Iranian Revolution 1905 1911
Well, here's Saturday again! Remember the song:
Saturday is Saturday
I'm running from all worries
Saturday is Saturday
And no hassle
Saturday is Saturday
And I'm waiting for something
And slowly I walk through the city in the evening ...
I'm not going anywhere yet! Is that in the evening to the store for a bottle! And you also need to get out of the house ... And of course, add what was announced yesterday! So Girls, boys, ladies and gentlemen, today is the Second series about the First Iranian Revolution, called Constitutional in modern historiography ... which took place in 1905-1911. The beginning is here: so let's continue!
Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907
The development of events in Iran seriously worried the governments of England and tsarist Russia. They strove to curb the revolution. At the beginning of 1907, the British envoy in Tehran proposed that the British and tsarist governments draw up a plan "financial or military measures in case the protection of the lives and property of Europeans would make the adoption of these measures absolutely necessary," that is, he called to prepare for intervention.
Deep imperialist contradictions existed between England and tsarist Russia. In an effort to weaken the position of tsarist Russia and strengthen its own, British diplomacy sometimes flirted with representatives of the liberal camp, pharisaically portrayed England as a "friend of Iranian freedom." But in reality, the British elite were the worst enemy of the Iranian revolution. The hostility to the revolutionary democratic movement of the Iranian people, the desire to suppress it, brought the British and tsarist governments closer together. To a large extent, the Anglo-Russian rapprochement was facilitated by the deepening Anglo-German and German-Russian imperialist contradictions.
G a group of Russian and British officers in Isfahan in 1907
On August 31, 1907, the Anglo-Russian agreement was signed on the delimitation of the spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet. Northern Iran was recognized as the sphere of influence of tsarist Russia, Southeast - the British sphere. Between them lay the neutral zone. The signing of the Anglo-Russian agreement completed the formation of the Entente - a military alliance between England, France and tsarist Russia. At the same time, it was an agreement directed against the Iranian revolution, an agreement on the joint struggle of imperialist England and tsarist Russia against the revolution.
Counterrevolutionary coup in 1908
The Anglo-Russian agreement strengthened the forces of the Iranian counter-revolution. In the fall of 1907, military units loyal to the "Shah" and counter-revolutionary imprisoned gangs began to rally to Tehran. At the end of November, the Shah issued an ultimatum demanded that the Majlis ban the activities of the anjumens. This caused the indignation of the population. Feday detachments stood up to defend the Majlis. The people fought back against the counter-revolution. The Tabriz Enjuman sent telegrams to Tehran and other cities demanding the overthrow of the Shah. This time, the attempted counter-revolutionary coup failed. However, the liberals, who had a majority in the Mejlis, were afraid of the growing activity of the people; they made a deal with the Shah. The agreement was sealed with an oath in the Koran. The Shah vowed to abide by the constitution, and the deputies of the Mejlis - "not to undermine the throne."
Meanwhile, the democratic anjumens continued to fight to deepen the revolution. Each month, the influence and authority of the anjumens of Tehran and other cities increased. By this time, there were already about 150 anjumens in the capital, uniting 30 thousand members. In turn, the shah was preparing a new blow against the revolution. In early June 1908, under the protection of a Cossack brigade, he left the capital, turning one of the country palaces into the headquarters of a counter-revolutionary conspiracy.
It became clear that a new blow was being prepared against the constitution and the anjumens. Democratic enjumen of the capital and other cities called on the people to resist. New Fedai detachments were formed. The Tabriz fedayis were preparing to march on Tehran. The liberal majority of the Majlis conducted negotiations with the Shah, called on the people to calm down, thus lulling their vigilance.
On June 22, the shah declared Tehran on martial law and appointed military governor of the capital the commander of the Cossack brigade of the tsarist colonel Lyakhov. On June 23, military units with artillery surrounded the buildings of the Mejlis and the adjacent Sepakhsalar mosque, which were occupied by the fedayis. By order of Lyakhov, artillery fire was opened. A handful of defenders of the Mejlis, demoralized by the calls of its leaders for calm, were defeated. The Shah announced the dissolution of the Majlis and the Anjumens. Left-wing deputies of the Majlis and leaders of the anjumen were executed or thrown into jail.
Cossack brigade
The counter-revolutionary coup was actively supported by tsarist Russia and England. Its implementation was facilitated by the position of the liberals. Some deputies of the Mejlis openly sided with the Shah.
But the revolution was not over. Its center moved to Tabriz and the province of Azerbaijan.
Tabriz uprising
Iranian constitutionalist group in Tabriz.
Even in the initial period of the revolution, the population of Tabriz played an active role in the liberation struggle of the Iranian people. The Tabriz Enjuman actually established his control over the actions of the local authorities. During the June coup, counter-revolutionary forces tried to seize Tabriz as well. The liberal elements who led the Tabriz Enjuman deserted. The old Enjuman disintegrated, but the representatives of the revolutionary elite and the working population of the city continued to fight.
The Tabriz Democrats were headed by the commanders of the Fedai detachments Sattar and Bagir
Sattar came from peasants. From the first days of the revolution, he took an active part in it and became the recognized leader of the Tabriz revolutionaries. In the European press, Sattar was called "Azerbaijani Pugachev" and "Persian Garibaldi". Another prominent leader of the Tabriz revolutionaries, Bagir, was a bricklayer.
Sattar and Bagir organized a rebuff to the counter-revolutionary gangs. An attempt to destroy the Feday detachments of Tabriz ended in failure. Most of the city remained firmly in their hands. A new enjumen was elected there.
The first successes of the Tabriz uprising were of great importance for further development Iranian revolution. They showed how fragile the temporary victory of the counter-revolution was.
Tabriz market today
In the course of the reactionary battles, the number of Fedai detachments, led by Sattar and Bagir, grew; it reached 20 thousand fighters. The red banner of the revolution became the banner of the Tabriz fedayis. By mid-October 1908, they liberated all of Tabriz. Most of the cities and many rural areas of the province of Azerbaijan joined revolutionary Tabriz.
The Tabriz democrats considered their main goal to be the restoration of the constitution and the convening of a new Mejlis. The revolution contributed to the awakening of the national consciousness of Azerbaijanis. Individual participants in the uprising put forward demands for national equality.
Sattar-khan, hookah and son ...
After the expulsion of the counter-revolutionary troops in Tabriz and other cities of Azerbaijan, bodies of revolutionary power were formed. The defense of Tabriz was in charge of a military commission headed by Sattar and Bagir. Civil administration was carried out by anjumen. Under him, departments of finance, public education, police, and a court of justice were created. Measures were taken to curb speculation and improve the situation of the population. A hospital was established with the help of the Transcaucasian revolutionaries to treat the wounded fedayis and the civilian population. The policy of the Tabriz revolutionaries reflected the program of the radical-democratic wing of the Iranian revolution. However, they did not put forward demands for the resolution of the agrarian question and could not secure for themselves active support from the peasantry.
By the beginning of 1909, the attacks of the Shah's troops on Tabriz resumed, but they were successfully fought off by the rebels. Unable to capture the city, the counter-revolutionary troops set up a blockade of Tabriz. Famine began in the besieged city.
The stubborn struggle of the Tabriz people, which had a strong revolutionary influence on the whole country, aroused growing concern in England and tsarist Russia, who now took the path of open military intervention. British troops landed in the south, occupying Bushehr, Leng, Jask and other points. On April 25, 1909, the tsarist troops, under the pretext of protecting foreign subjects and the need to ensure the delivery of food to the population of the besieged city, crossed the border and entered Tabriz four days later. They still did not dare to openly oppose Sattar and Bagir, who remained in Tabriz until March 1910. But the occupation of the city by the tsarist troops put an end to the Tabriz uprising. Under pressure from the tsarist command, the anjumen dismissed a significant part of the fedayis.
