Today I spoke with Pietro Shakarian, a newly minted PhD from The Ohio State University. Pietro was a protege and friend of the late Professor Stephen F. Cohen and we talked about Steve’s influence on his work, as well as Pietro’s research on Anastas Mikoyan and the Soviet Union’s “nationalities” policy. Pietro gives a tour d’horizon on the goings on in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and shares his views on the Biden administration’s Russia policy. – J.C., Editor