Speaking about the modernization of Iran (Persia), it should be borne in mind that this state was geographically more distant from Western countries (it was more “eastern” not only geographically, but also socio-culturally) and, unlike the Ottoman Empire, did not have numerous and entrepreneurial bourgeois Christian communities (with the exception of the Armenians). Thus, the lack of numerous and well-established contacts with Western Europeans made it difficult to carry out modernization in this country.

Another important factor was the presence of a powerful influence on the government of the Shiite clergy, who had exceptional influence on the local population. On the other hand, Shiite Islam and the clergy did not potentially act as such an insurmountable obstacle to reforms in Iran. Shiism as a socially mobilizing factor in the country could play a key role, depending on the course of reforms, the possibility of a compromise between the authorities and the clergy, either towards their approval or categorical rejection. And this factor, as events showed, did not work in favor of the reformers.

At the beginning of the XIX century. Iran's rulers have become more sympathetic to European cultural influence and borrowings in the military-technical field. For influence on Iran, a sharp rivalry unfolded between the British and French military-political missions, in which the victory remained with the British. Iran's military defeats and territorial losses in the wars with Russia (1804-1813) and (1826-1828) pushed the country's leadership into the need for reforms. But the key role was played by the internal factor - the religious and social popular Babid uprising in 1848-1850.

In 1844, seid Ali-Mohammed declared himself the Bab, the "door" (or gate) through which the expected twelfth imam, as the messiah Mahdi, was about to descend to earth. Subsequently, he declared himself this imam and proclaimed a new radical social doctrine with pronounced egalitarian ideas. Despite the brutal suppression of this uprising, the anti-government banner of the Babis was picked up by Hussein Ali, who called himself Behaullah. He declared himself a supporter of non-violent actions and, having adopted many of the Western ideas, spoke out against wars, for tolerance, equality, and the redistribution of property into a kind of supranational global community. Despite the defeat, both Babism and Bahaism nonetheless paved the way for the necessary changes.

Mirza Tagi Khan, better known as Amir Nizam, became a convinced reformer and ideologist of Iranian reforms. In 1848 he was appointed the first vizier and then the first minister. Having visited the Ottoman Empire and Russia, he managed to convince Shah Nasr ed-Din (1848-1896) of the need for change.

First of all, the army was reorganized, the medieval orders, which were the most restrictive for the development of the state, were eliminated. State manufactories appeared, the higher school Darol-Fonun (House of Sciences) was founded, in which about 200 students studied. Young Iranians were sent abroad to study, and European teachers were invited to the country. Amir Nizam tried to limit the influence of the higher clergy on state affairs, which brought upon himself an irreconcilable conservative opposition led by the leader of the Tehran clergy.

The conservative clergy, together with the princes of the shah's house, were able to convince the shah of the destructiveness of Amir Nizam's reforms. The latter at the end of 1851 was removed from all posts, exiled and soon executed. Nevertheless, the reformist initiative of Amir Nizam did not disappear, he was picked up by Malkom Khan, who, being in the diplomatic service in France, even joined the Masonic Lodge. Returning to his homeland, Malkom Khan created in 1860 an educational and religious organization that resembled the Faramushkhane Masonic lodge in form, in which there were many high-ranking officials, including the son of the shah himself. This organization was engaged in propaganda under a religious cover (secular teaching in a religious society would not be accepted at all) of the ideas and values ​​​​of the French Revolution: freedom of the individual and property, freedom of thought and religion, freedom of speech, press, assembly, equality of rights, etc. But the traditionalists and the conservative clergy did not doze off, they were able this time to convince the shah that the activity of this organization is destructive for the Islamic faith itself. As a result, in October 1861, Faramushkhane was dissolved, and Malkom Khan himself, very famous in the West, was sent into an honorary exile for diplomatic work.

The next attempt to reform the country was made in 1870 by the Shah's appointee, Prime Minister Hussein Khan. Carte blanche for the implementation of reforms was issued by the shah himself, who repeatedly visited Russia and Europe and personally convinced himself of the need for reforms. An administrative reform was carried out. Secular schools appeared. But the reforms basically consisted in the wide distribution of industrial and natural resources for monopoly development to the British and Russian capitalists. The events themselves were of a very superficial nature and did not affect the foundations of the existing system. But this time, even such cautious reforms aroused sharp opposition from the conservatives, primarily the clergy, and in 1880, under their pressure, the Shah dismissed Hussein Khan.

Reforms within the socio-political system almost stopped, but the government increasingly opened the way for foreign companies. At the end of the XIX century. the country was placed almost under the complete control of British and Russian capital. The country was flooded with cheap foreign manufactured goods, competition with which undermined local crafts and hampered the creation of a national industry. Actually, there was no national industry, it was replaced by foreign, mainly English industry. As a result, Iran has become a raw materials appendage of the European powers and a market for Western (including Russian) products. The British actually controlled the oil-rich south of the country, Russia consolidated its influence in the north of Iran. Both powers: Russia and Great Britain actively competed with each other in Iran. In fact, the country was turned into a semi-colony of two powers. Over 80% of the total trade turnover of Persia accounted for these two countries, and bilateral agreements provided for duty-free import or extremely low taxation of goods from these two countries. In general, the colonialism of Great Britain and Russia accelerated the decay of traditional relations in Iran, led to the emergence of an enlightenment movement of the Iranian intelligentsia and contributed to the awakening of national self-consciousness and the gradual formation of a bourgeois ideology. The beginning of the disintegration of traditional social ties raised the question of the future of the country, aroused interest in the idea of ​​social progress in general and in the search for ways to further develop Iran, which had fallen into semi-colonial dependence. The enlightened Iranian elite became increasingly aware that trying to avoid Western innovations was a road to nowhere. The problem was how to combine the dominant traditional Shia worldview with the inevitability of the introduction of more secular (European) forms of life, so as not to finally turn into a colony? But this problem has not yet been resolved.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the socio-political situation in Iran was very tense. In opposition to the ruling regime were broad sections of the population: workers, the national bourgeoisie, feudal lords, and even part of the clergy. Dissatisfaction with the Shah's regime and the rule of foreigners resulted in the revolution of 1905-1911. The influence of an external factor, the revolution in Russia, immediately affected. In addition, many otkhodnik workers worked on earnings in Russia.

Under pressure from the revolutionary masses, the Shah signed a constitution and in 1906 opened the Majlis (parliament). In 1907, the Majlis legislated the basic civil rights and freedoms and created secular courts. Local self-government bodies, political, religious and professional clubs and organizations began to spring up everywhere. England and Russia, sensing a threat to their interests in Iran, took the side of the reaction, providing serious military assistance to the shah. When these measures did not help, in 1911, Russian troops in the north and British troops in the south entered Iran. In December 1911, a counter-revolutionary coup took place in the country, the Mejlis was dissolved, and all power again passed to the shah. However, the revolutionary turmoil with large episodes of civil war was not in vain, it paved the way for the possible modernization of Iranian society.

1.1 Political and economic enslavement of Iran in the last thirdXIX– beginningXXcentury. Division of the country into spheres of influence

iran political economic semi-colony

From the second half of the XIX century. the struggle of the imperialist powers for Iran intensifies. It unfolded most sharply between England and Russia, who had already won fairly strong positions in that country.

Iran has always been the center of fierce economic and political rivalry between Russia and England. Iran was interested in England as a springboard for the implementation of the predatory aspirations of the British capitalists in the East. The territory of this country, especially its southern part, was the missing link that would unite the British-influenced Asia Minor with India.

During this period, the British ruling circles, and, above all, for the "Middle Eastern group", was characterized by the desire to turn this region into an important springboard for the struggle for the redivision of the world. The leader of the Middle Eastern group, Lord Curzon, representing the most aggressive circles of the British bourgeoisie, attached great importance to Iran both as a source of cheap raw materials and a profitable market. "Persia presents a favorable field for the development of the trading activities of England and the rational use of English capital."

The interests of Russian tsarism in the East during this period were connected with the general direction of economic policy, the essence of which was capitalist industrialization with the help of the widespread attraction of foreign capital and by intensifying the robbery of the working masses. In foreign policy, this economic program manifested itself in the struggle for, the development of markets in the eastern outskirts of the Russian empire.

Describing the foreign policy of the autocracy, V.I. Lenin wrote: “In Russia, capitalist imperialism of the latest type has fully shown itself in the policy of tsarism in relation to Persia, Manchuria, Mongolia, but in general military and feudal imperialism prevails in Russia.”

Iran was of great importance to Russia. The ruling circles feared that it could become a springboard for an attack on Russia. The tsarist government sought to take the most advantageous political and economic positions in this country and achieve its subjugation.

Along with Russia's political interests in Iran, economic interests are beginning to play an increasingly important role. In the ruling circles of Russia, they studied issues related to the development of the Persian market. The inspirers of the policy of tsarism in the East, such as A.N. Kuropatkin (Minister of War), S.Yu. Witte (Minister of Finance), regarded Russia's interest in the Persian market, which would increase over time. In a secret note to the tsar “On our tasks in Persia”, Kuropatkin wrote in 1897: “We are inevitably obliged to remember that if Persia does not now have an important political and economic significance for us, then for our children and grandchildren such significance will increase to a huge extent . Today, we are still not culturally strong enough to fully cope with the markets of Azerbaijan, Tehran and even Khorasan even with the powerful support of the government.

Faced in Iran with a more developed imperialist power - England, tsarism was forced to resort to the latest methods and methods inherent in imperialism, i.e., the use of concessions, banks, industrial enterprises was actively going on, a struggle was waged for the export of capital and the development of the Iranian market. Under the conditions of Russia's economic and industrial backwardness, it was very difficult to pursue such a policy in Iran. In practice, economic penetration into Iran was carried out by tsarism mainly only at the expense of the treasury, the possibilities of which were very limited. This is confirmed by the statement of the Minister of Finance V.N. Kokovtsev at the Special Meeting on the Financial and Economic Policy of Russia in Iran on June 7, 1907. Analyzing Russian policy in Iran, he noted that “the idea of ​​securing the largest possible number of concessions in Persia should be treated with complete doubt, as means of combating foreign enterprises. Such concessions, obtained only so that they would not go to foreigners, would remain unused due to lack of funds.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the initiative for the economic enslavement of Iran belonged to England. British imperialism began to use new methods of penetration, seeking various concessions, monopolies, putting forward projects for the construction of railways, highways, etc. All this forced tsarism to intensify its activities in Iran. Not being able to compete with more developed countries - England, Germany, the USA, etc. - due to the backwardness of economic development, in the construction of industrial enterprises, railways, etc., the tsarist government tried either to prevent their creation in Iran or, if this failed, they sought similar concessions and privileges for Russia.

In the Anglo-Russian rivalry of the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries. two periods can be distinguished. The first period - from the 70s of the XIX century. until 1905. It is characterized by the maximum intensification of the struggle between the two states, each of which seeks to take more advantageous positions in Iran. At this time, the main concessions were obtained, significant success was achieved in trade. Despite the fact that the Anglo-Russian struggle for Iran during these years went on with varying success, on the whole it ended in the defeat of Russia. The main goal of Russian tsarism in Iran at the time under review was the desire to “preserve the integrity and inviolability of the Shah’s possessions, not seeking territorial increments for itself, not allowing the predominance of a third power, gradually subordinating Persia to its dominant influence, without violating, however, both the external principles of its independence, as well as the internal structure. This is how the head of the Asiatic Department, IA Zinoviev, defined Russia's tasks in Iran. Therefore, all the proposals of England to delimit the areas of influence of both powers in Iran, Russia - in the North, and England - in the South, were rejected by the Russian government.

During these years, England, despite the strong opposition of Russia, achieved great success in its policy in Iran. Almost by the end of the XIX century. Russia was forced to reckon with the sole dominance of England in the southern provinces of Iran, limiting its zone of influence to the northern regions. In this rivalry, the stronger, economically and politically developed power won. Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the loss of its former influence in the Balkans dealt a severe blow to its foreign policy prestige. The Russian Revolution of 1905 further weakened the tsarist government.

By this time, Anglo-German and Russian-German contradictions were intensifying. A new period is beginning in Anglo-Russian relations. This is a capitulation to England - the division of Iran into spheres of influence. The main reason that Russia went to an agreement with England was the practical impossibility of pursuing the old course of expansion on the Asian borders and continuing the struggle against England in the forms in which it had been conducted up to that time.

Of great interest are the statements of the Minister of Finance of Russia V.N. Kokovtseva: “We cannot hide the facts from ourselves and we have to admit the unconditional circumstance that the political position of Russia has diminished, and, accordingly, we need to modify our views on Eastern politics in general, in which the fundamental mistake was made that we did not measure the former means at our disposal for the intended purpose.

The British government was well aware of the difficulties of Russia's domestic and foreign policy and hastened to take advantage of them. “Since the war with Japan,” wrote Nicholson, the British envoy to Iran, “Russian Asiatic policy has of necessity undergone profound changes.” This statement echoes the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Izvolsky. “The position of Russia in East Asia, after the unfortunate war and the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese treaty, has become so weakened and has become so menacing that there is nothing left but to negotiate directly with England.” Since that time, a turning point in Russian foreign policy is planned. Russia was forced to make an agreement with England.