Overthrow of Mohammed Ali Shah
The Tabriz uprising had a huge impact on the development of the revolutionary movement in other regions of Iran. From the beginning of 1909, a new upsurge of the revolution was observed in the country. It was characterized by a much greater activity of the masses than before. However, it was only in Azerbaijan that representatives of revolutionary democracy took a leading position. In other parts of the country, and during this period, the leadership was able to capture liberal elements.
After the adoption of the constitution, the liberal landowners and large merchants began to withdraw from the revolution. At the same time, the counter-revolutionary coup, on the one hand, the desire to take advantage of the new upsurge of the liberation movement of the masses, on the other, prompted the liberal elements to maneuver, to join the movement in order to lead it and lead it along the path pleasing to the liberals. The weakness of the democratic wing, due to the small number of the working class, the immaturity of the peasant movement, the inconsistency and vacillation of the small business of the city, contributed to this development of events.
In January 1909, riots broke out in Isfahan. Bakhtiar tribes joined the supporters of the constitution. The actual ruler of the city and the province was the Bakhtiari khan Samsam-es-Saltanyo.
"Red Peppers Persians
In February, an uprising began in Gilan. The provincial capital, Rasht, fell into the hands of the rebels. Small business, the urban poor, and workers played a decisive role in the Gilan events. The rebels fought under red flags. On May 1, 1909, mass demonstrations and rallies were held in Rasht. However, representatives of landowners and big business came to power. Sepakhdar, a large Gilan landowner, who was in opposition to the shah, was appointed ruler of Gilan. The owner of a local brick factory, a member of Armenian nationalist Dashnak party Ephraim Davidiyants.
In March 1909, supporters of the constitution seized power in the south - in Bushehr and Bandar Abbas. The situation in Tehran became more and more tense every day.
In the spring of 1909, the balance of power in the country changed in favor of the revolution. At the end of April, detachments of the Gilan fedayis set out from Rasht on a military campaign against Tehran. Almost simultaneously, under the slogans of protecting the constitution, the Bakhtiar detachments, led by Samsam-es-Saltane and his brother Sardar Assad, began an offensive against Tehran from the south, from Isfahan. If ordinary nomad Bakhtiars sincerely sympathized with the slogan of restoring the constitution, then the khans tried to use it in order to strengthen their power in Bakhtiari and ensure their participation in the government of all Iran. The Bakhtiari khans and the British who subsidized them, who saw the doom of the counter-revolutionary dictatorship of Mohammed Ali Shah and sought to bring the armed forces of their proteges into the capital, pushed the Bakhtiari khans and the British who subsidized them to a military campaign to the north.
On July 13, the combined forces of the Gilan fedayis and bakhtiar defeated the Cossack brigade and, with the assistance of the population, occupied the capital. Now Shah Mohammed-Ali had to sit in the best. He took refuge in the premises of the royal mission.
Liberals in power
The entry of the revolutionary troops into Tehran was the culmination point of the development of the revolution. Gathered on July 16 in the building of the Mejlis, the Extraordinary Supreme Council of the leaders of the Feday and Bakhtiar detachments, part of the deputies of the first Mejlis, the clergy announced the deposition of Mohammed-Ali and the accession to the throne of his fourteen-year-old son Ahmed. The constitution was restored.
This was a direct result of the revolutionary struggle of the popular masses. But on the crest of the revolutionary wave, the proteges of the liberal landowners and the elite top came to power. The leading position in the newly formed government was taken by Sepakhdar and
Bakhtiari khan Sardar Assad. (familiar surname!))))
Dashnak Efrem Davidiyants was appointed head of the Tehran police.
The overthrow of Mohammed Ali Shah did not lead to any serious changes in public relations and the political system of Iran. The government entered into lengthy negotiations with the ex-Shah, who refused to leave the country until a pension satisfying his appetites was established. Only in early September was an agreement reached, according to which the government took upon itself the payment of the debts of the former shah and established him a life pension of 100 thousand tumans annually. After that, Mohammed-Ali left for Russia.
In November 1909 the second Majlis was opened. He was elected under an even less democratic electoral law than the 1906 law. In Tehran, only about 4% of the population participated in the elections. The majority was made up of the faction of the moderates, who believed that with the restoration of the Majlis, the revolution was over. In the field of foreign policy, they advocated an agreement with England and tsarist Russia. The left-wing minority of the deputies formed the Democratic faction, which formed the core of the soon-to-be-formed Democratic Party. It was the party of the Iranian national elite.
The second Majlis did not play such a progressive role as the first. The public was not allowed to attend its sessions. The activities of the Majlis reflected the rallying of the possessing classes against the working masses. After the events of the summer of 1909, there were several changes in the composition of the government. But his policies invariably reflected a course to limit and curb the revolution. The government tried to put an end to popular demonstrations, to liquidate democratic organizations. It was preparing a blow to the Fedai detachments.
In March 1910, fulfilling the ultimatum demand of tsarist Russia and England, the government proposed that Sattar and Bagir immediately arrive with their troops from Tabriz to Tehran. The population of the capital arranged a solemn meeting for the national heroes. The leaders of the government and the Majlis were forced to greet them. But in August, specially trained units of the Bakhtiar and Tehran police attacked the fedayevs of Sattar and Bagheera, using machine guns and artillery. Fedai detachments were disarmed, many fedai were arrested.
Relying on liberal elements within the Enjumen, the government paralyzed the latter. The Andzhumens began to play the role of urban municipalities, rather than bodies that led the revolutionary activity of the democratic strata of the population.
Foreign policy was dominated by the desire for collusion with the imperialists. Instead of fighting the colonialists, the government based its policy only on maneuvering between the various imperialist powers. Such a policy could not lead to a weakening of Iran's semi-colonial dependence. The German and American imperialists tried to use it in their interests, trying to penetrate Iran.
Morgan Schuster's mission
In late 1910, the Iranian government asked the United States to send advisers to reorganize and streamline its finances. The American monopolies took advantage of this circumstance.
Morgan Schuster headed the American financial mission who was associated with the oil company "Standard Oil". He took the post of chief state treasurer and received unlimited powers: the right to control the activities of the government in the field of finance (including budgeting), the collection of taxes and other state revenues, and the work of the mint.
Schuster tried to create his own administrative apparatus, independent of the Iranian authorities. A special guardhouse has appeared in Tehran to keep officials who violated Shuster's orders under arrest. These actions of the Americans caused discontent among the population.
M yate of the former Shah Mohammed Ali
The liberal policy aimed at curbing the revolutionary movement of the popular masses encouraged open counter-revolutionaries who sought to completely restore the autocratic power.
In July 1911, the former Shah arrived in Iran on the Russian steamer "Christopher" under an assumed name. The hold of the steamer was filled with boxes with the inscription: “ Mineral water". They had weapons in them.
The ex-Shah managed to win over the reactionary leaders of the Turkmen tribes of Northern Iran to his side. One of the brothers of Mohammed Ali led the counter-revolutionary insurgency in Kurdistan.
The news of the appearance in Iran of the shah, overthrown by the revolution, caused an explosion of popular indignation. Mass rallies and demonstrations took place throughout the country. Feday detachments were re-formed. In the autumn, the rebels were defeated by the combined forces of government troops and Feday detachments.
