Russians in Iran: Diplomacy and Power in the Qajar Era and Beyond

Description

Russians in Iran seeks to challenge the traditional narrative regarding Russian involvement Iran and to show that whilst Russia’s historical involvement in Iran is longstanding it is nonetheless much misunderstood. Russia’s influence in Iran between 1800 and the middle of the twentieth century is not simply a story of inexorable intrusion and domination: rather, it is a complex and interactive process of mostly indirect control and constructive engagement. Drawing on fresh archival material, the contributors provide a window into the power and influence wielded in Iran not just by the Russian government through it traditional representatives but by Russian nationals operating in Iran in a variety of capacities, including individuals, bankers, and entrepreneurs. Russians in Iran reveals the multifaceted role that Russians have played in Iranian history and provides an original and important contribution to the history and international relations of Iran, Russia and the Middle East. Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Figures List of Contributors Introduction Part I: War and Diplomacy: The Nineteenth Century 1. The Early Stages of Russo–Iranian Relations 2. The Khan, the Shah and the Tsar: The Khanate of Talesh between Iran and Russia 3. Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov: Russian Imperial James Bond Malgrélui. In Memory of the 225th Anniversary of his Birth 4. Russian Government Action against Russian Deserters in Iran in the Nineteenth Century: Russian Orientalism at the State Level Part II: Intelligence and Intrusion: The Turn of the Twentieth Century 5. Nest of Revolution: The Caucasus, Iran, and Armenians 6. The Loan and Discount Bank as an Agent of Russian Interests in Iran 7. Infidel Aggression: The Russian Assault on the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza, Mashhad, 1912 Part III: Officers and Orientalists: The First Half of the Twentieth Century 8. A Russian Officer’s Letters on Russian and British Activities in Iran during World WarI 9. Vladimir Minorsky (1877–1966) and the Iran–Iraq War (1980–8): The Centenary of “Minorsky’s Frontier” 10. Reconstructions of a Native in Exile Cossack Brigade Fighter and Architect of Tehran–Nikolai L’vovich Markov (1882–1957) Part IV: Ideology and Occupation: The 1930s and 1940s 11. From the Imperial Periphery to the Boundaries of Power: Soviet Diplomatic Officials in 1930s Iran 12. Convenient Comrades: Re-assessing the Relationship between the Soviet Union and the Tudeh Party during the British–Soviet Occupation of Iran, 1941–5 13. The USSR and the Allied Occupation of Iran in August 1941: The Untold Story of a Difficult Decision Index