One of the most important spheres of activity of foreign capital in Iran was telegraph concessions.

The British, interested in establishing a strong connection with India, began strenuously seeking a telegraph concession in Iran. The history of obtaining this concession is very characteristic and typical of the activities of the imperialist states in this country and their struggle for concessions and monopolies. The British capitalists repeatedly tried to obtain permission from the Shah to build a telegraph, but were constantly refused.

The benefits of such an invention as the telegraph did not interest the Shah, but "one thing he understood well - it was money, which, as it seemed to him, was in abundance in Europe and which he always lacked."

Therefore, in order to speed up the receipt of the concession, the British resorted to their old and tried method - bribing influential people and political pressure on the Iranian government. They bribed Mokhber-ed-Dole, the Minister of Public Works, Mines and the Telegraph.

Telegraph concession agreements were signed in 1862, 1865 and 1872. The British Department of the Indo-European Telegraph received a concession for the construction and operation of the Khanekin-Tehran-Bushir telegraph line. In Bushehr, the line joined the British submarine cable Jask - Muscat - Karachi. The Indo-European Telegraph Company built a telegraph line connecting London with Calcutta via Berlin, Warsaw, Odessa, Kerch, Tiflis, Julfa, Tabriz, Qazvin, Tehran, Isfahan, Karachi. According to the convention of 1901, the Iranian government undertook to build a line Tehran-Bushir and to Balochistan through Yazd and Kerman at the expense of a British loan.

The telegraph was entirely under the control of the Indo-European Company. The Persian government was given a third of the income from the operation of the line passing through Iranian territory, and a preferential rate for sending telegrams. In 1879, Russian capitalists, following the British, won a concession for the construction of a telegraph line in northern Iran between the cities of Astrabad and Kishlyar. It was a small line, and it passed not only through the northern provinces. Of the nine main telegraph lines, not counting the minor ones, only two were controlled by the Iranian government. Two more were operated by the Russians, and the rest by the British. By 1920, the total length of telegraph lines in Iran reached 5676 km.

The Persian telegraph was a major enterprise of England in Iran and contributed to the enslavement of the country. The Russian newspaper Novoye Vremya reported that the Persian "telegraph, operated by British officials and guarded by Persian guards, who are on the payroll of the British government, is a powerful means of strengthening British influence in Persia." The telegraph primarily provided communication between England and India, and the needs of Iran were often completely ignored.

Telegraph lines were built to a large extent at the expense of Iran, and by 1869, in connection with the construction of telegraph lines, he owed England about 47 thousand pounds. Art., which paid for 20 years. The telegraph connected the main administrative and economic centers of the country, such as Tabriz, Tehran, Isfahan, and others. Along all lines, the British built stations called telegraph bureaus. These "bureaus" had armaments, and often officers of the Anglo-Indian army worked as telegraph operators, mechanics and other specialists. They were interested in the commercial life of the country, informed British firms about the demand for various goods, about market prices, etc. The Persian government could not take a single step that was not known to British agents. Very often, the British government learned about this or that event or change in any region of Iran before the Persian one. In addition to political advantages, the telegraph also gave the British certain financial benefits.

Since the beginning of the 70s of the 19th century, the struggle between Russia and England for concessions for the construction of highways and railways in Iran has intensified.

This construction was closely connected with the problems of the domestic and foreign policy of states, and was of economic and strategic importance.

In the context of the development of commodity-money relations in the country, in order to improve the economic situation and expand trade, Iran, more than ever, needed railway construction and the renewal of existing roads. Due to the lack of industry and trained personnel, Iran was completely dependent on the developed capitalist countries. The Persian representative in London, Mohsen Khan Moin ol-Molk, entered into negotiations with the heads of industrial firms regarding the construction of railways in Iran. Several projects were proposed to the Persian government for the construction of railways in Iran.

But basically these were fictitious enterprises, the initiators of which got down to business without sufficient financial resources.

For the first time, the issue of building railways in Iran became serious in connection with the appearance on the scene of the well-known financier Julius Reuter, the founder of the telegraph agency. Reuter had previously entered into negotiations with Mohsen Khan Moin ol-Molk regarding a railway concession, promising him and his brother his protection, and “gave a bribe of 20 thousand pounds. Art. " .

The terms of the concession exceeded even Reuter's wildest expectations. On July 25, 1872, a concession agreement was signed for a period of 70 years. In addition to building a trans-Iranian railway from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf, permission was given to build branches to connect the road with various cities and provinces of the country or railways in other states. Reuters was allowed to build highways throughout Iran. He was granted the right to develop deposits of coal, iron, copper, lead, oil and other natural resources of the country, the right to exploit state forests, and build new ones. The concessionaire was allowed to create a bank, build gas and other plants, mills, and improve the capital of Tehran. Reuters received full control of the roads, mail, telegraph. The management of customs was transferred to him for 20 years for 20 thousand pounds. Art.

The Reiter concession, even in Lord Curzon's admission, was "an unprecedented and most extraordinary act of the complete sale of all the wealth of the state to foreigners."

The concession agreement provoked a sharp protest from the tsarist government. Messages were sent to the Shah from Alexander II, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the envoy in Tehran with ultimatum demands for the cancellation of the concession. During the stay of Nasser al-Din Shah in St. Petersburg in the autumn of 1873, the issue of canceling the Reiter concession was actually resolved.

The implementation of the concession required large capital, which Reuter could not provide personally. The shares issued by him in England were not successful. As a result, Reuters was unable to start work in Iran before the 15-month deadline, as stipulated in the concession. This was the formal reason for the liquidation of the concession.

On December 5, 1873, Nasser al-Din Shah terminated the concession agreement. The tsarist government decided to take the initiative of railway construction in Iran into its own hands. Initially, it supported the concession project of Major General Falkenhayn, a Russian engineer who built roads to Georgia.

After a long diplomatic struggle, in December 1874 the concession was signed by the shah. And here it was not without bribes and political pressure on the Persian government. So, for example, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Khan was given 50 thousand rubles.

The concession was signed, but Russia did not have the money to build the road. In addition, foreign policy complications, such as the Russian-Turkish war, required significant funds, and the concession was consigned to oblivion.

But the attempts to obtain concessions for the construction of railways in Iran did not stop there. New countries joined the fight for concessions. In 1875, the Austrian engineer Pressel sought permission to build a transit road from Tiflis to Bandar Abbas.

The Shah's government, under pressure from Russian diplomacy, gave a written commitment not to allow the construction of railways and waterways without prior consultation with the Russian government. But the shah violated this obligation in 1888, allowing navigation on the river. Karun to all foreign ships. In this regard, the Russian government demanded the signing of a new agreement. In 1890, a Russian-Iranian agreement was officially signed on the non-construction of railways in Iran for 10 years. In 1900 it was extended for another 10 years. For his conclusion, as Persian authors note, military threats and political pressure on the Persian government were used. The agreement was supported by England. The British capitalists were interested in building railways in Iran for the purpose of its economic and political enslavement, but it was very important to them that there was no railway line to India that could be captured during the war by Russia or another power. When the issue of building a trans-Iranian railway (Reuter's concession) was first raised, the project was met negatively in the House of Commons. An opinion was expressed about the possibility of building only small railways of local importance. Therefore, London did not object to the Russian-Iranian agreement. The English envoy in Tehran, D. Wolf, in turn, secured a written promise from the Shah that “the British government has an advantage in the concession for the construction of railways from the south to Tehran, and if the concession for the construction of the railway is given to the north, to whom or else, a similar concession should be given to an English company in the south. No one can be given a concession for the southern roads without consultation with England.

The agreement on the non-construction of railways was a vivid example of the policy of the imperialist states in Iran, which proceeded only from their own interests, contrary to the economic development of the country. The absence of railways delayed the economic development of Iran for a long time. The negative consequences of this colonial agreement between Russia and England affected the economic, political and cultural development of Iran for many decades. The construction of railways in Iran was actually frozen for almost 30 years. In this important issue for the fate of the country, the Shah's government demonstrated a complete loss of its independence.

An important role in strengthening Britain's position in Iran was played by obtaining a concession for navigation along the Karun. This opened a convenient way to the southwestern and central regions of Iran and contributed to their enslavement by the British capitalists.

The political significance of the concession for navigation along the Karun became particularly clear in subsequent years, when England began to penetrate more actively into the southern regions of Iran and eventually occupied a dominant position in them.

The British trading company "Lynch" received from the government a large subsidy for flights along the Karun, with the condition that they be made regularly even if there were no cargoes. In 1889-1890. An English telegraph service was established along the Karun.

In 1889, the British won a concession for the construction of the Tehran-Kum-Sultanabad-Borujerd-Shuster highway. This concession belonged to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Khan, Mushir-od-Dole, who ceded it to the English businessman Lynch for 15,000 pounds. Art. The highway was brought only to Sultanabad, then the road passed through the places inhabited by warlike tribes of Lurs. All attempts by the British to negotiate with the leaders of the tribes did not lead to anything. The road from Ahvaz to Isfahan through the Bakhtiar camps was of great importance. In 1897, the Lynch Company secured a concession to build a wheeled road in this direction. With the help of large bribes, the British managed to attract the Bakhtiar khans to their side. The road through the Bakhtiar camps was the most convenient and shortest route connecting the Persian Gulf with Isfahan. The new route has become of great importance in political and commercial relations, significantly changing the traditional transit routes of Basra - Baghdad - Kermanshah and Bushehr - Isfahan. Basra and Baghdad were forced to cede part of their revenues to Mohammer, which became a warehouse for goods bound for Isfahan.

The opening of the new route made it easier for the British to enslave the area economically. In addition, it contributed to the spread of their influence on the Bakhtiar tribes inhabiting this part of the country.

Starting from the 80s, the political activity of the British representatives in Tehran increased and in January 1889, despite the opposition of the Russian envoy, J. Reuter, Qavam od-Dole and Amin os-Soltane signed an agreement on granting a concession to open a bank in Iran for a period for 60 years.

According to Art. 1 Reuters was given the right to organize and establish the Shahinshah Bank. The bank was created in Tehran, but it was given the right to open branches throughout the country. Art. 2 stipulated the right to issue shares in London, Paris, Berlin, Tehran, Vienna and St. Petersburg for a total of £4 million. Art. The bank could start with a capital of £1 million. Art. Art. 3 gave the bank the exclusive right to issue bank notes, which were in circulation throughout Iran, in the amount of 850 thousand pounds. Art. The Persian government undertook "not to issue any kind of securities during the term of the concession and not to allow the establishment of any other banks or organizations with the same privileges."

According to Art. 5 of the concession, the Persian government "exempted the bank from paying all taxes and customs duties and undertook to protect it from losses."

According to Art. 7 to the Persian government, the bank had to pay 6% of its annual income, but not less than 4 thousand pounds. Art.

The bank was allowed to develop all minerals, with the exception of the extraction of precious stones and precious metals, with the deduction of 16% of the annual income to the Persian government (Article 13).

The concession agreement was enslaving for Iran and was a typical unequal agreement between a strong capitalist power and an underdeveloped dependent country. The British capitalists succeeded in imposing conditions on the concession that created the most favorable ground for the bank's activities in Iran.

In the very first years of its existence, the bank opened branches in various cities and regions of Iran: Tehran, Tabriz, Rasht, Hamadan, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Sultanabad, Qazvin, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Borujerde, Shiraz, Bushi-re Ahvaz, Mohammer. Three branches were opened abroad - in Bombay, Baghdad, Basra. The most profitable activities for the bank were the issuance of banknotes and the supply of silver. Such events led to the poverty of the Iranian people.

Thus, the intensification of British policy in Iran at the end of the 19th century, the receipt of a number of important concessions significantly strengthened the influence of England in this country. The southern regions of Iran have actually turned into a sphere of undivided domination of British capitalism. The influence of the British on the Shah's government also increased.

All this aroused the anxiety of Russian tsarism. A special meeting in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the issue of Russia's financial and economic policy in Persia on June 7, 1904 noted that "on the basis of Persian affairs, Russia has to wage a difficult struggle with a serious rival in the face of England, which has large material resources and can endure more significant than Russia, financial sacrifices. It is possible to embark on the path of struggle with England only with extreme caution, especially in the sphere of her interests in the south of Persia, since this struggle can easily bring things to an aggravation of relations with her without much benefit to herself. At the same time, it was emphasized that "Persia is of exceptional importance from the point of view of Russia's political and economic interests."

Based on these tasks, Russian tsarism increased its economic penetration into Iran by obtaining concessions and creating joint commercial and industrial companies.

The Cossack brigade played an important role in strengthening and spreading Russian influence in Iran. During the second trip of Nasser al-Din Shah to Europe in 1878, the tsarist government managed to persuade him to create a Persian Cossack brigade for the personal protection of the shah and his family, modeled on Russian Cossack regiments.

In 1879, the Russian government received a firman from the Persian Shah, according to which the Persian Cossack brigade was created; officers in this brigade were sent from St. Petersburg. In the same year, a Russian military mission was sent to Tehran, headed by Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff A.I. Domantovich. To create a brigade, 400 cavalrymen were allocated, later their number was increased. By 1880, the brigade was fully formed and consisted of two regiments.