Strengthening intervention. Defeat of the revolution
During the suppression of the counter-revolutionary rebellion, the revolutionary activity of the popular masses was clearly revealed again, showing that a new upsurge of the revolution was possible. This alarmed both the Iranian government and foreign powers - England and Tsarist Russia. The desire to finally suppress the revolution pushed England and tsarism to intensify their intervention. Discontent in England and especially in tsarist Russia was also aroused by the activities of the Schuster mission. In turn, within the Iranian government, the elements that sought to dissolve the Majlis and finally curb the revolution grew stronger.
Officers of the Russian hussar regiment 1911
In the fall of 1911, England and tsarist Russia sent additional troops to Iran. The reason for sending new tsarist troops was a conflict that arose due to the fact that, by order of Shuster, the property of one of the brothers Mohammed-Ali was confiscated, which was pledged in the Russian Accounting and Loan Bank. In November 1911, the tsarist government presented an ultimatum, supported by England, demanding that Shuster resign, reimburse the costs of maintaining the interventionist troops in Iran, and henceforth not invite foreign advisers without the knowledge and consent of Russia and England. This caused outrage among Iranian patriots. A boycott of foreign goods began. As a sign of protest, as it was at the beginning of the revolution, the Tehran bazaar "went on strike". The Mejlis decided to reject the ultimatum of the tsarist government.
New units of the tsarist troops arrived in the northern Iranian provinces of Azerbaijan, Gilan and Khorasan. In Tabriz, Anzali, Rasht, they began to crack down on Iranian patriots. The revolutionary detachments offered stubborn resistance to the invaders.
In this situation, the government openly embarked on the path of counter-revolution. On December 24, a decree was announced on the dissolution of the Mejlis. It said that the new Majlis will revise the constitution. At the same time, armed detachments of bakhtiars and the police of Ephraim Davidiyants surrounded the building of the Mejlis and dispersed the deputies who were there. The police forced the merchants and artisans to open their shops and workshops by force. The leaders of the revolutionary movement were arrested. Although formally the constitution remained in force, in fact it ceased to be in force.
The December events of 1911 meant the defeat of the Iranian revolution.
Although in the future some changes in the political system carried out during the period of the revolution were preserved, and Iran formally became a constitutional monarchy, none of the fundamental issues that the revolution was intended to solve was not resolved. Feudal elements remained in power, and the dominance of feudal remnants in the country's economy remained. The suppression of the revolution led to the strengthening of the country's semi-colonial dependence on England and tsarist Russia. The Iranian government has officially recognized the Anglo-Russian agreement on the division of Iran into spheres of influence. Foreign troops remained on its territory. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company has now become the strongest instrument of colonial exploitation of Iran by the British monopolies.
Reasons for the defeat of the revolution
The Iranian Revolution was an anti-feudal and anti-imperialist revolution. During the years of the revolution, the liberation movement swept the entire country. The broadest strata of the people were drawn into the struggle against the feudal system and imperialism: the peasantry, the urban poor, workers, small entrepreneurs, the national elite. During the revolution, they created the Enjumens, Feday detachments, and Mujahid organizations. In Tabriz and the province of Azerbaijan, the struggle took on the character of a democratic revolution.
But in general, the Iranian revolution of 1905-1911. did not become a general people's revolution. Remaining a bourgeois revolution, it did not develop into a democratic revolution in which the masses of the people would decisively influence the course of the revolution and its results. The weakness and small size of the working class affected. Individual isolated and spontaneous actions of the peasants against the landlords did not result in an agrarian revolution. The national elite was also weak. The revolutionary wing of the elite was unable to oppose itself to the liberals, who managed to seize the leadership of the movement. Fearing the deepening of the revolution, the liberals took the path of an agreement with imperialism and feudal reaction. Finally, one of the main reasons for the defeat of the revolution was the open military intervention of tsarist Russia and England.
Support for the Iranian revolution by the working class of Russia
If Russian tsarism acted as an ally of Western European imperialism in strangling the liberation movements of the peoples of the East and was one of the executioners of the Iranian revolution, then Russian proletariat was an active fighter for liberation
peoples of the East. The working people of Russia provided invaluable support to the Iranian revolution. Their revolutionary struggle in 1905-1907. fettered the forces of tsarism, prevented it from carrying out intervention in the initial period of this revolution.
The Bolsheviks of Russia, and especially the Bolsheviks of Transcaucasia, rendered tremendous assistance to the Iranian revolutionaries. Special committees for the promotion of the Iranian revolution were created, which organized the delivery of literature, printing supplies, and weapons to Iran. In the fall of 1909 arrived in Iran G. K. Ordzhonikidze, actively helping the Iranian revolutionaries.
Hundreds of volunteers from Russia fought shoulder to shoulder with Iranian revolutionaries in Tabriz and other cities in Iran. The artillery of the Tabriz revolutionaries was commanded by a Russian sailor from the battleship Potemkin.
This is how liberalism is covered in a single Muslim country! Almost 70 years later, Iran was again seized by a revolutionary fever! But I'll tell you about these events next time!))))
To be continued!
INTRODUCTION
1. Relevance of the topic
The Iranian revolution of 1905-1911 began and proceeded under the direct influence of the Russian revolution of 1905. However, in Iran there were internal preconditions for a revolutionary explosion. It is for this reason that the Russian revolution was the impetus for the beginning of open protests. The main factors that determined the creation of conditions and prerequisites for the revolution in Iran were the exacerbation of two contradictions that determined the entire political and socio-economic life of the country.
The contradiction between the needs of the progressive bourgeois development of the country for those times and the domination of backward medieval feudal remnants, the contradiction between the policies of the imperialist powers and the desire of the peoples of Iran to strengthen national independence and independence.
The Iranian revolution was the impetus for the beginning of the "awakening of Asia." A new era was laid in the history of the countries of the East, the era of bourgeois-democratic and national-liberation revolutions in the East against feudalism and imperialist Kabbalah, for national independence and democratic freedoms.
This study examines the events of the Iranian revolution of 1905-1911, which determined the further course of the country's development, subordination to foreign capital. The aggravation of the contradictions between the major imperialist powers in Iran was part of inter-imperialist contradictions that contributed to the outbreak of the First World War.
2. Goals and objectives
The aim of the course work is to reveal the events of the Iranian revolution of 1905-1911. In accordance with the set goal, the following tasks are defined:
1. To identify the preconditions that have developed in the country on the eve of the revolution.
2. Consider the reasons for the start of the revolution.
3. Track the course of the revolution.
4. Determine the results of the revolution.
5. Assess the role of the Iranian revolution of 1905-1911. in the further history of Iran and in world history.
3. Chronological framework
The chronological framework of the course work covers the period from 1905 to 1911. The choice is due to the fact that during this period of time there was a revolution.
4. Geographic scope
The geographic scope of the study includes the territory of the state of Iran, located in southwestern Asia.
5. Historiography of the problem
The history of the Iranian revolution is well covered in the works of domestic and foreign historians.
On a detailed study of primary sources, their detailed analysis, comparison with the main points of view of eyewitnesses, analysis of the main events of the revolution, M. S. Ivanov's monograph "The Iranian Revolution of 1905-1911" is built. The author describes in detail the main stages of the revolution - the preconditions and reasons, the course of the revolution, the results.
In his work "The Recent History of Iran" M. S. Ivanov considers the Iranian revolution as an event that laid the foundations for the further development of Iran in the twentieth century. It also provides a description of the main stages of the revolution.
The book "Iran: Islam and Power", edited by N. Mamedov and Mehdi Sanan, covers the history of Iran in the XX century from the perspective of the relationship of the religious clergy with the ruling circles. An assessment of the role of the clergy in the revolution of 1905-1911 is given.
