Entry of Anglo-Soviet troops into Iran. “Hitler would not have dared to attack the USSR without the unequivocal support of Great Britain

Mikhail Cherepanov about the mysterious invasion of the Soviet army in 1941 into Iran

Photo: Pravda, November 1940

76 years ago, on June 22, 1941, fascist troops invaded the Soviet Union. Corresponding Member of the Academy military historical sciences, Head of the Museum-Memorial of the Great Patriotic War of the Kazan Kremlin, Mikhail Cherepanov, in today’s author’s column of Realnoe Vremya, talks about the critical situation for our country that has developed in pre-war years. Our columnist especially focuses the reader’s attention on actions Soviet soldiers and officers in Iran in the first days of the war.

Conflicting Myths

On June 22, the most tragic event occurred in the history of our country and the whole world. Our peaceful cities were subjected to the most severe bombing by Hitler's Luftwaffe. The invasion of the enemy began, whose main goal was the physical destruction of three quarters of the population Soviet state. Regardless of religious, national or social background, only because 196 million people occupied the territory that Hitler needed to implement delusional Nazi ideas.

What were the plans of the main Nazi in relation to our grandfathers and great-grandfathers and how feasible they were is a special conversation. The Day of Remembrance and Sorrow is an occasion to once again reflect on what caused the mass death on our territory of not only career military personnel, but also civilians. Why was our Workers' and Peasants' Red Army unable to hold not only the borders of our homeland, but also half of its European part? Were the reasons for our defeat in 1941-1942 the result subjective factors, political mistakes of the country's leadership, as is still claimed historical encyclopedias and textbooks? Or were there other reasons independent of concrete solutions I.V. Stalin and his entourage? Who bears the burden of responsibility for the tragedy of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War? Is it only based on Hitler's Nazism? And most importantly, are we today insured against a repetition of such a tragedy?

Agree that without real understanding reasons for what happened 76 years ago, we will not be able to prevent the repetition of the apocalypse. And the saddest thing is that all attempts by honest historians to find an answer to questions asked are suppressed not by scientific counter-arguments, but by active secrecy and suppression of the real facts of history. It seems that it is beneficial for someone to leave more and more generations of Russians in the dark, to feed them myths and slander about the pre-war and war generations of fellow citizens.

Let us recall at least one of these myths that still lives in textbooks: “Our country was not at all prepared to repel the aggression of enemies, to defend itself. We had neither experience in the army nor military equipment for this. And in general, 40 thousand career military personnel of the USSR were repressed (it is hinted - shot) by Stalin himself.” On the other hand, it is argued that it was our country that was the forge of personnel fascist Germany and the initiator of World War II.

I will leave these and similar statements to the conscience of domestic and foreign historians, who have been defending this slander for decades doctoral dissertations. I understand that dozens of monographs need to be spent on refuting both approaches to the interpretation of history. I propose to take a slight break from traditional disputes over details and numbers, and look at the situation from a completely different perspective. With the one that was not so much classified for 76 years, but taken beyond the scope of serious scientific research. But, in my opinion, this is where the main reasons lie for certain actions of the leadership of our country that led to the tragedy of June 1941.

Judge for yourself.

The key to understanding is in the Syrian city of Aleppo

Coincidentally, these days the attention of our and the world media is focused on tragic events in the Syrian town of Aleppo. The blood of civilians is being shed there today. The tenth Russian soldier died there. There is a kind of center for the fight against the global forces of terror. And few people know that it was in Aleppo that an event took place that became decisive in the chain of subsequent political steps of the leaders different countries which led to the tragedy of June 22, 1941.

It was in Aleppo on March 20, 1940 that a meeting of representatives of the French and British military commands took place, at which it was noted that in June 1940 20 military airfields would be built in the Middle East. Their main goal- Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus and the Caspian coast.

Flight Berlin - Baku

This decision was not spontaneous. This is evidenced by the statements and actions of politicians in France and Great Britain over the past few months.

Let's trace their chronicle.