The economic enslavement of Iran by Russian capitalists proceeded primarily along the lines of expanding trade and creating Russian enterprises in the country. The largest commercial and industrial enterprise was the fishing industry of the Lionozovs. In 1873 S.M. Lianozov received a concession from the Persian government for the right to fish in the southern part of the Caspian Sea.

Up to 4,000 workers, who came from various regions of Iran and neighboring countries, were employed at the permanent job of the Lianozovas. The company's property was estimated at 1 million rubles.

Lianozova's firm was a large, well-equipped, modern industrial enterprise.

The existence of a large enterprise in the south of the Caspian Sea contributed to the development of sea and river fishing, an increase in the volume of Russian-Iranian trade. Every year more than 150 thousand rubles worth of goods were imported from Russia for the needs of the company. .

The most prominent Russian concessionaires in Iran were the well-known capitalists, the Polyakov brothers. In 1889, L. S. Polyakov formed the "Partnership of Industry and Trade in Persia and Central Asia" with branches in Tehran, Resht, Mashhad and other large cities. On November 20, 1890, he obtained from the Shah a concession to organize insurance and transport business throughout Iran for a period of 75 years. This concession gave Russia great privileges in the construction of highways and wheel roads not only in the north of the country, but throughout Iran.

"Persian Insurance and Transport Society" concluded an agreement with the Russian companies "Caucasus and Mercury", "Russian Transport Insurance Company", "Eastern Society of Warehouses, Insurance and Transportation of Goods with the Issuance of Loans", according to which it granted them the right to engage in insurance and transport operations in Iran.

In addition, L. S. Polyakov began the construction of a match factory and acquired 3/4 of the shares of a Belgian company that kept horse racing in Tehran.

In 1902, the Accounting and Loan Bank of Iran received the exclusive right to build and operate two sections of the highway: from the Russian-Iranian border to Tabriz and from Tabriz to Qazvin. According to the supplement to the concession for the construction and operation of the Tabriz road, the Accounting and Loan Bank was granted the exclusive right to extract coal and oil in areas located at a distance of up to 50 versts on each side of the road, with the right to lay carriageways from the main road to those places which will be operated by the bank.

The opening of a Russian bank in Tehran testified to the intensification of the economic policy of tsarism, designed to conquer the Persian market and oust the British rival from Iran. Less than a year after the trip of the Minister of War of Russia, Lieutenant General A.N. Kuropatkin on a special mission, the Russian government announced that competition with England in Iran should henceforth be expressed primarily in the sphere of economic interests.

The most important factor by which Russia managed to strengthen its position in Iran in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the loans provided by the tsarist government to Iran.

Even at the end of the XIX century. in view of the difficult financial situation, the Persian government began to look for opportunities to obtain an external loan. After the failure in England, it began to make attempts to get a loan in Russia. The death of Nasser al-Din Shah, which followed on April 19, 1896, interrupted the course of negotiations for a while, and the new Shah, Mozaffar al-Din, who ascended the throne, declared that he did not want to burden Iran with an external loan and intended to pay the government's debts from the treasury . However, already in September 1897, the Shah's government was forced to turn to foreign capitalists for help, but its efforts to do without the mediation of Russia and England and to obtain a loan from the Dutch and French bankers were unsuccessful. Pressed by the insistent demands of creditors and state needs, the Shah's government received in 1898 a loan of £50,000 from an English bank. Art. for 6 months secured by income from the customs of the southern ports. When the loan was not repaid on time, the bank demanded the immediate payment of all loans issued by it.

The demands of the British bank put the Shah's government in an extremely difficult position and prompted it, without waiting for the end of negotiations on a loan, to urgently request the Russian government to provide it with temporary financial assistance. In 1898 Iran was given a loan of 150 thousand rubles. under the guarantee of income from northern customs and fisheries in the Caspian Sea. However, such a loan could not cover the monetary deficit of Iraq and get it out of financial difficulties, and the Persian government turned to Russia in the autumn of 1899 with a request for assistance in obtaining a loan. It was granted in 1900 in the amount of 22.5 million rubles. Accounting and loan bank for a period of 75 years. The loan was guaranteed by all of Iran's customs revenues, with the exception of revenues from the customs of Fars and the ports of the Persian Gulf.

The Shah government, in turn, undertook to repay all its debts from this loan and not to conclude any long-term agreement without the consent of the Accounting and Loan Bank until the loan amount of 1900 was repaid.

By the end of 1901, Iran again found itself in an extremely difficult financial situation: most of the loan of 1900 was spent on paying off previous debts, and during 1900 and 1901. the government had to resort again to short-term loans from local banks.

At the end of 1901, the Iranian government entered into negotiations for a new loan in Russia. Negotiations led to the issuance in 1902 through the Accounting and Loan Bank of a 5 percent loan in the amount of 10 million rubles. for a period of 75 years, secured by the same customs revenues that served as a guarantee of payments on the loan of 1900, and on the same terms as this loan. The loan was subject to a number of conditions. The Accounting and Loan Bank received a concession for the construction and operation of a wheel road from the border through Tabriz to Qazvin, while stipulating the right to build and operate a telegraph line for the needs of the road.

But even this loan could not improve the financial situation of Iran. In 1904 and 1905 The Accounting and Loan Bank issued three more short-term loans to the Persian government: in February 1904 - 1200 thousand fogs, in June 1905 - 500 thousand turmans, in August 1905 - 150 thousand fogs. By 1910, the total debt of Iran to Russia amounted to 43,106,026 rubles.

The success of the Russian loan in 1900 sharpened the Anglo-Russian rivalry in Iran. But England was not going to give up her positions. This was manifested with all acuteness during the events of 1901, when the struggle over Persian oil unfolded.

Each of the competing parties was interested in oil for various reasons. England's attention was riveted primarily to the Persian oil fields, while Russia showed a strong attraction to the Persian oil market. Back in 1891, the Shahinshah Bank formed a company with a capital of 1 million pounds. Art. The company was engaged in exploration for oil in the area of ​​the city of Bushehr, but to no avail and actually stopped work. In 1892, the French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan published a report on his work in Iran, in which he suggested the presence of significant oil deposits in the southwestern part of the country. This further increased the interest in England in Persian oil. Concession negotiations began as early as 1900 in Paris. General Kitabji Khan, the chief director of the Iranian Economic Administration, who was at the Paris Exhibition, met there with D. Wolf and Reitor's representative E. Kott. In 1901, negotiations were continued in London with the participation of the Englishman d'Arcy. Atabek Azam provided great assistance in obtaining a concession.

Personally interested in signing the concession, Amin os-Soltane kept the negotiations in the strictest confidence, "ie. K. understood that if the Russian envoy found out, this would lead to the collapse of the project. The terms of the d'Arcy concession were extremely beneficial for England. The concessionaire was granted a monopoly right to explore, produce, transport and sell oil and oil products in Southern Iran for 60 years. He obtained permission to build an oil pipeline to the Persian Gulf with the right to lay pipes additionally from the main highways in different directions (Article 2). The Persian government provided the English entrepreneur with uncultivated land free of charge for the construction of oil storage facilities and factories. Imported materials and exported petroleum products were not subject to customs duties. D "Arsi was obliged to create the first oil production company no later than two years later (Art. 16) and give the Persian government 20,000 pounds each. Art. in cash and paid-in shares, as well as annually deduct to the Persian government 16% of net profit (Article 10).

According to Art. 12 the concessionaire was given the right to use Persian workers in the company's work, the technical staff was recruited from foreigners. Thus, one of the most significant documents of the 20th century was compiled.

The signing of the new concession provoked a sharp protest from the Russian government. The greatest concern was caused by Art. 6, which defined the boundaries of the concession. According to this article, the rights of d "Arsi as a concessionaire extended, with the exception of the northern provinces (Azerbaijan, Gilan, Mazandaran, Khorasan and Astrabad), to almost the entire territory of Iran. rivers and the southern coast of Persia.This condition of the concession canceled all Russian plans to build oil pipelines in Iran and trade Baku oil through the Persian Gulf.

The capture of the oil wealth of southern Iran by England dealt a blow to Russia's economic interests in this area: already in 1907, under the pressure of its competitors, Russia was forced to retreat from the Asian oil markets. At the same time, Russian kerosene was forced out of the ports of the Persian Gulf.

The last years of the 19th - early 20th century. had a decisive influence on the economic and political development of Iran. During these years, both England and Russia achieved significant success in the development of the Persian market, took a monopoly position, respectively, in the south and north of the country. The growth of foreign influence, increased activity in the struggle for economic and political dominance in Iran led to a sharp aggravation of Anglo-Russian rivalry.

This rivalry between the two capitalist powers had a negative impact on the position of Iran as a whole. It slowed down the natural course of the country's socio-economic development for many years.

Analysis of foreign trade relations of Iran in the late XIX - early XX century. testifies to the growing dependence of the country's economy on the developed capitalist states and its transformation into their agricultural and raw material appendage.

The strengthening of political dependence on the imperialist states, as well as the expansion of the activities of foreign capital, allowed Russia and Britain to significantly increase the export of their goods to Iran. From 1888/89 to 1913/14, imports increased more than 7.7 times, including cotton fabrics - more than 3 times, sugar - more than 15.5 times, tea - almost 20 times.

On October 27, 1901, the Russo-Iranian Commercial Convention was signed. She not only repealed Art. 3 of the Special Act of 1828, which provided for a low amount of customs duties on foreign goods, but also introduced completely new principles of trade policy for Iran.

The most important part of the 1901 convention was Art. 1, which established three special tariffs instead of the previous 5% customs tax. According to the new tariffs, a special customs tax was established for each item of export. The new trade agreement created advantages for Russian trade in Iran. Of the 30 different types of Russian goods imported into Iran and amounting to 9/10 of all Russian exports, 8 types were completely exempted from taxation, and 11 types were taxed at a special rate. Duties on all major Russian exports were lower than the previous 5 percent.

The English envoy Harding demanded a similar treaty with England. The Anglo-Persian Declaration, signed on January 27, 1903, repeated the Russian-Persian Convention in all points and confirmed the tariff rates established by the latter.

By the beginning of the XX century. Russia's share in Iran's foreign trade turnover was 57%, England (with India) - 22%. In third place was Turkey, in fourth place was France.

English goods were distributed everywhere, not excluding Northern Iran, where Tabriz was the main center of their concentration. Isfahan was a major trading center for English goods. From there they went to Kashan, Tehran, Qazvin, Hadaman, Borujerd.

The first place in the nomenclature of English goods imported into Iran was occupied by cheap, brightly colored Manchester chintz. In the ports of the Persian Gulf, they accounted for 50% of the total import of England.

In connection with the export of British capital to Iran, the receipt of a number of concessions, and the construction of roads, the import of metals and metal products into the country is noticeably increasing.

Tea was a major English export. In this case, England acted as a trading agent for the countries that produce tea - China and mainly India. In addition, England imported indigo, various porcelain, faience, glass products, woolen, silk, velvet fabrics, and weapons to Iran.

The first place among the goods exported from Iran to England was occupied by opium. Carpets were a large, ever-increasing article of English import.

The British capitalists also exported grain (to India), tobacco, cotton, wool, leather, fruits and other goods. British firms, individual English entrepreneurs, and local merchants conducted trade in Iran.

The creation of the English Shahinshah Bank contributed to the development of Anglo-Iranian trade. He provided information on the state of trade in the country. The bank issued any loans to English subjects on the most favorable terms. Of interest are the ways and methods used by the British to develop trade in Iran.

A feature of the British trade policy in Iran was the steady increase in the import of British goods to Iran in comparison with the export of Iranian goods to England.

The systematic excess of imports of British goods over exports led to an increase in the country's trade deficit. The annual deficit was approximately 8 million rubles, slightly increasing or decreasing in certain years. This severely affected the country's budget and forced the Iranian government to apply for new loans, which further ruined the country.

Thus, the foreign trade expansion of the imperialist powers had a strong influence on all aspects of Iran's economic development. The country has actually turned into a semi-colony of British and Russian imperialism.

The semi-colonial position of Iran was especially clearly manifested in its transformation into an agrarian and raw material appendage of the developed capitalist powers, in the strengthening of its economic dependence, and in the preservation of a backward state-political regime.

The enslavement of Iran by foreign imperialists was accompanied by an aggravation of contradictions within Iranian society. The penetration of the imperialist states into the country and their seizure of the most important concessions and the main levers of trade brought them into conflict with the interests of the commercial bourgeoisie.

By the end of the XIX century. refers to the emergence in Iran of the ideas of bourgeois nationalism. The Iranian intelligentsia is beginning to criticize the government more and more actively, to oppose the enslavement of the country by foreign imperialists. Progressive Iranian newspapers, published mainly abroad, published articles exposing the colonial policy of Russia and England.

All concession agreements entered into by the Shah's government with the imperialist states provoked sharp protests from the progressive leaders of Iran. Articles appeared in the foreign press, and proclamations were secretly printed and distributed in the country.