From the collection of articles "Iran: Essays on Contemporary History", edited by M.S. Ivanov, articles were used: "Controversial issues of the social democratic movement in Iran in 1905-1911." Agaev S.L., Plastun V.N., in which the authors assess the main movements during the revolution, the participation of broad strata of the population in them, also make an attempt to determine the driving forces of the revolution. “Some aspects of British policy in Iran in 1905-1911. in the coverage of Western bourgeois historiography "Fedorov I. Ye., in which the author examines the fact that Western bourgeois historiography considers the events in Iran, in particular the suppression of the revolution, as aggressive actions of tsarist Russia, and gives factual evidence that the policy of England was even more aggressive character, seeking to subjugate Iran to foreign capital.
V last years literature on the history of the Iranian revolution is published quite little, and one can still say about the insufficient study of this issue.
6. Characteristics of sources
V term paper used documents published in the anthology on the modern history of Iran, released in 1988.
From "the dispatch of the Russian envoy in Tehran to Poklevsky-Kozell dated November 16 (13), 1911" it is possible to single out the fact that the mission of M. Shuster was in the nature of the subordination of Iran to foreign capital.
"Review of the events in Tehran from 10 to 23 May 1908" describes the events of a reactionary coup, as a result of which the Majlis was overthrown and the deputies were executed.
In the "letter of the Manager of the Accounting and Loan Bank of Persia E. Gruba to the director (then manager) of the St. Petersburg office of the State Bank (later Minister of Finance) P. L. Bark of December 26, 1903" talks about the political and socio-economic structure of Persia, about the rights and duties of ministers, about the administration of governors and governors-general, about the place and importance of the clergy in state affairs. The corruption system of the state is well shown.
The "Decree of Mozaffar al-Din Shah on the Convocation of the Majlis" refers to the initial role of the clergy during the uprising, as a result of propaganda against the then Prime Minister Ain od-Dole, who managed to lead large masses of the people, resulting in the fact that Mozaffar al-Din Shah was forced to make concessions and on August 5, 1906, he issued a decree introducing a constitution in Iran.
7. Provisions for Defense
1. The situation in Iran at the beginning of the twentieth century testified to the fact that the beginning of the revolution was inevitable.
2. During the first stage of the revolution, the rebels managed to achieve the creation of a parliament - Mejlis and the signing of a constitution.
3. As a result of the second stage of the revolution, the revolution in Iran was suppressed by the forces of the imperialist powers of England and tsarist Russia.
1. BACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR THE REVOLUTION
1.1 Socio-economic background and reasons
By the beginning of the 20th century, the population of Iran consisted of numerous ethnic groups and tribes who spoke different languages, such as Iranian, Turkic, Arabic, etc. About half of the total population of the country were Persians, one-fifth of the population were Azerbaijanis, who inhabited the north-western region of the country ... Further in number were the Kurdish, Lurian, Bakhtiar, Baluch, Qashqai, Turkmen and Arab tribes. In connection with the emergence of bourgeois relations in the country, national identity began to take shape. But this process was weak.
In terms of the level of economic development of different regions, Iran also did not present a uniform picture. More densely populated and more economically developed were the regions bordering Russia. The most backward in terms of economic development and sparsely populated were the southern and southeastern regions of Iran, where the British monopolized. Slavery persisted to a large extent in the Kerman region.
The basis of the relations prevailing in agriculture was the feudal property of the shah, secular and spiritual feudal lords and landowners to land. They also owned irrigation facilities, without which the maintenance Agriculture in some areas of Iran it is almost impossible.
The overwhelming majority of the population of Iran were peasants. They were not in serfdom dependence on the landowner and could freely move from one landowner to another, but this was only a formal right. Class differentiation in the Iranian countryside proceeded very slowly. The bulk of the peasants were landless poor peasants and laborers, but there were also peasant owners, but there were very few of them.
The main forms of land ownership were as follows:
1) khalise - state lands;
2) lands belonging to feudal lords, khans, leaders of nomadic tribes, as well as lands granted by the shah to tiul;
3) the vakuf lands that formally belonged to mosques and religious institutions, but in fact belonged to the higher clergy;
4) the land of the flick, or arbabi, - private landowners' land, not associated with feudal grants;
5) umumi - communal lands;
6) Hordemalek - land of small landowners, including peasants.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of state lands was significantly reduced due to the granting of them to the tiul. The strengthening of the connection between agriculture and foreign trade and its adaptation to the demand of the market led to the fact that many large feudal lords and landowners, taking advantage of their political and economic position, began, under various pretexts, to seize the lands of small landowners and peasants, ruin them and concentrate huge land holdings. Wakuf land tenure also increased through donations from persons fearing confiscation of their property by the shah.
The domination of foreign capital and the preservation of the feudal regime in Iran created obstacles to the development of the country's national industry. Therefore, merchants, usurers, clergy, wealthy officials spent money not on the development of domestic enterprises, but on the purchase of land from the state. This significantly increased the growth of private land. On these lands, landowners began to sow those agricultural crops for which there was a demand in the foreign market. The specific weight of the lands of Umum and Hordemalek was insignificant.
The adaptation of Iran's agriculture to the foreign market further worsened the situation of the peasants. The new landowners and the old feudal lords, connected with the market, began to further increase the exploitation of the peasants, forcing them to switch from sowing old crops to new ones that were in demand on the foreign market. They also took the best plots from the peasants for their plots, leaving the worst to the peasants. Extortions from peasants were increased. The development of commodity-money relations led to an increase in the usurious enslavement of the peasants. Thus, feudal-serf exploitation was intertwined with usurious exploitation.
Iran at the beginning of the XX century.
1. Iran on the eve of the revolution.
2. The constitutional stage of the revolution.
3. The democratic period of the revolution. Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907
4. "Provincial" stage of the revolution.
5. Activities of the revolutionary government.
6. The defeat of the revolution. Results and consequences.
1. By the beginning of the 20th century, Iran remained a backward country, a semi-colony of England and Russia. Its population was 10-12 million people, more than half of which were sedentary peasant farmers. About 1/4 of the inhabitants, represented by tribes of very different ethnic composition - Kurds, Lurs, Bakhtiars, Baluchis, Qashqays, Turkmens, Arabs, etc., were engaged in nomadic cattle breeding. The rest (about 1/5) was urban population.
Feudal relations prevailed in the Iranian countryside. The ownership of the land and irrigation facilities belonged to the shah, landowners and clergy. Feudal-patriarchal relations persisted among the nomadic tribes. The peasants, for the most part, did not have land, cultivated the landlord's land on the principle of sharecropping. The landowners fought against independent peasant land tenure. 4/5 of the peasant harvest was appropriated by the feudal lords, while the state and officials levied additional taxes and all kinds of extortions on the peasantry. The shift of stratification to a bourgeois typology in the countryside was slow. The peasants were politically deprived of rights, arbitrariness reigned in the countryside.
Handicrafts were widespread in the cities, factory industry was almost absent, with the exception of small power plants, textiles, tableware, tanneries and some other factories owned by Iranians. In addition, many of them were closed as a result of foreign competition. Since the 70s. XIX century. England and Russia began to use new forms of exercising their influence in Iran, which consisted of financial and economic expansion. In fact, the property of Russia and England were telegraph lines, communication routes, fisheries, etc., with Russia dominating in northern Iran, and England in the southern Iranian provinces. The "Imperial Bank of Persia", founded in 1889 by an English businessman Reuters, received the right to issue banknotes, a monopoly on the supply of silver for minting coins, the right to exploit iron, copper, lead, coal mines, oil deposits, mercury, manganese, asbestos, borax ... The tsarist government, in turn, received a concession to establish a Russian-Persian accounting and loan bank, which financed Russia's trade with Iran and sold loans provided by Russia to the Iranian shah. Russia ranked first in Iran's foreign trade. All of Northern Iran came under the strong political and economic influence of Russia. Since 1901, England has owned a concession for the development of oil in 4/5 of Iran's territory.