• 10/31/1939 The British Minister of Supply stated: “If Russian oil fields are destroyed, not only Russia, but also any of its allies will lose oil.” He was echoed by the French Minister of Finance: “The French Air Force will bomb oil fields and refineries in the Caucasus from Syria.”
• 12/14/1939 The USSR was expelled from the League of Nations in connection with the attack on Finland.
• 01/8/1940 The German consulate in Geneva confirmed: “England intends to launch a surprise attack not only on the Russian oil regions, but will also try to simultaneously deprive Germany of Romanian oil sources in the Balkans.”
• 03/08/1940 The British Committee of Chiefs of Staff presented the government with a report “Consequences of military actions against Russia in 1940”.
• February 1940. The commander of the French Air Force in Syria, General J. Jonot, expressed himself clearly: “The outcome of the war will be decided in the Caucasus, and not in Western Front».
• 11.1.1940 The British embassy in Moscow reported that the action in the Caucasus could “bring Russia to its knees in the shortest possible time.”
• 24.1.1940 The Chief of the Imperial General Staff of England, General E. Ironside, presented a memorandum: “We can provide effective assistance to Finland only if we strike Baku in order to cause a serious state crisis in Russia.”
• 02/1/1940 Iranian Minister of War A. Nakhjavan expressed a desire to purchase 60 bombers and 20 fighters from England, expressing his readiness to use them to destroy Baku.

British bombers in Abadan (Iran)

In Ankara, the British, French and Turkish military discussed the issue of using Turkish airfields to bomb the Caucasus. They expected to destroy Baku in 15 days, Grozny in 12, Batumi in 2 days. Even on the day of the German attack on France, its military informed Churchill of their readiness to bomb Baku.

• On March 30 and April 5, 1940, the British carried out reconnaissance flights over the territory of the USSR.
• 06/14/1940 German occupation of Paris. Capture of documents of the French General Staff. Soviet intelligence receives confirmation from German sources: the bombing of the Caucasus is being prepared.

So, I.V. Stalin received information from his intelligence about a real threat to his only oil field. What actions should any head of state take in his place?

Opening of the Transcaucasian Front

• Spring 1940. The Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Force prepared a list of military-industrial facilities in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine.
• Summer 1940. The Transcaucasian Military District was reinforced with 10 divisions (5 rifle, tank, cavalry and 3 aviation). The number of aircraft increased from several dozen to 500. Combined arms armies were formed and deployed: the 45th and 46th on the border with Turkey, the 44th and 47th on the border with Iran.
• 11/14/1940 Soviet-German negotiations in Berlin ended with an agreement on joint operations against Great Britain. German troops were to be transferred through the USSR to Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

• April 1941 British commandos captured the port of Basra in Iraq. In record time, a plant sprang up there to assemble cars that arrived from the USA with ready-made kits.
• 05/05/1941 The Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Red Army reported: “Available forces German troops for operations in the Middle East are expressed in 40 divisions. For the same purposes, up to two parachute divisions have been concentrated with probable use in Iraq.”
• 10.5.1941 Hitler's deputy in the party, Rudolf Hess, brought the British government a proposal to end the war and achieve an agreement on the basis of anti-communism. England had to give Germany freedom of action against Soviet Russia, and Germany agreed to guarantee England the preservation of its colonial possessions and dominance in the Mediterranean.
• 15.5.1941 Order No. 0035 “On the fact of unimpeded passage of the Yu-52 aircraft across the border” was signed. Hitler's envoy brought a letter to Stalin about his desire to continue the war with Great Britain.
• 19.5.1941 Timoshenko and Zhukov proposed an idea to Stalin preemptive strike in Germany.
• 24.5.1941 Stalin gave the command to the five western military districts: “Don’t rock the boat!”
• May 1941 In Azerbaijan alone, 3,816 civilians were mobilized to be sent to Iran.
• Beginning of June 1941. In the Central Asian Military District, with the participation of representatives of the General Staff of the Red Army, command and staff exercises “Concentration of a Separate Army to the State Border” were held.

