In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Pietro Shakarian about memory, repression, and state power in Armenia across Soviet and contemporary periods. We discuss the Great Purge in Soviet Armenia, the assassination of Aghasi Khanjyan, the suppression of Armenian national institutions under Stalin and Beria, and the parallels between Stalinist erasure and current efforts to control public memory, symbols, and mourning in post-Artsakh Armenia under the Civil Contract regime.
Topics:
Erasing memory across Yerevan
Great Purge in Soviet Armenia
Khanjyan’s assassination and Beria
Repression of Armenia’s national institutions
Remembering Stalinist repression
Historical parallels with modern Armenia
Attacks on memory and Church
Opposition strategy after the election
Guest: Pietro Shakarian
Hosts:
Episode 573 | Recorded: July 31, 2026
SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/573
#Armenia #GreatPurge #AghasiKhanjyan #PietroShakarian #Artsakh #ArmenianChurch #PoliticalRepression #MemoryUnderSiege #Authoritarianism #SovietArmenia