Thus, the political independence of Iran was based not so much on the power of the Shah (from the end of the 18th century - the Qajar dynasty), as on the rivalry between the two main colonial powers in this region. The backwardness of Iran in the economy was reflected in the political life of the country. The country was dominated by administrative arbitrariness, bribery, and the sale of posts.
Among the advanced strata of the national bourgeoisie, the intelligentsia and patriotic circles at the end of the 19th century. the ideas of bourgeois nationalism were born. It was widespread at the end of the 19th century. in Iran, especially among the clergy and the petty bourgeoisie, the propaganda of the ideas of pan-Islamism. Then, at the initial stage of its development, pan-Islamism to some extent reflected a protest against enslavement by foreign capital and called on peoples to unite on a religious basis.
At the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. in Iran, various illegal patriotic organizations began to emerge. They opposed the Shah's dignitaries, called for a struggle against the dominance of foreigners, the arbitrariness of the ruling feudal elite, and also put forward demands to reform the political system in a bourgeois spirit.
Popular discontent and mass unrest by the end of 1905 covered more and more broad layers of the population and spread in many regions of the country. Even before the start of the 1905 revolution in Iran, the influence of the revolutionary struggle in Russia was manifested. The main channel for the penetration of revolutionary sentiments was the Iranian migrant workers in the Transcaucasus and especially in Baku, where in 1904 a special social democratic organization "Gummet" was created, uniting Muslim workers, Azerbaijanis and Persians and operating under the leadership of the Bolsheviks. Returning to their homeland, the Iranian migrant workers carried with them the ideas of a revolutionary struggle against the Shah, feudal lords and imperialists. Perhaps, 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 visibly and obviously.
The dominance of foreigners, the rotten state system, the unbearable living conditions of the masses, the influence of the revolution of 1905-1907. in Russia caused the revolution of 1905-1911. in Iran. In fact, it was a constitutional movement that took on a mass character.
2. For the explosion, only a pretext was needed, and this pretext did not hesitate to appear: the brutal beating of an old seid by order of the authorities caused an explosion of discontent among the country's population in December 1905. Seeing in this act a mockery of the faith (the seids are the descendants of the prophet) and the triumph of injustice, the inhabitants of Tehran took to the streets. The Shiite clergy, dissatisfied with the Shah’s administrators, incited the masses. In December 1905, mass processions took place in Tehran and best ( best - the right to inviolability of refuge in mosques, tombs, houses of senior clergy, a kind of protest, usually passive, against the actions of the authorities) in protest against the abuses of the shah's authorities. Demonstrators demanded the resignation of the reactionary Ain ed-dole from the post of prime minister, the dismissal of the Belgian Naousa, institutions of the "house of justice" for the analysis of complaints from the population. Shah Mozaffar ed-Din was forced to give a promise to fulfill these requirements. However, repression was also undertaken.
In response to the repression, the members of the movement declared a general strike, markets and shops were closed; several thousand people declared the best in the garden of the English mission. A large group of clergy left Tehran in protest for the Shiite center of Qom. They demanded from the shah to dismiss Ain ed-Doule, introduce a constitution and convene a Majlis - parliament. The movement spread to Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz and other cities. The troops expressed their sympathy for the people. Under these conditions, the shah was forced to make concessions.
On July 29, 1906, Ain ed-Dole was resigned, and a liberal-minded Nasrollah Khan Moshir ed-Doule... On August 5, the Shah’s decree on the introduction of a constitution was published, after which the strikes and demonstrations ceased. The reaction tried to derail the introduction of the constitution. The Shah did not approve the regulation on elections to the Majlis.
Under pressure from the popular movement, the Shah had to approve on September 9 the regulation on elections to the Majlis, which provided for two-stage elections according to the curial system from 6 estates (Qajar princes, clergy, feudal aristocracy, merchants, "landowners and farmers", artisans). A high age and property qualification was established. The law disenfranchised women, workers, the rural and urban poor, most artisans and small traders.
October 7, 1906... the meeting of the first Majlis... Its deputies were representatives of the feudal and tribal nobility, the large commercial and middle bourgeoisie, the clergy, landowners, and influential officials. Representatives of artisans and the middle urban bourgeoisie formed the left wing of the Majlis.
In October - December 1906, the Mejlis made some popular decisions: set a maximum price for bread, rejected the government's proposal to conclude a new foreign loan, and discussed a project to organize the National Iranian Bank as opposed to the British and Russian banks.
At the same time, the Mejlis was busy drawing up the basic law. December 30, 1906 Mozaffar al-Din Shah approved the basic law, which represented the first part of the Iranian constitution and consisted of a provision on the rights and powers of the Majlis. According to the new law, the power of the shah was limited to the Majlis, which had the right to approve all laws and the budget and monitor their implementation. The granting of concessions, the conclusion of foreign loans, contracts and agreements with foreign states could be carried out only with the consent of the Majlis. In addition to the lower house (Majlis), it was planned to create an upper house - the Senate. But the Senate was never created.
On January 8, 1907, Mozaffar-ed-Din Shah died and his reactionary son came to the throne - Mohammed Ali Shah... In January-February 1907, the reactionaries made their first attempt to go over to the offensive against the democratic movement. The new shah openly showed his hostility to the Majlis and concentrated his military forces. This sparked a massive protest movement in Tehran, Rasht, Isfahan and other cities in Iran. An armed uprising against the Shah's authorities took place in Tabriz. In this situation, the reaction retreated. The Shah was forced to accept the demands made by the Majlis for the resignation of the Belgians Naousa and Prima and, by a special decree, confirmed his consent to the introduction of a constitution in Iran. Thus ended the first period of the revolution. It was characterized by the fact that in the camp of the supporters of the revolution there had not yet been a demarcation of class forces, and the liberal landowners, the clergy, the big bourgeoisie advocated the establishment of a constitution together with the small and middle merchants, artisans and other strata of the urban petty bourgeoisie, which were joined by the urban poor and workers. ... The urban petty bourgeoisie followed the liberal camp, which fully retained the leadership of the constitutional movement.
3. In 1907, the movement rose to a new level. The activity of the democratic strata of the population has grown - peasants, workers, office workers, the urban petty bourgeoisie, who began to put forward their own demands. In this regard, part of the clergy, liberal landowners and the big bourgeoisie began to show a desire to move away from the revolution, to draw closer to the reaction and put a limit to the development of the democratic movement.
A boycott of foreign goods began. The anti-imperialist movement was especially widespread in the south of Iran against the British, where there were clashes with the British consuls and their representatives in Isfahan, Shiraz, Bushir, boycotts of British institutions, and unrest in the oil fields.
First, in the north of Iran, and then in the central regions, a movement of peasants developed, who refused to pay taxes and taxes, to perform feudal duties. Peasant uprisings took place in 1907 in Maku, Talysh, Gilan, Kuchan, Sistan, in the Isfahan region.
In 1907, the first strikes of workers and employees took place in the history of Iran. The printing workers, telegraph operators and ministry employees were on strike. They made economic and political demands. The first workers' organizations were created - the trade unions of printers, telegraph operators, trams in Tehran, the union of manufacturers of carpet and shawl fabrics in Kerman. But the movement of workers and employees was still poorly organized and spontaneous.