By the end of the XIX century. this spontaneous discontent turns into open action against the policy of the Shah.

One of the largest uprisings of the popular masses of Iran against foreign enslavers and the Shah's government, which engulfed the entire country, was the popular movement against the British tobacco monopoly in 1891.

A brief history of the tobacco monopoly is as follows. On March 8, 1890, the Shah granted the English major G.F. Talbot for 50 years a monopoly on the production, sale and export of tobacco.

The concession affected the interests of broad sections of Iranian society, from tobacco producers to merchants and consumers.

As a result, in the summer and especially in the autumn of 1891, discontent broke out everywhere, directed against the government and the British concessionaires.

The movement first originated in Shiraz, where one of the main agencies of the company was located. An active role in this was played by the Shiraz clergy, whose interests repeatedly clashed with British capital, which had strong economic positions in the south of Iran. The movement reached its greatest strength in Azerbaijan.

After the announcement of the tobacco monopoly in Tabriz on August 19, 1891, a large demonstration took place in front of the Crown Prince's palace. The demonstrators demanded the abolition of the tobacco monopoly, otherwise threatening to destroy the British Consulate. The Tabriz merchants and the working masses of the city took part in the demonstration.

Part of the clergy also opposed the monopoly. The chief Mujtehid of Tabriz, Haji-Jevad-Aga, openly declared that even under the threat of arrest and expulsion, he would not stop agitating against the tobacco monopoly, since its establishment is a violation of Sharia law.

Amir Nezam and representatives of the higher clergy of Tabriz sent a letter to the Shah with a request to eliminate the monopoly. Irritated by the manifestation of disobedience, the shah decided to send troops to the province in order to use the example of Azerbaijan to show how he would deal with anyone who opposed the monopoly.

But the unrest in Tabriz increased every day. Dissatisfaction with the monopoly also spread to the army, on which the authorities could no longer count on suppressing the uprising.

The Tabriz events were a contagious example for other provinces. Popular unrest began against the tobacco monopoly in Khorasan, Isfahan, Mashhad and other cities.

The population of Mashhad at meetings openly condemned the introduction of a monopoly. After receiving information about the unrest in Tabriz, Isfahan, Tehran and other cities of the country, the Meshkhed merchants turned to more active actions. On the evening of September 20, 1891, the rebels, led by eminent merchants of Mashhad, gathered in the main mosque and, blocking the path of the supreme ruler of Khorasan, told him that they would not tolerate a tobacco monopoly, and threatened to stop all trade, close shops and refuse to pay taxes if the monopoly was maintained . “The English bank has deprived us of the benefits of trade, and the tobacco monopoly is taking away our freedom and the right to sell tobacco,” the audience said.

For several days the rebels occupied the main mosque, the excited people filled the streets of the city, eagerly listening to orators who spoke out against the monopoly and against the Shah's government. All markets and shops were closed.

Resentment against the monopoly and government policies swept across the country, from large cities to villages. The clergy, everywhere leading the movement, sought to use it to raise their influence and authority. “It was not only the rise of religious strife against foreign penetration, but also a demonstration of the strength of the ulema. In this opposition to the tobacco concession, they first proved their ability to unite and slightly revealed their strength, in subsequent years their position became more aggressive, as their strength increased.

Mass indignation of the general population in Iran led to the fact that Amin os-Soltane entered into negotiations with the British envoy in Tehran regarding a monopoly. An agreement was drawn up to annul the tobacco monopoly and indemnify the Persian government for damages.

The Shah's government undertook to pay a penalty to the company in the amount of 6 kururs (500,000 pounds). To pay this large amount, the government resorted to obtaining a foreign loan from the Shahinshah Bank. The abolition of the tobacco monopoly caused dissatisfaction with the British authorities.

Obtaining profitable concessions and seizing important political and economic privileges by the imperialist states in Iran at the end of the 19th century. aggravated the struggle of Iranian "merchants and industrialists for their rights, against foreign capitalists and the Shah's government that supported them. Having captured almost the entire Iranian trade in piles, the British and Russian capitalists ousted the local merchants from it. The creation of foreign banks in Iran especially worsened the position of Iranian merchants.

At the end of the XIX century. various protests broke out in Iran against Russian and British domination. Repeatedly, unrest took place on the Russian-Iranian border, in Khorasan and Tabriz against the tsarist policy in these areas. In 1898, an uprising broke out against British rule in Mekran, in 1899 - in Bushehr.

The Russian consul reported from Iran in 1897: “Unrest and riots caused by the instability of the state system have become commonplace in the provinces of Iran: this was the case in Borujird, Isfahan and Tabriz, not to mention relatively small clashes between the population and the authorities in other places. Now the response of the displeasure of the population is heard in the capital.

In 1897, a movement broke out in Tehran against the Shahinshah Bank. Crowds of people with threats began to besiege the Shahinshah Bank, demanding an unhindered exchange of banknotes for silver. The clergy joined the movement.

Thus, at the end of the 19th century, as a result of the active struggle of the Iranians against the policy of foreign imperialism and the Shah's government that condoned it, the sprouts of the national liberation movement of the Iranian people began to emerge.

Various strata of Iranian society took part in the movement: the clergy, merchants, the young bourgeoisie, artisans, peasants and the urban poor. This movement was progressive, as it was directed against the policy of foreign imperialism in Iran and the Shah's government.

The struggle against foreign concessions played an important role in the formation of the national identity of the Iranian people and was a rehearsal for a powerful and broad movement - the Iranian Revolution of 1905-1911.

It is on the example of Iran that the well-known thesis about the awakening of Asia under the influence of the Russian revolution of 1905 works most obviously. Already at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. a large number of Iranian otkhodniks, especially from Iranian Azerbaijan, worked at the enterprises of the Russian Transcaucasus. Only in Baku, according to some sources, there were 7 thousand of them in 1904 - over 20% of the entire Baku proletariat. Russian revolutionaries worked with them, and returning to their homeland, otkhodniks brought new ideas with them. These ideas were absorbed by the starving peasants at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, when the food problem sharply worsened in Iran, which led to food riots and popular demonstrations, accompanied by the destruction of the houses of speculators and grain merchants, and contributed to the emergence of a revolutionary situation. All that was needed for the explosion was a pretext, and this pretext was not slow to appear: the cruel beating of an old seid on the orders of the authorities caused an explosion of discontent among the country's population in December 1905. Seeing in this act a mockery of faith (seids are the descendants of the prophet) and the triumph of injustice, the inhabitants of Tehran took to the streets. Dissatisfied with the Shah's administrators, the Shiite clergy incited the masses. Thousands of prominent citizens defiantly sat down in a best in a mosque near the capital and began to demand from the shah the punishment of the guilty and the establishment of a “house of justice” (this not very specific requirement meant both a fair trial based on a common law for all, and something like a legislative assembly). Frightened by the unrest, the shah agreed to the demands made on him, but soon after that repressions began. In response to them, in the summer of 1906, a new wave of protests arose: Tehran citizens, led by confessors in a 30,000-strong procession, headed for the holy city of Qom (where the daughter of the prophet Fatima was buried), while others sat down in the best on the territory of the English mission.

Frightened even more than in January, the Shah was forced to capitulate, this time in earnest. On August 5, 1906, a decree was published on the introduction of a constitutional regime in the country and on the convocation of a Majlis, whose members were to be elected according to the curial system in two stages. The Mejlis, which met in the fall of that year, adopted a number of important legal provisions, including a law on the maximum price of bread. The main concern of the deputies was the development of the Basic Law. Adopted by the Majlis and signed by the Shah, this law (constitution) provided for the limitation of the power of the Shah by the Majlis, primarily in everything related to the budget and, in general, the finances and economy of the country, including relations with foreigners. In the autumn of 1907, the Majlis adopted additions to this law, which included basic civil rights and freedoms and the creation, along with religious, secular courts. The principle of separation of powers - legislative, executive, judicial - was also adopted. However, for all that, Shiite Islam remained the state religion, and the twelfth hidden imam was recognized as the highest spiritual sovereign of all Iranian Shiites. The shah remained only the head of the executive branch - a circumstance that played a significant role in the subsequent fate of the shah's throne.

Revolutionary changes took place not only at the highest level. In the cities of Iran, one after another, revolutionary enjumen arose, a kind of soviets, organizations like semi-clubs, semi-municipalities, which locally established control over government officials, controlled prices, founded schools, published newspapers, etc. Only newspapers and magazines in these revolutionary Up to 350 titles were published in Iran over the years. Strong support and new demands from below put pressure on the deputies of the Mejlis, forcing them to adopt more and more new laws - on the abolition of conditional land holdings such as tiuls, the reduction of pensions for the nobility, the removal of reactionary governors, the fight against bribes and extortion, etc. In April, the Majlis legalized the status of the enjumen, although it limited their rights to interfere in political affairs. In response to this, the Mujahideen movement - fighters for faith, for an idea, for justice - has intensified in the country. Numerous Mujahideen organizations, including illegal ones, put forward various demands, sometimes radical ones. Young fighters for the faith - fedayeen (fedayeen), who were ready for extreme measures, including self-sacrifice in the name of an idea, also came out of the ranks of the Mujahideen. The radicalism of the Mujahideen and especially the Fedais aroused concern not only of the Shah's authorities, but also of the majority of the deputies of the Majlis, who were afraid of rampant passions. The shah was even more afraid of further radicalization of events, who at the end of 1907 secured the consent of the Majlis to maintain the status quo. The Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907 on the formal division of spheres of influence in Iran, engulfed in revolution, provoked strong opposition from the leadership of Iran, which did not recognize this document, and this circumstance played a significant role in bringing the positions of the Majlis and the Shah closer.

Cooperation with the Majlis strengthened the position of the Shah. At the same time, the intensity of the revolutionary struggle somewhat weakened. In the summer of 1908, the shah considered the moment suitable for a counter-revolutionary coup: the Cossack brigade, on his orders, dispersed the majlis and enjumen in the capital. However, this success proved to be fragile. The baton of the revolution was taken by the capital of Iranian Azerbaijan, Tabriz, where the positions of radical organizations were especially strong. By October 1908, the insurgents of Tabriz had expelled the Shah's supporters from the city and demanded that the constitution be restored and a new Majlis be convened. In February 1909, power in Rasht passed to the supporters of the constitution, after which the same thing happened in other cities of Gilan, neighboring Azerbaijan. The Gilan fedai began to prepare for a campaign against Tehran. The entire north of Iran opposed the Shah. The detachments of the Bakhtiar Khan also opposed him in the south, in Isfahan. Concerned about the development of events, the British in the south and the Russian troops in the north, in response to this, occupied some cities, including Tabriz. But the intervention of the powers was not in favor of the Shah. Of course, the most radical groups were disarmed, but the enjumens in Tabriz and with the Russian army entering the city continued to exercise their power, not recognizing and not allowing the newly appointed Shah governor into the city. In the meantime, the Gilan fedai, with Sepahdar at their head, and the Bakhtiar detachments entered Tehran and overthrew Shah Muhammad Ali, who soon emigrated to Russia. Sepahdar became the head of the government, and in November 1909 the new Shah Ahmed convened the Second Majlis. The rejection of the curial system led to the fact that the composition of the new Majlis was to the right of the first. Yet, despite this, the new Majlis and its government tried to consolidate the revolutionary power.

This was not easy to do. After several years of revolution, the country's finances, like the economy as a whole, were in an extremely neglected state. The new government did not want to resort to the help of Russia or England. A compromise option was chosen: an American financial adviser, M. Schuster, was invited to Iran and received enormous powers. Schuster arrived in Iran in May 1911 and set about vigorous activity, which boiled down, first of all, to the reorganization of the entire tax service. Soon this activity began to quickly yield results. This caused irritation on the part of Russia and England, who did not want a serious strengthening of American influence in Iran and opposed the revolutionary regime that supported Shuster. Initially, as a trial balloon, an attempt was made to restore the ex-shah brought from Russia to the throne, and when this attempt failed and the positions of the revolutionary troops in northern Iran were strengthened as a result, Russia again sent troops to the territory of Northern Iran. The British began to land their troops in the south of the country. At the same time, both powers, using a trifling pretext as a pretext (a conflict between Shuster's tax administration and Russian representatives in Tehran in connection with the confiscation of the property of the ex-Shah's brother), presented Iran with an ultimatum demanding Shuster's expulsion. The Majlis rejected the ultimatum. Then the Russian troops were brought into action. They were supported by the British in the south.

Thus, the revolution was crushed, the Majlis and Enjumen were dissolved, the newspapers were closed. In February 1912, the new Shah's government officially recognized the Anglo-Russian agreement on the division of the country into spheres of influence, in exchange for which it received new loans from Russia and England.

List of sources used

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Topic: "Iran in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."

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Topic: "Iran in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."

I. Concepts and terms:

babids- Followers of Shia Islam

Concession- the transfer by the state of the right to exploit natural resources or industrial enterprises to a foreign company.

semi-colony- an outwardly independent country, which is actually a sphere of influence of foreign capital.

Pan-Islamism- the ideology of the destruction of the infidels and the unification of all Muslims into a single state

Best- sit-in.

