthermore, Mikoyan approached the mission with unprecedented informality, beginning with phrasing his visa request to US Embassy as "a fortnight's holiday" to visit his friend, Mikhail Menshikov, the then Soviet Ambassador to the United States. While the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

was taken off guard by this seemingly impromptu diplomatic mission, Mikoyan was invited to speak to numerous elite American organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the

Detroit Club The Detroit Club is a private social club located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. The building was constructed in 1891 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. History The origin of the Detroit Club dates to 1882, when D ...

in which he professed his hopes for the USSR to have a more peaceful relationship with the US. While in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Mikoyan gifted a

troika Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three') may refer to: Cultural tradition * Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia * Troika (dance), a Russian folk dance Pol ...

to industrialist Cyrus Eaton and admired the city's

Terminal Tower Terminal Tower is a 52-story, , landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, it was the second-tallest building in the world when it was com ...

, which reminded him of the

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. In addition to such well received engagements, Mikoyan indulged in more informal opportunities to meet the public such as having breakfast at a

Howard Johnson's Howard Johnson's, or Howard Johnson by Wyndham, is an American hotel chain and former restaurant chain. Founded by Howard Deering Johnson in 1925 as a restaurant, it was the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. throughout the 1960s and 1970s, ...

restaurant on the New Jersey Turnpike, visiting

Macy's Department Store Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wit ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and meeting celebrities in Hollywood like Jerry Lewis and Sophia Loren before having an audience with President Dwight Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. Although Mikoyan failed to alter the US's Berlin policy, he was hailed in the US for easing international tensions with an innovative emphasis on soft diplomacy that largely went over well with the American public. Mikoyan disapproved of Khrushchev's walkout from the 1960 Paris Summit over the U-2 Crisis of 1960, which he believed kept tension in the Cold War high for another fifteen years. However, throughout this time, he remained Khrushchev's closest ally in the upper echelons of the Soviet leadership. As Mikoyan later noted, Khrushchev "engaged ninexcusable hysterics". In November 1963 Mikoyan was asked by Khrushchev to represent the USSR at President John F. Kennedy's funeral. At the funeral ceremony, Mikoyan appeared visibly shaken by the president's death and was approached by Jacqueline Kennedy, who took his hand and conveyed to him the following message: "Please tell Mr. Chairman hrushchevthat I know he and my husband worked together for a peaceful world, and now he and you must carry on my husband's work."

Cuba and the Missile Crisis

The Soviet government welcomed the overthrow of Cuban President

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...

by Fidel Castro's pro-socialist rebels in the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...

of 1959. Khrushchev realized the potential of a Soviet ally in the Caribbean and dispatched Mikoyan as one of the top diplomats in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. He was the first Soviet official to visit Cuba after the revolution, except for Soviet intelligence officers, and he secured important trade agreements with the new government. He left Cuba with a very positive impression, saying that the atmosphere there made him feel "as though I had returned to my childhood." Khrushchev told Mikoyan of his idea of shipping Soviet missiles to Cuba. Mikoyan was opposed to the idea, and was even more opposed to giving the Cubans control over the Soviet missiles. In early November 1962, after the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to a framework to remove Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba, Khrushchev dispatched Mikoyan to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

to help persuade Castro to cooperate in the withdrawal. Just prior to beginning negotiations with Castro, Mikoyan was informed about the death of his wife, Ashkhen, in Moscow; rather than return there for the funeral, Mikoyan opted to stay and sent his son Sergo there instead. Castro was adamant that the missiles remain but Mikoyan, seeking to avoid a full-fledged confrontation with the United States, attempted to convince him otherwise. He told Castro, "You know that not only in these letters but today also, we hold to the position that you will keep all the weapons and all the military specialists with the exception of the 'offensive' weapons and associated service personnel, which were promised to be withdrawn in Khrushchev's letter f October 27" Castro balked at the idea of further concessions, namely the removal of the Il-28 bombers and tactical nuclear weapons still left in Cuba. But after several tense and grueling weeks of negotiations, he finally relented and the missiles and the bombers were removed in December of that year.

Head of state and retirement

On 15 July 1964, Mikoyan was appointed as Chairman of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...

, who received a promotion within the Party. Mikoyan's new position was largely ceremonial; it was noted that his declining health and old age were being considered. Some historians are convinced that by 1964 Mikoyan believed that Khrushchev had turned into a liability to the Party, and that he was involved in the October 1964 coup that brought Brezhnev and

Alexei Kosygin Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin ( rus, Алексе́й Никола́евич Косы́гин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsɨɡʲɪn; – 18 December 1980) was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as the Premi ...

to power. However,

William Taubman William Chase Taubman (born November 13, 1941 in New York City) is an American political scientist. His biography of Nikita Khrushchev won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2004 and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography in ...

disputes this, as Mikoyan was the only member of the Presidium (the name for the Politburo at this time) to defend Khrushchev. Mikoyan, however, did vote to force Khrushchev's retirement (so as, in traditional Soviet style, to make the vote unanimous). Alone among Khrushchev's colleagues, Mikoyan wished the former leader well in his retirement, and he, alone, visited Khrushchev at his dacha a few years later. Mikoyan laid a wreath and sent a letter of condolence at Khrushchev's funeral in 1971. Due to his partial defense of Khrushchev during his ouster, Mikoyan lost his high standing with the new Soviet leadership. The Politburo forced Mikoyan to retire from his seat in the Politburo due to old age. Mikoyan quickly also lost his post as head of state and was succeeded in this post by

Nikolai Podgorny Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny, ''Mykola Viktorovych Pidhornyy'' rus, Никола́й Ви́кторович Подго́рный, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ pɐdˈgornɨj, links=yes ( – 12 January 1983) was a Soviet statesman who ...

on 9 December 1965. In retirement, Mikoyan, like Khrushchev, wrote frank but selective memoirs from his political career, including his revolutionary activity in Baku. He died on 21 October 1978, at the age of 82, from natural causes and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. He received six commendations of the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

Personality and legacy

referred to Mikoyan as "slim, circumspect, wily and industrious". An intelligent man, he had the command of several languages. In addition to

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, he understood English and learned

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

on his own by translating the German version of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

's ''

Das Kapital ''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in materialist phi ...