Various anjumens... In a number of cities and districts, the Anjumens established their control over the actions of the Shah's authorities, exercised judicial functions, set prices for bread, opened reading rooms and schools. Illegal organizations were created in the north and in other parts of the country Mujahideen, which included artisans, merchants, small landowners, as well as workers and peasants. Their programs included the introduction of universal suffrage, freedom of speech, an 8-hour working day, universal compulsory and free education... As a result of the predominance of petty-bourgeois elements among the Mujahids, sectarianism, conspiracy and individual terror, harmful to the revolutionary movement, were widespread. The Mujahideen organized volunteer armed groups Fedayev, which consisted of the urban poor, peasants, workers, the petty bourgeoisie and were the main armed force of the revolution.
During the years of the revolution in Iran, the press, in particular the democratic one, was widely developed. In 1905-1907. about 350 newspapers and magazines were published in Iran, of which in Tehran - about 150, in Tabriz - about 50, in Reshcht - 25, in Isfahan - 30, in Mashhad - 10. In 1907, under the influence of the democratic movement, the Majlis decided to cut pensions the feudal nobility and the civilian list of the shah, abolished the feudal institution of titles, approved the law on the fight against bribes and extortion, and carried out some other measures in the bourgeois spirit.
At the same time, the Majlis, whose landlord-bourgeois majority was already frightened by the growing democratic movement, was hostile to the peasant movement, revolutionary enjumens, Mujahid organizations and fedayis. On April 1 (14), 1907, the Majlis approved a law on provincial and regional enjumens, which gave them some rights to control the local administration. At the same time, the law barred democratic strata of the population from participating in the elections to the Enjumen and deprived the Enjumen of the right to interfere in political affairs.
Counting on a further split in the camp of the supporters of the constitution, the shah and reactionaries in 1907 concentrated their forces for the offensive. Shah summoned a famous reactionary from abroad Amin es Sultana and appointed him first minister to replace Moshir ed-Doule. In May 1907, the shah refused to sign the additions to the basic law developed by the commission of the Majlis. This sparked massive demonstrations in Tehran and a general strike in Tabriz.
Under pressure from a growing popular movement October 7, 1907 shah signed additions to the basic law- the most important part of the Iranian constitution. The additions proclaimed the bourgeois principles of equality of citizens before the law, inviolability of person and property, limited by the condition not to contradict the foundations of Islam, freedom of speech, press, society, and assembly. Provided for the organization of secular courts along with spiritual (Sharia). The principle of separation of powers was established: legislative, executive and judicial. The shah retained broad rights: freedom from responsibility, the supreme command of the arms force, the declaration of war and the conclusion of peace, the appointment and dismissal of ministers, etc. Shiite Islam was confirmed by the constitution as the state religion of Iran. The clergy were provided with broad rights and advantages. It was envisaged to create, on the proposal of the higher clergy, a commission of five high clergy, which could decide the question of the conformity of the laws introduced to the Majlis with the spirit of Islam and without whose approval the shah could not approve laws.
The additions to the basic law, as well as the basic law, reflected the interests of the landlord-bourgeois circles interested in reforms of the political system in a bourgeois spirit while maintaining landlord ownership of land and feudal relations in the countryside, and also took into account the claims of the upper Shiite clergy.
After the adoption of the amendment to the basic law, there was an increase in the departure from the revolution and rapprochement with the reaction of the liberals, who considered the tasks of the revolution in the main already solved, and part of the Shiite clergy.
Ruling circles England, tsarist Russia and Germany were deeply hostile to the revolutionary movement in Iran. The German penetration into Iran and the Middle East, the revolution in Iran and the national liberation movement in India pushed the Anglo-Russian contradictions into the background and pushed England towards an agreement with Russia.
The Anglo-Russian agreement on the delimitation of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet, which completed the creation of the Entente, was signed August 31, 1907 According to this agreement, a part of Iran to the north of the Qasre - Shirin - Isfahan - Iezd - Zulfagar line is declared a sphere of influence of Russia, the Iranian lands southeast of the Bender - Abbas - Kerman - Birjand - Gazik line - an English sphere of influence, and the territory located between them - neutral zone. But the Anglo-Russian rivalry in Iran continued even after the conclusion of this agreement, although it took place in a more hidden form. The agreement was also directed against the Iranian revolution, and after its signing, the intervention of England and tsarist Russia in the affairs of Iran with the aim of strangling the revolution became more active. The Anglo-Russian agreement caused strong outrage in Iran, under the influence of which the Iranian government refused to recognize it, and the Majlis protested against the division of Iran into spheres of influence.
The Iranian reactionary group led by the Shah believed that the Anglo-Russian agreement and the ongoing withdrawal of liberals and parts of the Shiite clergy from the revolution strengthened its position and at the end of 1907 tried to carry out a counter-revolutionary coup. Pulling troops and reactionary bands to Tehran, the Shah demanded that the government and the Majlis be disbanded by the Enjumens. On December 15, at the direction of the Shah's court, reactionary gangs and troops gathered in the central square of the capital, which were ordered to disperse the Enjumens and the Majlis.
In fear of the masses, the government and the Majlis did not dare to dissolve the Enjumens. About 20,000 armed fedayis, mujahids and members of the revolutionary anjumens gathered to defend the Majlis and the Enjumens. General strikes were declared in many cities, and volunteer revolutionary detachments were created. The balance of forces was not in favor of the Shah, and he was again forced to yield. The shah once again vowed to be loyal to the constitution, and the deputies of the Mejlis pledged to protect the supreme rights of the shah. Thus, the Majlis made a deal with the Shah's court.
4. In the first half of 1908, the intensity of the struggle between the reactionaries and the democratic forces increased even more. New Enjumen sprang up everywhere. There were 200 of them in Tehran in June 1908. On February 15 (28), 1908, an unsuccessful attempt was made on the Shah's life. Pulling the reactionary troops to Tehran, on June 22, the shah declared martial law and ordered the commander of the Persian Cossack brigade, Colonel Lyakhov, to occupy the building of the Mejlis and the neighboring mosque. On June 23, 1908, the Cossack brigade, having bombarded the Mejlis and the mosque, carried out a reactionary coup d'état. The resistance of the defenders of the Mejlis and the Enjumens was suppressed, many deputies of the Mejlis and the Anjumens were arrested, shackled and thrown into prison, some were killed, the dissolution of the Mejlis and Anjumens was announced, and democratic newspapers were closed. The reactionary order was restored in other cities of Iran.
After the reactionary coup in Tehran, the center of the revolutionary struggle in Iran moved to Tabriz... The reactionaries tried to seize Tabriz, but this attempt sparked an armed uprising in which peasants, workers, the urban petty bourgeoisie and representatives of the national bourgeoisie participated. The Tabriz uprising was led by representatives of the democratic strata - a member of the partisan peasant movement Sattar and bricklayer Bagir. The rebels demanded the restoration of the constitution and the convocation of a new Majlis, but did not put forward demands for the elimination of feudal land tenure. After fierce four months of fighting, the Tabriz people in October 1908 expelled the Shah's troops and reactionary bands from the city. The Bolsheviks of Russia rendered great help to the insurgents of Tabriz. Russian and especially Transcaucasian revolutionaries came out in defense of the Tabriz uprising and provided the rebels with all kinds of practical assistance. They sent detachments of volunteers and weapons to Tabriz, helped Tabriz people to conduct propaganda among the population, participated in the creation of volunteer detachments, and took part in battles with the Shah's troops and reactionaries. Russian revolutionaries enjoyed great popularity and prestige among the Tabriz residents.
The uprising of the Tabriz people diverted all the forces of reaction to themselves and was a powerful impetus for a new upsurge of the revolutionary movement in the country. In January 1909, the supporters of the constitution seized power in Isfahan, who were joined by the detachments of the Bakhtiar khans. An uprising has begun in the south Iran- in Lara - led by a supporter of the constitution, Seid Abdul Hossein.