Majlis is the lower house of parliament in Iran.

II. Basic outline.

Until the end of the 18th century. Iran is an independent, feudal, underdeveloped state.

• Why did Iran's international position worsen in the early 19th century?

Relations with Western countries.

1796 Tehran - France incited Iran against England and Russia.

Anglo-Iranian Treaty of Trade and Political Action:

England(Attorney Malcolm)	Iran (Shah)
Guaranteed military assistance to Iran	1). He promised not to let the French into Iran. 2). In the event of a French attack on India, Iran sends troops to Afghanistan.

Relations with Russia - contradictory because of the Transcaucasus.

1801 d. - the accession of Georgia to Russia, the rapprochement of Armenia and Azerbaijan with Russia.

1804 d. - Russian-Iranian war, the defeat of Iran.

13.10.1813 d. - Gulistan Peace Treaty:

Russia	Iran
1).Received Dagestan, Georgia and North Azerbaijan; 2) the right to maintain a navy in the Caspian Sea; 3).free trade right in Iran.

England incited Iran against Russia.

1826 d. - Russian-Iranian war, the defeat of Iran.

22.02.1828 d. – Turkmanchay peace treaty:

Russia	Iran
1). The border between Russia and Iran ran along the Araks River. 2). Eastern Armenia became part of Russia. 3). Russia's right to maintain a navy in the Caspian Sea has been legalized.	Paid indemnity to Russia 20 million rubles.

Russo-Iranian wars exacerbated Anglo-Iranian relations.

The results of the Shah's foreign policy: Iran has become a source of raw materials and a market for Western countries, and has become dependent on them.

Babi uprising.

40s 19th century. - an increase in the number of uprisings against the Shah in the regions of Zanjan, Isfahan, Tabriz, Yazd.

Leaders – babids(followers of Shia Islam).

1844 - leader of the babids Said Ali Muhammad proclaimed himself the Báb (the "gate").

Said Ali Muhammad expounded his teachings in the book "Beyan":

1). All people must be equal before the law.

2) The Babid kingdom should be located in the main regions of Iran - Azerbaijan, Mazandaran, Central Iraq, Fars, Khorasan.

3). Foreigners must be expelled and their property confiscated.

September 1848- Babid uprising in different regions of Iran.

1850 - uprising in Zanjan, Fars.

The goals of the rebels : one). Elimination of the power of the Shah.

2). Eradication of private ownership of land.

3). Proclamation of the personal freedom of man.

driving forces : urban poor, artisans, landless

peasants.

Results :1850. - at the request of the vizier Myrza Tagi Bab was shot in Tabriz.

1852. - an attempt on Nasser al-Din shah. The uprising was put down.

The transformation of Iran into a semi-colony.

Mid 19th century– increased penetration of foreign capital into Iran

(especially England and Russia).

England- dominated the south

Russia- dominated the north

1872 d. - Baron Reuter received concessions for oil development for 70 years, for the construction of a railway, telegraph and telephone lines, factories, plants, banks. 1889 - Reuters received concessions for another 60 years and permission to build the Shahinshah Bank.

1879- At the request of the Shah, Russian officers trained the Persian military brigade. 1879– Russians got a concession on the construction of telegraph lines. 1888-Lianozov received a concession for the development of the fishing industry in the Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea. 1890- Polyakov built a settlement and credit bank in Tehran. 1890- Russia provided Iran with a loan of 22.5 million rubles.

By the beginning of the 20th century. Iran has become a semi-colony.

Iranian Revolution 1905-1911

Causes of the revolution : The Shah's government infringed on the interests of the people, allowing foreign capital into the economy and providing benefits.

Early 20th century - in Iran, there were movements against the Shah, against foreign dependence, there were ideas pan-Islamism(ideas of uniting Muslims under the rule of a strong caliph).

1905- formed an anti-government society "Enjumene Mahfi"(Secret enjumen).

December 1905- a mass demonstration in Tabriz and a sit-in at the mosque of Shah Abdul Azim ( best).

Strikers' demands: one). The departure of foreigners from government service.

2). Building a "just state" that solves people's problems.

June-July 1906- a new wave of speeches, the demand for the adoption of a new constitution.

October 7, 1906- in Tehran, the first Majlis(lower house of parliament). Subsequently Shah Muhammad Ali dealt with the rebels.

1907 – 2nd stage of the revolution.

1908-1909 Tabriz became the center of the revolution.

1911- with the help of the troops of England and Russia, the revolution was suppressed.

The meaning of the revolution : one). The growth of self-consciousness of the people.

2). A blow to the Shah's leadership and foreign domination.

Consequences of the revolution : The Shah's government was forced to accept the conditions of foreign capitalists. 1911-1914- England received the right to develop oil in Iran. Iran received a loan from England of 2 million pounds; from Russia 14 million rubles (Russian capital in Iran amounted to 164 million rubles).

Early 20th century- Iran was a backward semi-colony of England and Russia.

III. Control and measuring materials.

1. Closed tests.

1. Which countries were the main rivals in the fight for Iran?

a). Turkey, USA b). UK, Russia in). France, Germany d). Italy, Germany

2. Causes of the Russian-Iranian wars?

a). Transcaucasia b). Afghanistan c. Iraq d. Khorasan

3. According to the Gulistan Treaty, did you get the right to free trade in Iran?

a). France b. UK c). Germany G). Russia

4. Was the Turkmenchay peace signed?

a). 10/13/1813 b). February 12, 1829 in). February 22, 1828 G). 01/19/1848

5. Babis are followers...

a). Shia Islam b). Sunni Islam c. Buddhism d. Judaism

6. The leader of the babids?

BUT). Myrza Tagi b). Nasser al-Din in). Said Ali Muhammad G). Muhammad Ali

7. One of the goals of the babids?

a). Attracting foreign capital to the country's economy.

b). Eradication of private ownership of land.

in). Adoption of a new constitution.

G). Cancellation of taxes.

8. A concession is...

a). Transfer by the state to a foreign firm of the right to exploit natural resources, industrial enterprises.

b). State enterprise.

AT). Joint-stock company.

G). Private farming.

9. Cause of the Iranian Revolution of 1905-1911?

a). The plight of the people and the dominance of foreigners.

b). Elimination of private ownership of land.

in). Displacement of foreigners from public service.

G). Confrontation between the Shiite and Sunni directions of Islam.

10. A semi-colony is…

a). country completely dependent on another state.

b). self-governing dominion.

in). externally independent country, which is actually a sphere of influence of foreign capital.

G). a country under the protection of other states.

11. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. Iran became a semi-colony...

a). France and Belgium b. Germany and Italy c). USA and Japan G). Russia and Great Britain

2. Open tests:

1. The supreme owner of land in Iran in the 19th century was considered: _________

2. In the XIX-n. XX centuries ideas are developing in Iran: ____________________

3. In 1911, they organized a counter-revolutionary coup in Iran and returned the throne to the Shah: _________

3. Creative tasks:

1. What goals did each country pursue when trying to conquer Iran? Compare their policies.

Countries	The reasons	Goals

1. Match the following events and dates:

1. Iranian Revolution	A. 1848-1852
2. Babid rebellion in Iran	V. 1905-1911
3. Russia achieved a free trade regime in Iran

1. Fill in the chart:

Religious movements	Character
Meaning for Iranians

4. What were the goals pursued by each country seeking to gain a foothold in Iran? Compare their policies.

Countries	Goals	Politics

IV. It is interesting.

A great merit in the signing of the Turkmenchay peace belongs to A.S. Griboedov, the famous Russian writer and diplomat.

In 1828, Griboedov was appointed to the post of envoy to Persia. On the way, in Tiflis, he fell in love with Princess Nina Chavchavadze, daughter of the Georgian poet Alexander Chavchavadze.

A month later, the young couple went to Persia: Nina stayed in the border town of Tabriz, and Griboyedov went to the capital of Persia, Tehran. And a month later ... At the embassy, ​​which he represented
Griboyedov, there was an Armenian Mirza Yakub who wanted to renounce Islam and convert to Christianity. The leaders of the Tehran Muslims decided to kill Mirza Yakub. But everything turned out to be much worse. The embassy was destroyed by a mob of fanatics, and everyone was brutally killed.

Griboyedov was buried in Tiflis, in the monastery of St. David. On the grave, the widow erected a monument to him: “Your mind and deeds are immortal in Russian memory, but why did you survive
You, my love?" In 1829 Griboyedov was killed. At the same time, Pushkin was in the Caucasus, where his "last meeting" with Griboyedov took place.

Pushkin described this meeting in his work “Journey to Arzrum during the Campaign of 1829”: “... I moved across the river. Two oxen, harnessed to a cart, climbed a steep road. Several Georgians accompanied the cart. "Where are you from?" I asked them. From Tehran. - "What are you carrying?" - "Mushroom". It was the body of the murdered Griboedov, which was escorted to Tiflis ... He died under the daggers of the Persians, a victim of ignorance and treachery.

Second half of the 19th century became a period of active colonial expansion in Iran of European countries, primarily England and Russia. At the same time, the Qajar ruling group was more willing to satisfy the demands of foreign powers than the demands of its own people. As the main means of strengthening the enslavement of Iran, foreign capital used various kinds of concessions from the Shah's government, as well as the provision of cash loans to Tehran.

During the Crimean War, taking advantage of the fact that the British were busy with the siege of Sevastopol, Nasr ed-Din Shah decided to undertake a campaign against Herat in order to prevent its capture by the Afghan emir Dost-Mohammed. In October 1856, after a five-month siege, Herat was taken. In response, England declared war and occupied part of Iranian territory, including the island of Kharg, the cities of Bushehr, Mohammer (now Khorramshahr) and Ahvaz. According to the Treaty of Paris, signed in March 1857, the Shah recognized the independence of Herat, and in case of disagreements between Iran, on the one hand, Herat and Afghanistan, on the other, he was obliged to turn to the mediation of London.

In 1862-1872. England obtained from the Shah's government the conclusion of three conventions, according to which it acquired the right to build terrestrial telegraph lines in Iran to ensure uninterrupted communications between London and India. These lines were instrumental in expanding British influence in Iran. The serving staff, which consisted of the British, enjoyed the right of extraterritoriality. The telegraph lines themselves, like mosques and foreign embassies, were subject to the privilege of best (a place of refuge inviolable for the authorities).

In 1872, the Shah granted the owner of the English telegraph agency, Baron Yu. a wide wave of protests (Russian diplomacy also opposed it), and soon Nasr al-Din Shah had to cancel it. In 1889, as compensation, the Iranian government allowed Reuter to organize the Imperial (Shahinshah) Bank of Persia, which received the right to issue banknotes, control the mint, accept state revenues and customs duties into its current account, and began to set the exchange rate of foreign currencies.

In 1888, the English citizen Lynch acquired a concession to organize navigation on the only navigable Karun River in Iran. In 1891, the British company Talbot took over the buying, selling and processing of all Iranian tobacco, against which powerful protests began throughout the country, and the highest clergy even issued a special fatwa banning smoking. As a result, in 1892 the Shah was forced to cancel this concession. The Shahinshah Bank provided Nasr al-Din Shah with a loan of £500,000 to pay the penalty to the Talbot firm. Art. secured by southern Iranian customs, which was the first major foreign loan.

If in the south of Iran the influence of England was predominant, then in the north it belonged to Russia. In 1879, the Russian citizen Lianozov received permission to exploit the fisheries of the Caspian Sea, including the Iranian rivers flowing into it. In 1889, the Shah's government issued a license to the Russian capitalist Polyakov to organize the Accounting and Loan Bank of Persia, which later opened branches and agencies in Tabriz, Resht, Mashhad, Qazvin and other cities of the country. It received duties from the northern customs of Iran. There was a sharp competitive struggle between the Shahinshah and the Accounting and Loan Bank. In 1890, Polyakov was allowed to establish the "Persian Insurance and Transport Society", which built and took control of highways connecting the cities of Northern and Central Iran with the Russian border, as well as water communications along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.

As for railways, under pressure from England and tsarist Russia in 1890, the Iranian government undertook to refrain from building them.

The ruling group of the state, constantly in need of money, granted concessions, sometimes quite unexpected ones, to other European countries for relatively small amounts. In particular, the Belgians were given permission to equip gambling houses, produce and sell wines, the French - to conduct archaeological excavations indefinitely and take out half of the discovered ancient relics from Iran.

Since the 1870s, imports of foreign factory goods to Iran have sharply increased, the competition of which undermined local crafts and hampered the creation of a national industry. At the same time, the export of agricultural products and raw materials from the country was growing, dictated by the requirements of the external market. The area under crops for cotton, tobacco and other industrial crops began to expand in the country. Iran was turning into a raw material appendage of the European powers.

Not only the economy, but also some areas of public administration passed under the control of foreigners. Created in 1879 under the leadership of Russian officers, the Cossack regiment, later deployed into a brigade, became the only combat-ready part of the Iranian army, which increased the dependence of the Shah's regime on tsarist Russia. Along with the Russians, Austrian, German, Italian and French military instructors appeared in Iran. Foreigners began to infiltrate the central administrative apparatus - in the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs, the decisive vote belonged to the British, in 1898 the Belgian Naus was put in charge of customs affairs. In the northern regions and in the capital, persons pleasing to the Russian ambassador were appointed to responsible positions. In the southern regions, the British ruled, who, regardless of the opinion of the Shah's government, entered into agreements with local khans, subsidized them and supplied them with weapons.