• 8.7.1941 Directive of the NKVD of the USSR and the NKGB of the USSR No. 250/14190 “On measures to prevent the transfer of German intelligence agents from the territory of Iran.”
• On July 12, 1941, the USSR and Great Britain entered into an agreement on the division of occupation zones in Iran.
• 08/23/1941 Signed: directive VGK rates No. 001196 “To the commander of the Central Asian Military District on the formation and entry into Iran of the 53rd separate army"and directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters No. 001197 "To the Commander of the Transcaucasian Military District on the deployment of the Transcaucasian Front and the entry of two armies into Iran."
• 08/25/1941 three armies of the Red Army (44th, 47th and 53rd separate), 1264 aircraft and the Caspian military flotilla numbering over 350 thousand soldiers and officers cross the border of Iran with the task of “destroying 3 divisions of Iranians in case of resistance” .
• 09.17.1941 The Red Army entered Tehran.
• 02/23/1942 The first convoy of 50 cars was sent by the British through Iran to the Soviet Union.

Let us clarify the scale of our forces in Iran:

• 47th Army (63rd and 76th mountain rifle divisions, 236th rifle, 6th and 54th tank divisions, 23rd and 24th cavalry divisions, 2 battalions of a motorcycle regiment, 2 anti-aircraft artillery divisions , 2 self-propelled artillery divisions);
• 44th Army (20th and 77th mountain rifle divisions, 17th mountain cavalry division, motorized regiment, anti-aircraft artillery regiment, 2 fighter aviation regiments);
• 53rd Army (39th, 68th, 83rd mountain rifle divisions);
• 4th Cavalry Corps (18th and 44th mountain cavalry divisions, 2 anti-aircraft artillery divisions, 2 fighter aviation regiments).

Red Army in Iran

Official losses of the Red Army in Iran from August 25 to 30, 1941 - about 50 people killed, about 100 wounded and shell-shocked, 4000 evacuated due to illness; 3 aircraft were lost, 3 more did not return for unclear reasons.

Let me remind you that in a note from the government of the USSR to the government of Iran on August 25, 1941, it was mentioned that “56 German intelligence officers infiltrated Iranian military enterprises under the guise of engineers and technicians... turning the territory of Iran into an arena for preparing a military attack on the USSR.”

It turns out that against 56 German intelligence officers on August 25, 1941 (when the Nazis were already near Smolensk), Stalin sent 3 professional, well-armed and experienced armies outside our country? Or did we send troops against another enemy?

And most importantly: when was this done?

War veteran, Chistopol resident Faizrakhman Galimov (died in 2004) in his book “Soldier’s Roads” (Kazan, 1998) writes: “Our 83rd Mountain Rifle Division from June 22 to October 1941 participated in military operations on Iranian territory, and I worked in Iran as an intelligence officer from May 15 to September 1941. From the beginning of 1940, at the intelligence school, we studied the Persian language, the geography of this country, the life of the population - right down to dressing in Iranian clothes. Major Muhammad Ali worked with me. When we asked why all this was needed, the instructors answered: to catch and interrogate defectors.

In May 1941, the school was put on alert. We received an order: to go to the Nakhichevan region. They began to prepare us to cross the Iranian border. At the beginning of June I found myself in Iran. At first I walked with fishing rods, and when I got to Tehran, I became a “shoemaker.” I went to see a merchant who worked for Soviet intelligence. He provided me with documents. Further the path lay to the Caspian Sea, where a meeting with the mentor was scheduled. Having met with the major, I learned that the purpose of my drop was to prevent a possible German landing. The agents reported that the Germans were preparing explosions at the oil fields of Baku. Our scouts discovered a boat with explosives on the shore. Having contacted headquarters, they received an order to destroy the object, and on June 21 the boat was blown up. For this operation I was awarded the medal “For Military Merit”. The award sheet says so: “For saving the oil fields of Baku.”

