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Show 101 Foreign Powers. and Russia and played an Before and during the Revolution, both important role. helped the revolutionaries However, Russia was England effectively participated in their efforts very much England in (Malekzadeh, 1961:261). against the Revolution. Prior to the Revolution, Russia, directly and indirectly, supported the Persian government in its opposition to the Revolution. But, after the establishment of the Constitution and the House of Representatives, Russia took an active role against the Revolution; Russia troops attacked and bombed the House of Representatives, killing many revolutionaries. Confidential reports from Colonel Liakhoff, commander of Russian Iran, to the General Staff of the Military District of the Caucasus troops in clarify the alliance between the in their mutual opposition of Iran and the king government of Russia to the Revolution: On the 26th of me May (June 8) H. M. the Shah [king] summoned In an intimate Dragoman of the Legation the Shah expressed his agreement to our former and the First conversation .... propos als, of which I had the honour at the time to inform your Excellency to abolish the Constitution, disperse the Majlis [House of Representatives], and, by maneuvers, so as means of a whole series of to escape the insistence of the European Powers, to return to the former absolute form of government. To which he added that in asking for a plan of further action he would request that there might be as little bloodshed as possible. To this I ventured to remark that in a contest bloodshed was unavoidable and When we indispensable. had returned to the town that evening, I and the Dragoman drew up at the Legation a plan for further action against the nest of robbers that is here grandiloquently first called a parliament. In this, as a basis for-further action, the |