The strengthening of the positions of foreign capital also entailed changes in the class structure of society. As a result of the growing dependence of agriculture on the demands of the external market, representatives of the merchant class, officials and clergy began to seize the plots of small landowners and buy up the lands of the feudal aristocracy and the shah's family, thereby forming a layer of landowners of a new type. The development of commodity-money relations and the increase in the share of taxes levied in money led to the usurious enslavement of the peasants. Often the same landowners acted as usurers.

In the second half of the XIX century. attempts to move in cities from handicraft and manufacturing production to factory production, the organization of national joint-stock companies and societies where hired labor would be used, due to the lack of appropriate entrepreneurial experience, properly trained technical personnel, as well as a shortage of capital, as a rule, ended failure. Artisans and hired workers, who lost their jobs and livelihoods, together with the ruined peasants, replenished the army of the hungry and tens of thousands went to work in Russia - in the Transcaucasus and the Transcaspian region.

Committed in 1873, 1878 and 1889. trips to Russia and Europe, Nasr ed-Din Shah introduced certain innovations into the sphere of public administration: he established the ministries of internal affairs, post and telegraph, education, justice, founded a number of secular schools for the sons of the feudal nobility, and carried out some Europeanization of the clothes of the courtiers. However, these measures were superficial and did not affect the foundations of the existing system. The attempt to limit the judicial power of the clergy restored many authoritative and influential Shiite theologians against the Shah.

In 1893-1894. mass "hunger riots" took place in Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz and other cities. The assassination of Nasr ed-Din Shah by the Pan-Islamist Reza Kermani on the wave of growing popular discontent on May 1, 1896, and the coming to power of his son Mozaffar ed-Din Shah did not change the situation. Having dismissed several ministers and governors, the new Shah and his entourage continued to adhere to the reactionary course of his father. Under him, the influence of foreigners in Iran was further strengthened, popular discontent continued to grow, and unrest, which acquired an ever wider scope, multiplied.

Historians of the Soviet school distinguished three periods of the revolution:

the first period - from December 1905 to January 1907 (until the adoption of the constitution);

the second period - from January 1907 to November 1911 (disengagement of forces, political leapfrog, attempts at counter-revolutionary coups);

the third period - from November to December 1911 (the armed intervention of England and Russia in the internal affairs of Iran, the suppression of the revolution).

1. It is no coincidence that the first period of the revolution was called constitutional, because at that time the main thing was the struggle for the adoption of a constitution and the convocation of parliament. The immediate cause for the revolution was the events in Tehran at the end of 1905. They were preceded by a long internal crisis that engulfed all aspects of the life of Iranian society. Until the beginning of the 20th century. the government, at the cost of some concessions and political maneuvers, managed to smooth out these contradictions. But by the beginning of the 20th century, revolutionary vibes reached Shiite Iran as well. In December 1905, anti-government demonstrations began in Tehran under the slogan of the resignation of the country's prime minister, Ain-od-Dole. According to Russian historians and diplomats of the early 20th century, Doule was a real swindler who took bribes everywhere and from everyone. Only "thanks" to the first minister did the revolution in Iran begin in 1905, and not 10-100 years later.

In addition to the resignation of Doule, the oppositionists demanded the expulsion of foreigners from the administrative apparatus, the introduction of a constitution and the convocation of parliament (mejlis). The immediate cause for the escalation of the conflict was the events in the capital Tehran. By order of the governor, 17 merchants were captured and beaten, among whom were seids (descendants of the Prophet). They did not comply with government orders to lower sugar prices. In protest, in December 1905, all bazaars, shops, and workshops were closed. Part of the clergy and merchants settled in a best in the suburbs of the capital. Thus began the revolution of 1905-1911. In modern historiography, the events of 1905-1911 are often They call it a constitutional movement, and this is justified, since in the initial period all opposition groups acted as a united front, demanding the adoption of a constitution and the convocation of parliament.

The main events took place in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz. In the summer of 1906 the reform movement entered its final stage. The July strike forced the Shah to dismiss the first minister, Doule, and soon the government issued a decree on the introduction of a constitution. In the autumn of 1906, regulations on elections to the Majlis were published. The elections were two-stage, held according to the curial system, with a high property qualification. Representatives of six "estates" sat in the first parliament: princes and Qajars, clergy, landed aristocracy, merchants, "landowners and farmers", artisans.

It is not difficult to calculate that 38% (the first and fourth lines of the second column) were representatives of the clergy and landowners. Slightly less - 37% (second line, second column) of the composition of the Mejlis - are representatives of the middle and small merchants. However, together with artisans and small entrepreneurs, they accounted for 46%, that is, an absolute majority in parliament.

Parliament immediately began to work on finalizing the constitution. In December, Shah Mozaffar al-Din approved the draft constitution and died 8 days later. In January 1907, his son, an ardent reactionary, an opponent of state liberalization, Mohammad Ali Shah, came to the throne. Constitution 1906-1907 struck Western observers with its liberal spirit. Perhaps this was due to the "strange union" that took shape at the first stage of the revolution. This union included representatives of the spiritual and secular intelligentsia. They united to solve two major problems: limiting the power of the Shah and resisting Anglo-Russian penetration into Iran. It is noteworthy that the revolutionary elite relied on the traditional monarchism of the people (the shah is good, but the advisers are bad). Already in 1907, this strange union broke up, the clergy came to an agreement with Mohammad Ali Shah.

At the second stage of the revolution in 1907, Mohammad Ali Shah, under pressure from the Majlis, signed the "Additions to the Basic Law", that is, the constitution was completed. The "Additions" significantly expanded the powers of the clergy. A special "commission of five" was created, it included the most prominent Shiite leaders. At the same time, the "Additions" did not cancel the liberal ideas of the "Basic Law". Democratic freedoms were proclaimed in the country, the creation of provincial and regional enjomens was sanctioned, the inviolability of the person, private property, housing, freedom of speech, press, etc. were declared. True, all freedoms were to be controlled by the “commission of five”. Religious leaders, members of the "commission of five", were given the right to decide whether a particular law was in line with the spirit of Islam or not176.

Thus, the model of a constitutional monarchy was accepted by the ulema only if it preserved, and even better strengthened the power of the clergy.

In the second period of the revolution, a disengagement of forces took place, and the struggle of various political groups for power began. Each grouping declared itself to be the champion of freedom and democracy, and sought to act on behalf of the entire people. Democracy and freedom are politically biased words.

Probably, freedom as permissiveness and "refined" freedom of the intelligentsia are possible in any country. The Shiite clergy and the "Europeanized" liberals understood the tasks of the revolution in different ways, but the adoption of the constitution reconciled them for a while.

The revolutionary events in Iran are interpreted by foreign powers as signs of a weakening of the central government. England and Russia, taking advantage of the political situation, signed on August 31, 1907 an agreement on the division of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet. This agreement completed the formation of the military-political alliance of the Entente. According to the agreements, the south-eastern regions of Iran became the sphere of influence of England, and the northern regions of the country, including Iranian Azerbaijan, became Russia's sphere of influence. The Mejlis refused to ratify the Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907. The situation in the country became more and more tense. In December 1907, the Shah brought troops loyal to him to the capital. In June 1908, with the help of the Cossack brigade of Colonel Lyakhov, Mohammad Ali Shah carried out the first counter-revolutionary coup. The Mejlis was dispersed, democratic newspapers were closed, political repressions began, and so on. The left-wing deputies of the Majlis and some of the Enjomen leaders were thrown into prison or executed.

Under these conditions, the center of the movement moved to Iranian Azerbaijan, to the city of Tabriz. The high point of the revolution was the Tabriz uprising of 1908-1909, sometimes called the "civil war". The uprising was led by Sattar Khan and Bagir Khan. But the prefix khan is an honorary title, because Sattar Khan came from peasants, Bagir Khan was a craftsman before the revolution. The activities of Sattar Khan were covered with legend. In the eyes of his compatriots, he was a "commander, leader of the people", a true luti. Luti, in the view of ordinary Iranians, is, first of all, a strong man, a bogatyr, commanding respect for his physical strength. In cities, loots "kept quarters" and were a reliable protection for the life and property of their inhabitants. In colloquial language, luti means "generous and noble person"177. Sattar Khan and Bagir Khan organized Feday detachments, fought for the restoration of the constitution and parliament.

The Transcaucasian Bolsheviks led by S. Ordzhonikidze and not only them took part in the Tabriz uprising. In addition to the Bolsheviks, Armenian Dashnaks, Georgian Mensheviks and others fought on the side of the Iranian revolution. According to G.V. Shitov, the Life Guards of Sattar Khan consisted of “250 Dagestan cutthroats, without any party affiliation”178. In 1909, with the help of the khans of nomadic tribes, the Shah's troops managed to besiege Tabriz. The blockade ring was shrinking, there was no fresh water or food in the city. However, the rebels did not give up. Russia decides to help the Shah and begins military operations against Tabriz. The inconsistency of the punishers had the opposite effect on the rebellious city. Russian troops defeated Tabriz, but also broke the blockade ring. Hungry, exhausted, but alive, the rebels left Tabriz for Rasht, and from there, together with the Gilan and Bakhtiyar fedai, to Tehran, the capital of Iran. S. Ordzhonikidze participated in this campaign. The city was taken on July 13, 1909. The Shah was forced to sit in the best in the Russian diplomatic mission. However, this did not help him retain the throne. Mohammad Ali Shah was deposed. In August, the shah, with the remnants of the shah's treasury, arrived in the city of Odessa, where he was met with appropriate honors. His young son Ahmed took his place. The Majlis was restored, the liberals came to power. In 1909, on the basis of organizations of the Mujahideen, the Democratic Party was created, which stood on the principles of bourgeois nationalism.

Sepahdar from Gilan became the head of the government. Elections to the second Majlis were even less democratic, with only 4% of the Iranian population participating in them. In November 1909, the second Majlis set a course for "suppression of popular riots." In 1910, detachments of fedai were defeated by government troops. The Majlis supported the government in its assessment of the economic situation in the country. In order to overcome the financial crisis, it was decided to invite American advisers to Iran. In May 1911, a financial mission headed by Morgan Schuster arrives in Iran, he was associated with the oil company Standard Oil. Russia and England did not want the strengthening of American influence in Iran. With the help of Russia, the shah makes a second attempt to regain power. Taking advantage of the political leapfrog, in July 1911, Mohammad Ali Shah from Russia through the Caspian begins a campaign against Tehran. The news of the appearance of the former shah caused a new outburst of popular indignation, rallies and demonstrations began. In the fall, the Shah's detachments were defeated by government troops with the support of the fedai. The Shah fled the country again.

At the third stage of the revolution, an open Anglo-Russian intervention in Iran began. The reason for sending Russian troops was the conflict associated with the confiscation by Shuster of the property of one of the brothers of the deposed Shah. The property was pledged in the Russian Accounting and Loan Bank. In November 1911, Russia, with the support of England, delivered an ultimatum to Iran demanding that Schuster resign. It should be noted that the economic activity of the American adviser began to give the first positive results. The ultimatum caused indignation and protest of all Iranian patriots. A boycott of foreign goods began, the Tehran bazaar went on strike. The Majlis decided to reject the ultimatum.

The rejection of the ultimatum was the reason for the military demarche of the occupying allies. The revolution was crushed. The Mejlis ceased to exist. Formally, the country's constitution was preserved, but its implementation was suspended.

The suppression of the revolution strengthened the position of England and Russia in Iran. In February 1912, the Iranian government, in which not a trace of the liberals remained, recognized the Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907 on the division of Iran into spheres of influence. Russian and British troops remained on the territory of the country. The most powerful instrument of colonial policy in Iran was the activity of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.

Revolution 1905-1911 became an important milestone in the political history of Iran. Its rapid development, the scale of events were unpredictable. The Iranian revolution led to the adoption of a fairly democratic constitution. But its "Western version" was "softened" by the fact that the guarantors of the constitution were Muslim theologians, with their rigid focus on Sharia law. Although the movement swept the whole country, after 1907 there was a disengagement of forces, and part of the liberals left the camp of the revolution. The popular movement did not have clear goals either. The theory of the export of revolution in this region has clearly failed.

The revolution led to a decline in the prestige of the central government, and separatist sentiments noticeably strengthened in the country. The separatism of the khans of nomadic tribes posed a serious danger. During the revolution, part of the khans supported the shah. Bakhtiyars, Kurds united with the constitutional forces. But these alliances were not strong: tribal leaders often changed their political orientation, thought only of plundering foreign territories. Foreign intervention contributed to the suppression of the revolutionary movement. Since in 1911-1913. the troops of Russia and England were not evacuated from the country, on the territory of neutral Iran during the First World War, hostilities were conducted between the armies of the Entente and the Triple Alliance.

