 He immigrated to the United States in 1964.He received his M.A degree in 1971 and his Ph.D. in History (Armenian and Iranian studies) in 1976 at UCLA ("Eastern Armenia on the Eve of the Russian Conquest", also published as a book in 1982, and 1992).He has been a member of the Middle Eastern Studies Association, Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Iranian Studies Association, Armenian Studies Association and Association for Armenian Studies.