'' into Russian. Unlike many others, Mikoyan was not afraid to get into heated arguments with Stalin. "One was never bored with Mikoyan", Artyom Sergeev notes, while Khrushchev called him a true

cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...

. However, Khrushchev warned of trusting "that shrewd fox from the east." In a close conversation with

and Nikolai Bukharin, Stalin referred to Mikoyan as a "duckling in politics"; he noted, however, that if Mikoyan ever took a serious shot he would improve. Mikoyan had five boys (Stepan, Vladimir, Aleksei, Vano, and Sergo), and adopted the two sons of the late Bolshevik leader Stepan Shahumyan. He had so many children under his care that he and his wife faced financial problems. His wife Ashkhen would borrow money from Politburo wives who had fewer children. If Mikoyan had discovered this, he would, according to his children, have become furious. Mikoyan was defiantly proud of his Armenian identity, and in a 1959 meeting with U.S. Vice President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

in Washington, he even raised the issue of the treatment of the

Armenians in Turkey Armenians in Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Ermenileri; hy, Թուրքահայեր, also Թրքահայեր, "Turkish Armenians"), one of the indigenous peoples of Turkey, have an estimated population of 50,000 to 70,000, down from a population of over 2 ...

. He greatly enjoyed meeting fellow Armenians abroad, including former U.S. ambassador Edward Djerejian. However, in post-Soviet Armenia, Mikoyan's legacy is contentious. His critics point to his participation in the 1930s purges in Armenia on the orders of Stalin. His supporters argue that he was a major figure on the global political stage and usually point to his role in defusing the Cuban missile crisis. Others emphasize Mikoyan's important role in de-Stalinization in Armenia, including his March 1954 speech in Yerevan and his significant involvement in rehabilitations. Mikoyan's contributions to the development of the Soviet Armenian state included support for major economic projects, such as the Arpa–Sevan canal. As a Supreme Soviet Deputy for Yerevan, he maintained close ties with Soviet Armenian leaders like Yakov Zarobyan and

Anton Kochinyan Anton Yervandi Kochinyan ( hy, Անտոն Երվանդի Քոչինյան; 25 October 1913 – 1 December 1990, Yerevan) was a Soviet Armenian politician. He was Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1952 to 1966, and the First Secretary ...

and regularly consulted with them on Armenian affairs. Although limited in his ability to assist Armenian leaders on

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...

, he was sympathetic to Armenian concerns, and his son Sergo was later a prominent advocate for the

Karabakh movement The Karabakh movement ( hy, Ղարաբաղյան շարժում, also the Artsakh movement Արցախյան շարժում) was a national mass movement in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the transfer of the ma ...

. Despite his break with the Armenian Church, Mikoyan maintained good relations with Catholicos

Vazgen I Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest, (), born Levon Garabed Baljian ( hy, Լևոն Կարապետ Աբրահամի Պալճյան; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 3 ...

. He was also a supporter of composer

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenia ...

, and counted Marshal

Ivan Bagramyan Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan,; russian: Ива́н Христофо́рович Баграмя́н, link=no also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi Baghramyan; russian: Оване́с Хачату́рович Баграмя́н, link=no ( – 2 ...

among his personal friends. Dubbed the Vicar of Bray of politics and known as the "Survivor" during his time, Mikoyan was one of the few Old Bolsheviks who was spared from Stalin's purges and was able to retire comfortably from political life. This was highlighted in a number of popular sayings in Russian, including "From Ilyich

enin Oenin is an anthocyanin. It is the 3- glucoside of malvidin. It is one of the red pigments found in the skin of purple grapes and in wine. Color stabilization of malvidin 3-glucoside at a higher pH can be explained by self-aggregation of the fl ...

to Ilyich rezhnevnbsp;... without heart attack or stroke!"(''Ot Ilyicha do Ilyicha bez infarkta i paralicha''). One veteran Soviet official described his political career in the following manner: "The rascal was able to walk through

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

on a rainy day without an umbrella ndwithout getting wet. He could dodge the raindrops."

Portrayals

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows ''Harry & Paul'' and ''Harr ...

played Mikoyan in the 2017 satirical film ''

The Death of Stalin ''The Death of Stalin'' is a 2017 political satire black comedy film written and directed by Armando Iannucci and co-written by David Schneider and Ian Martin with Peter Fellows. Based on the French graphic novel ''La Mort de Staline'' (201 ...

''.

Decorations and awards

* Hero of Socialist Labour *

, six times *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of t ...

References

External links

Mikoyan Brothers Museum
Sanahin, Alaverdi, Armenia * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mikoyan, Anastas 1895 births 1978 deaths People from Lori Province People from Tiflis Governorate Armenian atheists Armenian former Christians Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Communist Party of the Soviet Union members People's commissars and ministers of the Soviet Union Great Purge perpetrators Heads of state of the Soviet Union Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Old Bolsheviks Party leaders of the Soviet Union Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Russian people of Armenian descent Russian revolutionaries Soviet politicians Soviet diplomats Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Communist Party of Armenia (Soviet Union) politicians Nersisian School alumni Armenian revolutionaries Soviet Armenians Armenian people from the Russian Empire Ethnic Armenian politicians Mikoyan family