Fayzrakhman Galimov

June 22, at 5.00, when German planes were already bombing Soviet cities, our 83rd Mountain Rifle Division crossed the border and was stationed on Iranian territory. Our regiments walked along the waterless steppe, crossing sandy and rocky deserts. Some could not stand the heat and fainted. Horses also fell. Among the fighters there were patients with cholera. In Tabriz, Tehran, Qom (Moku) we were greeted by empty streets - residents were sitting at home. Having eliminated the German landing forces, we went to the shores of the Caspian Sea and waited for a new order, but it never came... The division’s campaign ended in early September. The patients were transported by sea to the USSR. Many soldiers returned home with tropical diseases.

During the operation, I combined the duties of an artillery battery platoon commander and an interpreter for the division commander. In 1942, the 83rd Mountain Rifle Division was sent to the combat area near Tuapse. The main contingent Soviet troops stayed in Iran until 1946.”

Maybe the veteran got something wrong? Could the 83rd Mountain Division be in Iran already on June 22, if the official order to begin the offensive was received only on August 25?

Oddly enough, F. Galimov is right. Evidence of this is the fate of the commander of the 83rd Mountain Rifle Division, Major General Sergei Artemyevich Baidalinov. He led the division from May 1939 and was arrested in Northern Iran on July 12, 1941, sentenced to capital punishment for violating NKO order No. 00412. Shot immediately. Rehabilitated on October 30, 1958. This is recorded in the book of Doctor of Historical Sciences A.A. Pechenkin "Highest" command staff The Red Army during the Second World War" (Moscow, 2002).

Sergey Baydalinov

How could the division commander end up on Iranian territory in July 1941? If you carefully study the documents of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, everyone will be convinced that long before official start During the Iranian campaign, soldiers and officers of the 83rd Mountain Rifle Division “went missing in action.”

Thus, junior lieutenant, commander of a rifle platoon of the 150th mountain rifle regiment, Vafin Irshod Sagadievich, born in 1915, disappeared in April 1941 (TsAMO, op. 563783, no. 14).

With Lieutenant Kuzma Vasilyevich Syutkin, platoon commander of the 67th artillery regiment, in which he served since November 1938, contact was lost since June 1941 (TsAMO, op. 11458, no. 192).

About the Red Army soldier of the 428th mountain rifle regiment Delas Ivan Arsentievich, born in 1921, “there has been no news since June 26, 1941” (TsAMO, op. 18002, no. 897).

A Red Army soldier of the same regiment, Juraev Numon, went missing in July 1941 (TsAMO, inventory 977520, file 413), and Chalbaev Mikhail Fedorovich, born in 1921. died on August 20, 1941 (TsAMO, op. 977520, no. 32).

Spiridonov Nikolai Spiridonovich, born in 1915, from the village of Vazhashur, Kukmorsky district, who served as a Red Army soldier from October 4, 1939, died in Iran. Last letter from him dated July 22, 1941 (TsAMO, inventory 18004, no. 751).

Soldiers from other divisions of the 53rd Separate Army also went missing in July 1941.

Captured in Iran

To the Indian Ocean

You can call this errors in the records, but it can be considered proof of the rightness of our fellow countryman Galimov. What does this mean? The fact that the introduction of Soviet troops into Iran began not on August 25, 1941 to ensure lend-lease, but on June 22 in order to show Hitler that we “do not give in to provocations” and in accordance with the agreement reached in November 1940 in Berlin, we protect our oil from threats from Great Britain.

Already June 22, 1941 English ambassador In Russia, Cripps asked Molotov about the advisability of the presence of Red Army units on the border with Iran.

If you believe official documents, on August 25, 1941, we, not paying attention to the real threat of the Wehrmacht to our capitals, tried at any cost to secure the road to receive 50 British cars... in 1942. Would they be useful in the event of the fall of Moscow and Leningrad? Couldn't our army alone cope with the defeat of three Iranian divisions?