At the end of XIX - beginning of XX century. various movements appeared in Iran against the Shah's rule. The religious strata of the population preached the ideas of pan-Islamism and the unification of Muslims under the rule of a strong caliph. At the same time, various secret organizations began to be created. In 1905, the anti-government society Enjumene Mahfi (Secret Anju-man) was formed.

At the beginning of the XX century. The social situation inside Iran sharply worsened. Strikes and popular uprisings against imperialist oppression became more frequent. In December 1905, a mass demonstration and a sit-down strike took place in Tehran in the mosque of Shah Abdul Azim - best (“sit on best” - visiting mosques, mazars, graves for sit-down strikes; this type of resistance has been preserved in Iran since ancient times) . The protesters demanded the departure of foreign citizens from government service, the construction of a "just state" that deals with solving people's problems and needs. Frightened by popular pressure, the Shah agreed to meet the demands of the protesters. After the dissolution of the rebels, the shah broke his promise and proceeded to brutal reprisals. In response to this, in June-July 1906, a new wave of speeches began. The rebels again demanded from the Shah the expulsion of foreigners from government and the adoption of a new constitution. On October 7, 1906, the first Majlis (lower house of parliament) was convened in Tehran. This was the first victory of the revolution. However, some time after the coronation, the new Shah of Iran, Mohammed Ali, massacred the revolutionaries. Since 1907, the second stage of the revolution began. Democratic groups continued to fight.

In 1908-1909. Tabriz became a major center of the revolution. Unable to cope with the rebels, the shah asked for help from foreigners. With the help of the British and Russian armies, the uprising in Tabriz was crushed.

Revolutionary unrest in Iran continued until 1911. As a result of the uprising, the power of the Shah weakened, and his authority fell. The Shah's government admitted its failure and dependence on foreign military assistance. With the help of the troops of foreign powers, the revolution in Iran in 1905-1911. was severely suppressed.

The defeat of the revolution opened the way for the transformation of Iran into a semi-colony of foreign powers. The Shah's government was forced to accept any conditions set by foreigners. In 1911-1914. Iran received a loan from England in the amount of 2 million pounds sterling, from Russia - 14 million rubles. The British received the right to develop oil deposits in Iran. iran revolution telegraph semi-colonial

So, at the beginning of the twentieth century. Iran was a backward semi-colonial country.

1. Droughts, crop failures, the economic crisis, the arbitrariness of officials and the hardships of the war with the Manchus (1618-1644) forced the peasants to take up arms. In 1628, in the province of Shaanxi, scattered semi-robber bands began to create rebel detachments and elect leaders. From that moment on, a peasant war began in northeastern China, which lasted almost 19 years (1628-1647). Initially, the rebel troops were united, but after the capture of Fengyang, a split occurred between the rebel leaders - Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong (1606--1647), after which the latter led his army into the Yangtze Valley. Gao Yingxiang and other leaders led their troops to the west - to Shaanxi, where they were defeated after the final break with the army of Zhang Xianzhong. After the execution of Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng was elected leader of the "Chuan troops".

Meanwhile, Zhang Xianzhong's bandit-rebel armies dominated Huguan (present-day Hunan and Hubei) and Sichuan, and in 1643 he himself proclaimed himself "King of the Great West" (Dasi-Wang) in Chengdu.

In the 1640s, the peasants were no longer afraid of the weakened army, which suffered defeat after defeat. Regular troops were caught in pincers between the Manchu troops in the north and the rebellious provinces, fermentation and desertion intensified in them. The army, deprived of money and food, was defeated by Li Zicheng, who by this time had appropriated the title of "Prince Shun" to himself. The capital was left practically without a fight (the siege lasted only two days). The traitors opened the gate for Li's troops to enter unhindered. In April 1644, Beijing submitted to the rebels; The last Ming emperor, Chongzhen (Zhu Yujian), committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in the imperial garden at the foot of Mount Jingshan. The last eunuch loyal to him hanged himself next to the emperor. For their part, the Manchus took advantage of the fact that General Wu Sangui (1612-1678) allowed them to pass unhindered through the Shanghai outposts. According to Chinese chronicles, the commander was going to compromise with Li Zicheng, but the news received from his father that the new ruler had looked after his beloved concubine in Sangui's house forced the commander to change his mind - after weighing all the pros and cons , he decided to take the side of the conquerors. The Manchurian army, led by Prince Dorgon (1612-1650), united with the troops of Wu Sangui, defeated the rebels near Shanhaiguan and then approached the capital. On June 4, Prince Shun, leaving the capital, retreated in confusion. On June 6, the Manchus, together with General Wu, occupied the city and proclaimed the emperor of the young Aisingioro Fulin. The rebel army suffered another defeat from the Manchu army at Xi'an and was forced to retreat along the Han River all the way to Wuhan, then along the northern border of Jiangxi province. Here Li Zicheng met his death in the summer of 1645, becoming the first and only emperor of the Shun Dynasty. Sources differ in their assessment of the circumstances of his death: according to one report, he committed suicide, according to another, he was beaten to death by peasants from whom he tried to steal food. Soon the Qing troops arrived in Sichuan. Zhang Xianzhong left Chengdu and tried to use the scorched earth tactics, but in January 1647 he died in one of the battles. The centers of resistance to the Manchus, where the descendants of the Ming emperors still ruled, in particular, the kingdom of Zheng Chenggong in Formosa (Taiwan) existed for a long time. Despite the loss of the capital and the death of the emperor, China (i.e. the Ming Empire) was still not defeated. Nanjing, Fujian, Guangdong, Shanxi and Yunnan still remained loyal to the overthrown dynasty. However, several princes claimed the vacated throne at once, and their forces were fragmented. One by one, these last pockets of resistance fell under the control of the Qing, and in 1662, with the death of Zhu Yulang, the Yongli Emperor, the last hope for a Ming restoration disappeared.

Schwartz E. The text of the report at the conference in Yerevan "Griboedov's readings". December 16-17, 2008 Published: "Griboedov Readings", Issue 1. Yerevan, "Lingua", 2009.

Iran at the Crossroads of 19th Century Great Power Interests

Path to global peace

Today we live in a global world where all countries are closely connected with each other, no matter how different their cultures, religions, history and ultimate goals may be. The path to this global peace began in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the great European powers began their rapid expansion to different parts of the globe. The 19th century marked the end of the world of isolated civilizations. Illusions have ended that any of the world civilizations is the center of the world - be it China, India, Persia or Japan.

Gradually, isolated cultural and civilizational worlds were drawn into global history through the mediation of Western countries, as well as the Russian Empire, turning into humanity. Thus, Western empires can be seen as intermediaries between disparate cultural and civilizational worlds. Thanks to these no matter how selfish, predatory and aggressive empires of the 19th century, these worlds finally meet, get to know each other and begin to build what we today call the global world.

In addition, an important consequence of the expansion of the West was the emergence in the 20th century of "small" states in the spaces of Europe, Asia and Africa. Thus, the inclusion of the Georgian kingdoms and the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates, which were dependent on Persia, into the Europeanized Russian Empire led to the national revival and unification of Georgia and Armenia, their modernization and development along the European path. The collapse of the Russian, or rather, its successor, the Soviet Empire, led to the transformation of these "regions" into independent states and independent centers of influence in the modern world.

British and Russian empires

The most extensive and technically equipped in the 19th century was the British Empire. At the height of its glory, which came in the middle of the 19th century, more than a quarter of all mankind lived within the borders of the British Empire and there was about a quarter of the earth's landmass. Britain, after the victorious Napoleonic Wars for it, was the most economically and technologically advanced state in Europe (to some extent, the war with Napoleon played the same role for Britain that the Second World War played for the United States in the 20th century). Britain was the undisputed leader. However, it was still opposed by other empires, albeit smaller in power and vastness, but no less ambitious, and sometimes even regional influence, the most active and strong of which was Russia.

Of course, Russia could not compete with Great Britain in terms of technology and political and economic development - in many respects, it was an archaic, by European standards, completely medieval country. Not to mention serfdom, its technical capabilities were ridiculous: when the British fleet of iron steamers approached Sevastopol in 1854, they were met by old-fashioned wooden sailboats (which had to be simply flooded - the only way they could somehow resist the British flotilla). However, Russia was rapidly expanding its borders - its expansion to the east and south was at an incredible pace: the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Chinese Far East - all these were acquisitions of the Russian Empire of the 19th century. The ambitions of Russia, the level of its intellectual and cultural development, the literacy of politicians for a long time compensated for its technological backwardness and, on many "platforms", made it an equal rival to Britain.

The Russian and British empires, moreover, were different in type. The Russian Empire, spreading in breadth, absorbed territories, making them part of its country. At the same time, the peoples who inhabited them were included in the composition of the Russian people, including the Russian elite. There was nothing like it in the British Empire. It was a typical colonial empire, which saw in the acquired colonies, first of all, a source of income for the mother country. Britain built railways, schools, universities in India and Africa - but other peoples did not become part of the English nation and, moreover, the English elite.

The clash of interests of the superpowers

Not surprisingly, in the 19th century, the spheres of geopolitical interests of Britain and Russia began to intersect more and more - in fact, from the Balkans and the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Somewhere, for example, in China, the Russian invasion of Britain was forced to endure, unable to fully resist it. Somewhere, like on the Black Sea, the clashes were armed and bloody, and Russia was defeated. And somewhere the conflicts had the appearance of mainly diplomatic wars - such was Persia. However, these diplomatic wars between the two superpowers in some periods led to very real bloodshed, into which the British incited the patronized Persian people.

Site of modern Iran

Modern Iran is one of the two main contenders for leadership in the Middle East region (the other is Sunni Saudi Arabia), today an economically strong, technologically advanced and politically independent state. It is also the first Muslim state to introduce democratic institutions.

The Path to Modern Iran

But the path to modern Iran lies through the destruction of its isolation at the beginning of the 19th century. And the main "destroyers" were the Russian and British empires.

Interaction with the Western powers, regardless of whether it was friendly or confrontational, negative or positive for Persia in its immediate results, one way or another, gradually promoted this country along the path of Europeanization.

In many ways, the fact that Iran fell simultaneously into the sphere of interests of two strongest empires, British and Russian, made it what it is today. The equally active desire of these empires to dominate Persia prevented the transformation of this state into a colony of one of them, allowing it to maintain its independence and, thus, giving a serious political advantage in the 20th century over countries with a colonial past.

Reasons for the interest of the superpowers in Persia

The reasons for the interest of Russia and Britain in Persia were, of course, purely selfish. For Britain, Persia was, first of all, an important market for its Indian goods, which it carried from its richest colony. In addition, since the borders of the Russian Empire in the 19th century increasingly began to move closer to the borders of the British Empire, or at least to the borders of its sphere of influence, it was important for the British to create a buffer zone, a “security belt” in the form of Persia, preventing direct Russian penetration into the British colonies (which is why it was so important for Britain in the early 20th century to maintain its control over the province of Seistan). Over the years, for Britain, concessions are becoming increasingly important - the right to develop their own business (building banks, roads, tobacco sales, etc.). Concessions were important for Britain both politically, as a form of control over the ruling elite and the country's finances, and economically, since they brought great profits to the mother country.

Russia had not much more idealistic interests in Persia. She was also interested in the Persian market and the profits from concessions. But, perhaps, she was even more interested in expanding her influence in Asia and pushing the border of her empire to the south.

How it all began

The arrival of Russia to Iran began, in fact, with the arrival of Russia to the Caucasus and the inclusion of certain regions of Transcaucasia, mainly parts of Georgia, into Russia.

In 1801, Paul I signed a decree on the accession of Kartli-Kakheti to the Russian Empire. In addition, at the beginning of 1804, the Ganja Khanate was also conquered by Russia. Such a powerful Russian expansion into the Caucasus could not leave the young and energetic Qajar dynasty indifferent. In 1804, Persia, seeking to regain its lost Caucasian possessions, invaded the Erivan Khanate.

But in order to start hostilities against powerful Russia, Iran needed the help of another great power, the British Empire, and a little later, already at the height of the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813. and Napoleonic France. Thus begins the arrival of Europe and Russia in Persia - at that time backward and archaic - and the end of its isolation. So Persia gradually enters the modern world and becomes part of world history.

The beginning of the confrontation

Clash with Russia in 1804-13 turned out to be almost a disaster for Persia - after a 10-year war, the Gulistan Peace (1813), which was extremely unfavorable for it, was signed, according to which Persia recognized the entry into the Russian Empire of eastern Georgia and most of Azerbaijan. Russia also received the exclusive right to maintain a navy in the Caspian Sea.

But after that, the active intervention of Britain begins under the guise of protecting the interests of Persia. Huge differences in the methods of action of Russia and England are immediately visible. While Russia preferred (at least initially) to assert its influence in the region by force of arms, the British acted through bribery and flattery. (There were, however, separate episodes of armed confrontation in the 19th century, such as the Anglo-Persian war for Afghanistan, after which Persia loses the right to control this territory).