On January 26 (February 8), 1909, an uprising took place in Rasht, where power also passed to the supporters of the constitution. In March 1909, constitutionalists seized power in Bushehr and Bandar Abbas.
The heroic struggle of Tabriz residents and anti-Shah demonstrations in other cities and regions of Iran undermined the power of the Shah. The Shah's troops were not able to break the resistance of the besieged Tabriz. Then the British imperialists and tsarism resorted to intervention. On South
Iran, in Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Ling, the British landed troops, dispersed the Enjumens and suppressed the democratic movement. At the end of April 1909, the tsarist authorities, prompted by British diplomats, under the pretext of protecting foreign subjects, sent their troops to Tabriz. But the tsarist command and the Iranian reactionaries did not dare to arrest Sattar and Bagheera and disperse the Tabriz enjumen.
The Tabriz uprising and the anti-Shah movement in other parts of the country dealt a decisive blow to the reactionary Mohammed Ali Shah.
5. In July 1909 as a result of the campaign against Tehran by the Gilan fedayis of the north and the Bakhtiari detachments from the south and their capture of Tehran, Mohammed Ali Shah was deposed, and his young son was declared shah Ahmed... The constitution of 1906-1907 was restored. and a provisional government was formed from liberal feudal lords and Bakhtiar khans, headed by a large feudal lord opposed to Mohammed Ali Sepakhdarom... The Bakhtiari khans came out for the restoration of the constitution, hoping to strengthen their influence both in Bakhtiari and throughout Iran. The British incited the Bakhtiar khans, and in this way tried to strengthen their positions, undermine the influence of Tsarist Russia in Iran.
The liberal landlord-bourgeois circles, taking advantage of the victory of the people, tried to prevent the development of the revolution. The monarchy and the Khajar dynasty remained inviolable. Foreign concessions and enterprises were retained. The Cossack brigade was not disbanded. Mohammed Ali received a lifetime annual pension of 100 thousand tumans and went abroad.
The Sepakhdar government tried to get out of financial difficulties in the old way, by concluding foreign loans and introducing new taxes on vehicles, salt and others.
In November 1909 the second Majlis... Elections to it were held on the basis of a new electoral law, which provided for the abolition of the curial system. Two-stage elections were established. The property qualification, deprivation of voting rights for women and other restrictions have been preserved.
The second Majlis was even less democratic than the first: there were no representatives of artisans in its composition. He did not undertake any significant progressive measures. In the second Majlis there were factions: "moderates", representing the interests of the liberal feudal lords and landowners and the comprador bourgeoisie, and "democrats" (extreme), reflecting the interests of the emerging national bourgeoisie.
After the overthrow of Mohammed Ali Shah, the Enjumen and the press did not receive such a wide development as in 1907 and 1908. The government's policy of compromise with respect to reaction and the imperialists aroused protests from the masses. In many cities, there were riots caused by the high cost and lack of bread and the introduction of new taxes. There were strikes of telegraph operators, printers, ministry employees.
Sepakhdar's government in July 1910 was replaced by a government Mostoufi al-Mamaleka which was supported by the Democrats. The new government consisted of representatives of the feudal landowners and continued the course of curtailing the revolution and collusion with the reactionaries and the imperialist powers. With the help of detachments of bakhtiars and the police led by a dashnak Ephraim Davidian, it disarmed the Feday troops in Tehran in August 1910.
Mostoufi al-Mamalek's government focused on Germany and the United States, while Sepakhdar's government focused on England and Tsarist Russia. Mostoufi al-Mamalek invited financial advisors from the United States led by M. Shuster... Due to the inability to solve the problems facing the country, Mostoufi al-Mamalek resigned in early 1911. Sepakhdar became prime minister again and continued his old policy. In the spring of 1911, a new loan was obtained from England in the amount of £ 1,250,000. Art.
In May 1911 g. American financial advisers arrived in Iran, headed by M. Shuster, who received broad powers in the field of finance from the Iranian government and the Majlis (control over all financial transactions, concessions, loans, taxes and other income, state budget etc.). Under the guise of a defender of Iran's national independence, Shuster imposed foreign loans on Iran and prepared the ground for the provision of oil and railroad concessions to the Americans. He relied on both the "democrats" and the Dashnak Ephraim, the Bakhtiari khans and other reactionary, corrupt elements. In order to secure a position independent of the Iranian government, he organized his secret police, tried to subjugate the armed forces of Iran, and began to create his own gendarmerie, at the head of which he put the Englishman Stokes. Considering Russia and its position in Iran as the main obstacle to the implementation of American plans to subjugate this country, Shuster tried to rely on the British. He conducted anti-Russian propaganda and sought to provoke conflicts between Iran and Russia. With his policies, Shuster paralyzed the Iranian government and caused great damage to Iran.
In July 1911, with the connivance and secret assistance of the tsarist authorities, ex-shah Mohammed Ali crossed the Caspian Sea and landed on its southeastern coast. Having bribed the Turkmen leaders, he recruited armed gangs of several thousand people who moved to Tehran. At the same time, his brother, the governor of Maragi (Azerbaijan) and some other feudal lords came out in support of him in Kurdistan.
Armed volunteer detachments were created against the gangs of the former shah. In the fall of 1911, the gangs of the ex-shah and his supporters were defeated by the combined forces of government troops and volunteers.
6. The failure of the ex-Shah's adventure showed the inability of the internal reaction to suppress the revolution by its own forces. Then the armed forces of England and tsarist Russia were moved to suppress the revolution. In October 1911, new units of British troops landed in the south in Bushehr, which then entered Shiraz and other southern Iranian cities. Troops were sent to Iran and Russia. The reason for this was the conflict provoked by Shuster with the tsarist representatives in Tehran in connection with the confiscation of the property of the brother of the former shah.
In November 1911, the tsarist government, supported by Britain, demanded an ultimatum that the Iranian government resign Schuster and henceforth not invite foreign advisers without the knowledge and consent of Russia and England. In response to this ultimatum, which violated Iran's sovereignty, a wave of popular indignation arose in Iran, under the influence of which the Majlis rejected the ultimatum. Then the tsarist government sent large military units to Azerbaijan, Gilan and Khorasan, which defeated the Iranian volunteer detachments that resisted and suppressed the revolution in the north of the country. In southern Iran, the revolution was suppressed by British troops. In Tehran, the police of the Dashnak Ephraim and the Bakhtiar detachments staged a counter-revolutionary coup in December 1911. The Majlis was disbanded, and the anjumens and left-wing newspapers were closed. Thus, the combined forces of the imperialists and the Iranian reaction suppressed the revolution of 1905-1911 in Iran.
Revolution 1905-1911 was anti-feudal and anti-imperialist with highly developed elements of the bourgeois-democratic movement in Azerbaijan and Gilan. The main driving forces were the peasantry, the nascent working class, the urban petty bourgeoisie, and representatives of the national bourgeoisie. In the revolutionary camp, two trends took shape: the democratic (workers, peasants, artisans and other strata of the urban petty bourgeoisie and the urban poor), which sought to solve the problems of the bourgeois democratic and national liberation revolution, and the liberal, which consisted of the big bourgeoisie, landowners and clergy, who, after the convocation of the Mejlis, the proclamation of the constitution and the implementation of some reforms, began to move away from the rebels and embarked on the path of struggle against the revolution, etc. collusion with the reactionaries and the imperialists.
Although the Iranian revolution was defeated, it was of great importance in the history of Iran. The revolution dealt a strong blow to the feudal system and the Qajar monarchy and awakened the broad masses of the people to a conscious political life and to fight against the rule of feudal remnants and imperialist oppression. The revolution in Iran began and developed under the influence of the revolution of 1905-1907. in Russia. In turn, she had a revolutionary influence on other countries of the East.
