Abstract:

Due to its strategic position and, if necessary, its multinational structure, Iran has since the 19th century become one of the most important countries in the world. After this century, especially Britain and Russia tried to establish sovereignty over Iran. The economic and political problems within Iran have made the ground for both states to make it easier to interfere with the country. The two states, which were powered by this situation, divided the country into three regions by the Treaty of 1907. After that, Russia began to occupy the northern provinces of Iran, and Britain began to occupy the southern provinces. Russia, which occupied its northern provinces, ignored Iran’s independence. In this process, the minorities living in Iran, the Armenians and the Nasturians, began to support Russia with promises such as money, weapons aid and independence. With the beginning of the First World War, with the help of these minorities, Russia increased the number of soldiers in Iran. Thus, although Iran has not officially entered the war, its territory has remained under occupation. The most important rival of Russia in the country was the Ottoman supporters living in the region some of the Kurdish affairs (Hacı Ilhani, Celali, Kardari, Arusan). These Kurds have been fighting with Russia for a long time. Iran has only tried to withdraw Russia from its territory by diplomatic means. The aim of this study is to examine the occupational activities of Russia on the Iranian territory and the diplomatic struggle of the Iranian government, which is politically and economically weak, in the light of the archive sources.

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