Reconsidering Russia and the Former Soviet Union (not be confused with Rethinking Russia) is an online publication dedicated to Russia and the post-Soviet space. It was launched in March 2014 by Pietro A. Shakarian, a historian of Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Shakarian earned his PhD in History at The Ohio State University, his MA in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, his MLIS at Kent State University, and his BA in History at John Carroll University in Cleveland. He has lived and traveled extensively in the post-Soviet space. He lectured at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan and he currently works as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of History at the National Research University–Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg. A specialist on the history of the Khrushchev Thaw, Shakarian has authored the book Anastas Mikoyan: An Armenian Reformer in Khrushchev’s Kremlin, dealing with the role of Soviet statesman Anastas Mikoyan in the reform of Soviet nationality policy during the 1950s-1960s.  The work is due to be published by Indiana University Press in August 2025.

Shakarian founded Reconsidering Russia while an MA student at the University of Michigan. It subsequently became a source of information and analyses on developments in the post-Soviet space for use by students, scholars, journalists, and interested readers.  Entries have been featured on Johnson’s Russia List and have been cited in media as diverse as The Nation, The National Interest, The Wall Street Journal, and World Politics Review, as well as in various books and web sources.  Outside Reconsidering Russia, Shakarian has also written about developments in Russia and the former Soviet space for various publications, including The Nation, The Plain Dealer, and more.

The Reconsidering Russia podcast series began in April 2015. The first episode featured Armenian political comedian Sergey Sargsyan, who later appeared with his fellow ArmComedian Narek Margaryan on The Conan O’Brien Show in May 2017. The podcast series has since become the dominant feature of Reconsidering Russia. Subsequent installments have featured various experts and analysts on Russia and the former Soviet region, covering an array of subjects including history, politics, literature, and culture. Prominent guests include Jack Matlock, Vladimir Pozner, Ellendea Proffer Teasley, Zhores Medvedev, and Fred Weir. The podcast has been praised by David Johnson of Johnson’s Russia List as “a podcast worthy of the name.” Most episodes were recorded from the Whisper Room Audio Studio at the Prior Health Sciences Library at The Ohio State University. Episodes are available online through MixCloud.