Perhaps, 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 visibly and obviously. Already at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. a large number of Iranian migrant workers, especially from Iranian Azerbaijan, worked at the enterprises of the Russian Transcaucasia.
In Baku alone, according to some data, there were 7,000 of them in 1904 - over 20% of the entire Baku proletariat. Russian revolutionaries worked with them, and, returning to their homeland, the migrant workers brought with them new ideas, sometimes very radical. These ideas were eagerly absorbed by starving peasants at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when the food problem in Iran sharply exacerbated, which led to sporadic hunger riots and popular demonstrations, accompanied by the destruction of the houses of speculators and grain traders, and contributed to the emergence of a revolutionary situation. For the explosion, only a pretext was needed, and this pretext did not hesitate to appear: the brutal beating of the old seid by order of the authorities caused an explosion of discontent among the country's population in December 1905. Seeing in this act a mockery of the faith (the seids are the descendants of the prophet) and the triumph of injustice, the inhabitants of Tehran took to the streets. The Shiite clergy, dissatisfied with the Shah’s administrators, incited the masses. Thousands of prominent townspeople demonstratively sat down in a best in a mosque near the capital and began to demand that the shah punish the guilty and establish a "house of justice" (this not very specific requirement meant both a fair trial based on a law common to all, and something like a legislative meeting). Frightened by the unrest, the Shah agreed to the demands presented to him, but repressions began soon after. In response to them, in the summer of 1906, a new wave of protests arose: Tehran townspeople, led by their confessors, a 30,000-strong procession went to the holy city of Qum (where the Prophet's daughter Fatima is buried), while others settled in the best on the territory of the English mission.
Frightened even more than in January, the Shah was forced to surrender, 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 Mejlis, whose members were to be elected according to the curial system in two stages. The Mejlis, which gathered in the autumn of the same year, adopted a number of important legal provisions, including the law on the maximum price of bread. The main concern of the deputies was the development of the Basic Law. Adopted by the Mejlis and signed by the Shah, this law (constitution) provided for the limitation of the Shah's power to the Mejlis, primarily in everything that related to the budget and the country's finances and economy in general, including relations with foreigners. In the fall of 1907, the Majlis adopted amendments to this law, which included basic civil rights and freedoms and the creation, along with religious ones, of secular courts. The principle of separation of powers was also adopted - legislative, executive, judicial. However, for all that, Shiite Islam remained the state religion, and the twelfth hidden imam was recognized as the supreme 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.
The revolutionary changes were not only at the highest level. In the cities of Iran, one after another, revolutionary anjumens appeared, a kind of councils, organizations such as semi-clubs and semi-municipalities, which locally established control over representatives of the authorities, controlled prices, founded schools, published newspapers, etc. Only newspapers and magazines in these revolutionary over the years, up to 350 titles were published in Iran. Strong support and all new demands from below put pressure on the deputies of the Mejlis, forcing them to adopt all new laws - on the abolition of conditional land holdings such as tiuls, reduction of pensions for the nobility, removal of reactionary governors, on the fight against bribes and extortion, etc. In April, the Mejlis legalized the status of the Anjumen, although it limited their rights to intervene in political affairs. In response to this, the movement of the Mujahideen - fighters for faith, for an idea, for justice - intensified in the country. Numerous, including illegal, Mujahideen organizations put forward various demands, sometimes radical ones.
Among the Mujahideen were young fighters for the faith - fedayis (fedayeen), ready for extreme measures, including self-sacrifice in the name of an idea. The radicalism of the Mujahideen and especially the Fedayevs caused concern not only of the Shah's authorities, but also of the majority of the deputies of the Mejlis, who feared 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 preserve the status quo. The Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907 on the formal division of spheres of influence in Iran, engulfed in the revolution, provoked strong opposition from the Iranian leadership, which did not recognize this document, and it was this circumstance that played a significant role in bringing the positions of the Mejlis and the Shah closer together.
The agreement with the Majlis strengthened the position of the Shah. At the same time, the intensity of the revolutionary struggle weakened somewhat. In the summer of 1908, the Shah found the moment suitable for a counterrevolutionary coup: the Cossack brigade, on his orders, dispersed the Majlis and the Enjumens in the capital. However, this success proved to be fragile. The capital of Iranian Azerbaijan, Tabriz, took the baton of the revolution. 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 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. Gilan fedayis began to prepare for a campaign against Tehran. The entire north of Iran opposed the Shah. The detachments of the Bakhtiar Khan in the south, in Isfahan, also opposed him. Concerned about the development of events, the British in the south and 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 Anjumens in Tabriz and with the Russian army entering the city continued to exercise their power, not recognizing and not allowing the newly appointed Shah's governor into the city. Meanwhile, the Gilan fedayis with Sepakhdar, who led them, and the Bakhtiari detachments entered Tehran and overthrew Shah Muhammad Ali, who soon emigrated to Russia. Sepakhdar became the head of the government, and in November 1909 the new Shah Ahmed convened the 2nd 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 help from Russia or England. A compromise option was chosen: American financial advisor M. Shuster was invited to Iran, who received enormous powers. Schuster arrived in Iran in May 1911 and embarked on a vigorous activity, which boiled down primarily to the reorganization of the entire tax service. It seems that this activity has begun to yield results quickly. This provoked 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 test 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 into 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 as a pretext a trifling pretext (the conflict between the Shuster tax administration and the representatives of Russia in Tehran in connection with the confiscation of the property of the ex-Shah's brother), presented Iran with an ultimatum demanding the expulsion of Shuster. The Mejlis rejected the ultimatum. Then the Russian troops were brought into action. They were supported by the British in the south. The revolution was defeated, the Majlis and the Enjumens were disbanded, 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.
Three periods of the revolution:
the first period - from December 1905 to January 1907 (before the adoption of the constitution);
the second period - from January 1907 to November 1911 (disengagement of forces, political leapfrog, attempts at counterrevolutionary coups);
the third period - from November to December 1911
(armed intervention of England and Russia in the internal affairs of Iran, suppression of the revolution).
It is not by chance that the first period of the revolution was called constitutional, for at that time the main struggle was the struggle for the adoption of a constitution and the convocation of parliament. The immediate reason 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 XX 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, the vibes of revolutionary spirit reached Shiite Iran.
At the second stage of the revolution in 1907, Mohammad Ali Shah, who ascended the throne, under pressure from the Mejlis, signed the "Additions to the Basic Law", that is, the drafting of a constitution was completed. In the second period of the revolution, a disengagement of forces took place, and a struggle between various political groups for power began. Each group declared itself a champion of freedom and democracy, and sought to speak on behalf of the entire people.
At the third stage of the revolution, an open Anglo-Russian intervention in Iran began.
The suppression of the revolution strengthened the positions of England and Russia in Iran. In February 1912, the Iranian government recognized the 1907 Anglo-Russian agreement on the division of Iran into spheres of influence. Russian and British troops remained on the territory of the country. The most powerful weapon of colonial policy in Iran was the activities of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
Revolution 1905-1911 became an important milestone in political history Iran. Its rapid development and the scale of events were unpredictable. The Iranian revolution led to the adoption of a fairly democratic constitution.
The revolution led to a decline in the prestige of the central government, and separatist sentiments were noticeably stronger in the country. A serious danger was posed by the separatism of the khans of the nomadic tribes. During the revolution, part of the khans supported the shah. Bakhtiyars, Kurds united with the constitutional forces. But these alliances were not strong: the tribal leaders often changed their political orientation, only dreamed of plundering foreign territories. Foreign intervention contributed to the suppression of the revolutionary movement.
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