For almost 13 years, the British have poured colossal funds into Persia. Yermolov recalls: “The British use every possible effort to oppose all obstacles to our power in this country. The money they squander in the ministry and all those close to the shah and his heir will not allow a sincere rapprochement between Persia and Russia. Never!!!" However, for Persia, foreign capital and familiarity with European technologies is a chance to start its own modernization. The same Yermolov writes: “... the second son [of the Shah], Abbas-Mirza, declared heir, assisted by the British, successfully introduces significant transformations. The regular troops settle down on a good foundation. Artillery is in excellent order and is multiplying obviously. There is a good foundry and a weapons factory. Fortresses are established on the model of European ones. Ores are being extracted, and already copper, lead and iron are in large quantities. Cloth factories and sugar refineries are intended to be set up in order to avoid the oppressive monopoly of the East India Company.

Inspired by the British, in 1926 the Persians, mistakenly thinking that after the death of Alexander I, a struggle for the throne began in Russia, they start a war with Russia for the return of the territories lost after the Gulistan Peace. However, they fail again. The almost two-year campaign eventually leads the country to a complete defeat and the conclusion of the famous Turkmenchay peace with Russia, thanks to which, among other things, the formation of Armenia begins in its more or less modern form.

After this treaty, Russia finally established itself in the Transcaucasus. It becomes obvious that the undivided rule of the British in Persia, which seemed insurmountable in the period from 1813 to 1826, has come to an end. Since then, Britain has been confronted by a strong and ambitious adversary with its own long-term interests in the region.

It is from this moment that the real regional rivalry of the superpowers begins - and the closer to the end of the 19th century, the more obvious is Russia's success in promoting its interests in Persia. The English diplomat Edward Eastwick noted that "after 1828 England tended to confine Persia to her de facto possessions, preventing her from advancing towards Afghanistan, Sistan, Mekran and Arabia, and discouraging her from any other effort to acquire new or restore lost territories. ". In any case, those warm and friendly relations, which clearly prevailed in Anglo-Persian relations, after Turkmanchay changed towards a gradual cooling.

Griboyedov

Speaking of Turkmanchai, it is impossible not to mention the name of A.S. Griboyedov, because in many respects the terms of the Turkmenchay peace were formulated by him. It was Griboedov who negotiated with Abbas-Mirza, the Crown Prince of Persia and the Persian commander-in-chief, and sought for Russia both the most favorable borders and the payment of large indemnities by Persia. Largely thanks to the perseverance and skillful diplomacy of Griboyedov, Russia managed to defend Echmiadzin and the Nakhichevan region, which Abbas Mirza did not want to cede in any way. And it should be noted that an important point of the agreement was also the safe resettlement of Armenians from Iran to the territory of the Russian Empire.

The reasons for the death of Griboedov, appointed by Nicholas I as ambassador to Persia, are very complex. Here came together the extreme irritation of the people after an unsuccessful and ruinous war, the excited state of religious fanatics after a long fast and before the onset of the holy month for the Shiites of Moharram, the intrigues of the khans against the ruling Shah. The immediate pretext was that Griboedov, in full accordance with the powers given to him by the Turkmanchay Treaty, hid in the embassy an Armenian eunuch who served in the Shah’s harem, and also allegedly forcibly (which was not true!) He kept two wives of Alayar Khan of non-Persian origin. These, in general, completely legal actions of the Russian ambassador were perceived as an insult and desecration of the faith, customs of the country and interference in internal affairs.

It should be noted that there is serious evidence in favor of the fact that an important role in the defeat of the Russian mission was played by the intrigues of the British, who at that time used all means of behind-the-scenes struggle to oust the Russians from this region.

From the point of view of the future history of Iran, it is also worth noting that Griboedov's assassination was the result of one of the first episodes of a religious upsurge in response to the invasion of foreign powers. In the future, religious radicalization will be of increasing importance for Iran.

The West and Russia and the Gradual Modernization of Iran

So, since concessions become the main way for the West and Russia to influence and profit from Iran in the second half of the 19th century, it is around them that the main struggle between Britain and Russia in Persia unfolds. In this struggle, Persia is assigned the unenviable role of a semi-colony, torn apart by greedy powers.

In one direction - the foundation of the Shahinshah Bank, the opening of the Karun River for navigation - Britain was in the lead. According to others - the construction of highways, a ban on the construction of railways, indirectly, the abolition of English tobacco concessions - Russia won.

However, by the end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century, Great Britain began to “surrender” more and more.

Britain and its position also did not remain unchanged for several decades in the second half of the 19th century. During Gladstone's premiership, for example, Britain showed significantly less interest in controlling Iran than during the premierships of Disraeli or Salisbury.

And in general, British politicians were not at all unanimous about the behavior of Britain both on the world stage and at home. In Britain during the 19th century, there are clear tendencies towards the humanization of both British society itself and the "humanization" of Britain's behavior in the world. In addition, by the very end of the 19th century, the obvious “fatigue” of Britain began to be felt - the heavy Anglo-Boer War was almost lost, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand gained de facto independence. England at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is less and less able to maintain an expansionist pressure. Yes, and the United States and Germany are beginning to get ahead of it in industry and technology - superiority goes to other powers. The mood inside England is already quite different during this period - the feeling of the end of history and the complete victory of Britain in it, which prevailed in the middle of the century, gives way to disappointment and bitterness. The British are starting to say goodbye to their greatness little by little.

Therefore, it is not surprising that by the end of the 19th century, Russia becomes the de facto dominant in Persia.

Britain begins to lose the diplomatic war for Persia already during the memorable struggle for railway concessions. The end result of this struggle was that Russia got Nasr al-Din Shah to completely abandon the construction of railways, which begin to really appear in the country only with the next dynasty (the construction of a small railway line by the Belgians does not count).

An attempt by the British in 1888 to seize a monopoly on the tobacco trade led to such unanimous popular opposition that the Shah was forced to cancel the tobacco concession, and thus Britain was defeated here too.

Of course, the invasion of Russia and Britain into the life of Persia was beneficial at that time mainly to the great empires. The Persian elite got used to bribes (of enormous proportions) and inaction. A similar effect could be observed in the 19th century in China, where the Chinese elite was disintegrating under the influence of corruption introduced from outside. However, in the long run, Persia rather benefited from the active activity of foreigners on its territory, who greatly accelerated its development (except for the ill-fated ban on the construction of railways, which Russia insisted on), including the political one.

Iran makes a real technological breakthrough in the 19th century, and also modernizes its army: before the second Russian-Persian war, with the help of English instructors, and already at the end of the 19th century, under Nasr al-Din Shah, Russian instructors help the Persians organize a Cossack frame. But even more important is the cultural and political modernization that begins in Iran, sandwiched between powers fighting each other for it. Thus, vizier Amir Kabir, who helped to ascend the throne of Nasr al-Din Shah in 1848, is carrying out truly revolutionary reforms in the country, transforming the face of the country. One of the main achievements of this time was the construction of a modern type university, Dar ol Fonun - by the way, the first European type of university not only in Persia, but throughout the Greater Middle East. Some Iranian students go to study in the UK and, returning to the country, become the conductors of European values. The first newspapers appear.

Political change in Iran

Alas, the progressive vizier soon (1952) fell victim to behind-the-scenes intrigues: he was first dismissed, and then, by order of the shah, he was killed. The assassination of the European-minded and patriotic Amir Kabir at the same time throws Persia back, hinders the progress of its development.

Nevertheless, the West itself is gradually beginning to lean toward the idea of ​​the need for the political modernization of Iran. So, in 1888, the British (Ambassador Wolf, in particular) force the Shah to issue a proclamation protecting the rights and property of his subjects. And although the Shah did not actually intend to comply with his own decrees - and the British were not very able and not very willing to force him to do so - this document nevertheless marks an important stage in the initial political evolution of Iran. (Thus, the Anglo-Saxon West already then begins to get a taste of its messianic role in "spreading democracy and progress." Later, this banner of fighters for democracy will be intercepted by the United States from Britain). By the way, unlike Britain, Russia never had any intentions of bringing democratic values ​​to Persia - on the contrary, it was more profitable for her to leave Persia "stew in its own juice". But, of course, when it came to British interests, the British quickly forgot about their "messiahism."

In 1906, inspired by the example of Russia in 1905, a revolution took place in Iran, as a result of which the weak and sickly Mozaffer al-Din Shah signed a decree establishing a constitutional order. But neither the British nor the Russians were satisfied with the new constitutional regime. Both of them are beginning to actively oppose democratic reforms, since it was more convenient for them to have a controlled shah and not deal with the Majlis.

But the mere fact that a strong opposition arose in the country, and Persia was able to change the political system on its own, adopt its own constitution and approve a parliament, is a huge indirect merit of the Russian and British empires. It was thanks to European education, communication with Western countries and Russia that the Persians acquired the necessary experience that allowed them to become, in the end, a modern state.

Partition of Iran and religious radicalization

The first negotiations on the "legitimate" division of Persia into the Russian (northern) and British (southern) spheres of influence begin in 1888. However, due to the dramatic struggle between the two powers, neither of which wanted to give up hope of seizing full control of Persia, the real division was pushed back until 1907.

In the 1890s, the world witnesses perhaps the most bitter rivalry between Britain and Russia in Persia: over money loans, over oil and pipelines, and of course, over Seistan, for England a strategically important area of ​​​​Persia. In the period between 1900 and 1907. relations between the weakening, but because of this, perhaps even more aggressive Britain and Russia are escalating to the limit. Russia is stepping up its pressure: now S.Yu. Witte dreams of incorporating Persia into the Russian Empire, like the regions of the Caucasus, and Russia is actively working to implement this plan in the early years of the 20th century. The British are panicking, fearing that in this way Russia will penetrate into their India as well. Popular dissatisfaction with Russia's actions is growing in the country. Such tension could not last too long: England and Russia, unable to withstand such a bitter struggle any longer, come to a mutual agreement and, according to the agreement of August 31, 1907, divide Persia into spheres of influence, leaving the center of Persia formally neutral. In many ways, this was Britain's retreat from the direct struggle, the recognition of the strength of Russia and the impossibility of ousting it from the region. But Russia, thus, refused to extend its protectorate to the whole of Persia, limiting itself to only its northern part.

The constant pressure on the leadership of Iran by Russia and Britain, their interference in the internal affairs of the country, in fact, the “buying out” of the country, stimulate a new round of religious radicalization. The mullahs, with their nationalistic sermons, again, as in the time of Griboyedov, become the causative agents of popular unrest. Moreover, in 1902-1903. the British, in order to counteract the Russians on the issue of another Russian loan for Persia, actively use the mullahs - up to their financing. In general, in many respects it was the British then who formed the religious opposition, which would become so strong by 1979.

The fear of the Persians before the Russians was then great - many feared that the harshness of the tsarist regime in relation to the opposition forces inside Russia would spread to their country. The cooperation of the British with the Russians was perceived as a betrayal. Oddly enough, it was the agreement on the division of spheres of influence that put an end to the history of trusting relations between Persia and Britain. It became obvious to the Persian people that the British had never had any interests in Persia other than purely selfish ones, and all their moralizing about democracy and progress was only lies and hypocrisy. “The image of a cynical nation, indifferent to the suffering of the rest of mankind, buying and selling entire nations, trading in opium, deliberately starving millions of its colonial subjects and secretly controlling the destinies of the world - this image will survive the collapse of British power in the Middle East, the independence of India and the transformation of Britain into a minor power".

The end of the rivalry between Russia and Britain

The First World War and the revolution in Russia changed a lot. The British wanted to completely seize control of Iran, for which an agreement was drawn up between Iran and Britain in 1919 - but rebellions broke out in the country and the agreement never came into force. Then the coup of 1921-25, supported by the British, who hoped that the new Iranian leadership would help Britain to hold its ground in Persia, brought to power the strong and authoritarian Riza Shah of the new Pahlavi dynasty. In fact, his reign finally drew a line under the old rivalry of the superpowers of the 19th century. Iran has entered a new era in order to once again withstand the onslaught of the new hegemons of the world, to turn into a strong theocratic state and claim the role of one of the poles of the global world. If over time the theocratic component in it weakens, then the mission of Iran as the leader of Middle East modernization and dialogue can become extremely important.

In fact, alas, the tsarist government, as is customary in Russia, allocated negligible funds for the resettlement of Armenians - an average of 5 rubles per family.

After all, when King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, he also did not mean any liberties - but the Charter became the document that was then appealed to as the basic law for several hundred years.

However, the constitutional system was difficult to take root, there was strong opposition from within the country and from outside. Mohammed Ali Shah wanted to completely put an end to parliamentarism, but the revolutionaries deposed him, placing his young son. In 1911, the Russians, due to the refusal of the deputies to accept a resolution on the expulsion of the American Shuster, forced the Majlis to be dissolved. Then, during the First World War and the occupation of Iran by the Allied forces, the Majlis completely ceased to exist, as the deputies fled. The Pahlavi dynasty, which came to power with the assistance of the British in 1925, was also not distinguished by democracy, and the rule under the last shahs, while formally maintaining the institutions of democracy, was very authoritarian.

Strategy Americans who supported the Taliban to counter the Russians, very reminiscent of the strategy English in the early 20th century in Persia.

From the book of Firuz Kazem-Zade "The Struggle for Influence in Persia".

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