Anastas Mikoyan

Anastas Hovhannesi Mikoyan (1895-1978) was an Armenian Old Bolshevik and Soviet statesman during the respective reigns of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Leonid Brezhnev.

Anastas Mikoyan joined the Bolshevik Party and fought in Baku during the 1910s against anti-Bolshevik figures. He supported Joseph Stalin after Vladimir Lenin's death created a power vacuum. During Stalin's reign, he was awarded with several high governmental posts including Minister of Trade. After Stalin's death, he backed Nikita Khrushchev and his de-Stalinization policy. He made several key trips to communist Cuba and the United States, acquiring an important stature in the international scene. In 1964, Khrushchev was forced to step down in a coup that brought Leonid Brezhnev to power. Mikoyan's influence was retained under Brezhnev as he was appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1964 until his retirement in 1965.

Literary Comment
Mikoyan's ability to survive was summed up by an official thusly: "The rascal was able to walk through Red Square on a rainy day without an umbrella [and] without getting wet. He could dodge the raindrops." Harry Turtledove has referenced this metaphor about Mikoyan in more than one of his works, including The Gladiator.

Anastas Mikoyan in Joe Steele
Stas Mikoian was the American born son of Armenian immigrants. He was a close ally of Joe Steele (himself the son of immigrants), and was instrumental in getting Steele elected President of the United States in 1932.