Everyone will have their own answer to these questions. But it's time to finally name the real reason our defeats on western border in June 1941: Hitler would not have dared to attack the USSR without unequivocal support from the UK side. But Stalin did not consider him his enemy, because he saw a real threat to his oil-bearing areas from future allies - England and France.

And no less important reason The entry of our troops into Iran, I think, was Russia’s desire since tsarist times to build a canal from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf. What could be more important than direct access to Indian Ocean bypassing the Turkish Straits and the Suez Canal? Today this project is being discussed again high level between the leaders of our states.

Other facts in favor of the stated hypothesis can be found at the Museum-Memorial of the Great Patriotic War in the Kazan Kremlin.

And no less important reason for the introduction of our troops into Iran, I think, was Russia’s desire since tsarist times to build a canal from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf

Mikhail Cherepanov, photos provided by the author

Reference

Mikhail Valerievich Cherepanov- Head of the Museum-Memorial of the Great Patriotic War of the Kazan Kremlin; Chairman of the Association "Club" military glory"; Member of the editorial board of the Book of Memory of Victims political repression RT. Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Military Historical Sciences, Laureate State Prize RT.

• Born in 1960.
• Graduated from Kazan state university them. V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin, majoring in Journalism.
• Supervisor working group(from 1999 to 2007) Books of Memory of victims of political repressions of the Republic of Tatarstan.
• Since 2007 he has been working in National Museum RT.
• One of the creators of the 28-volume book “Memory” of the Republic of Tatarstan about those killed during the Second World War, 19 volumes of the Book of Memory of the Victims of Political Repression of the Republic of Tatarstan, etc.
• Creator eBook In memory of the Republic of Tatarstan (list of natives and residents of Tatarstan who died during the Second World War).
• Author of thematic lectures from the series “Tatarstan during the war years”, thematic excursions “The feat of fellow countrymen on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War”.
• Co-author of the concept virtual museum"Tatarstan - to the Fatherland."
• Participant of 60 search expeditions to bury the remains of soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War (since 1980), member of the board of the Union search teams Russia.
• Author of more than 100 scientific and educational articles, books, participant in All-Russian, regional, international conferences. Columnist of Realnoe Vremya.

Long before 1941, it became obvious that the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi (reigned 1925-1941), was oriented in his policy more towards Germany than towards its opponents: comprehensive ties were actively developing with Germany, thousands were constantly in Iran German specialists, including the military. However, until June 22, 1941, all this threatened only the interests of Great Britain, which controlled Iraq and the current “oil monarchies” of the Persian Gulf, but after the German attack on the USSR, there was also a threat of the emergence of another front in the “underbelly” of the Soviet Union - in Transcaucasia and Central Asia, where even the war with the Basmachi has not yet finally ended. Under these conditions, the USSR and Great Britain agreed on the joint occupation of Iran.

Red Army soldiers in Iran, from the blog, 1941

At first, the Shah was approached “on good terms” with a request to station Soviet and British troops in Iran, but he refused, despite clauses 5 and 6 of the 1921 agreement between Soviet Russia and Iran in force at that time, which stipulated that In the event of a threat to its southern borders, Soviet Russia (and then the USSR) has the right to send troops into Iranian territory.

After the Shah’s refusal, it was decided to launch a joint Soviet-British operation called “Concord” against Iran. It began on August 25, 1941 - Soviet troops advanced southeast mainly from Azerbaijan, and the British began by attacking Iranian ships on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Iranian troops offered little resistance: 40 Soviet and 22 British soldiers were killed during the fighting. By September 17, 1941, the Allies occupied the entire territory of the country: the USSR controlled the territories north of Tehran, the British - to the south. The joint occupation led to the fact that the allies in the Anti-Hitler coalition provided a safe rear in the Middle East, Iranian oil did not go to Hitler, and the territory of Iran became one of the important corridors for the delivery of weapons and other military materials to the USSR under Lend-Lease. The pro-German Shah Reza Pahlavi abdicated the throne and was replaced by a new, then young Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was destined to be the last Shah of Iran and lose power in 1979. Since 1943, the Americans have joined the British in occupying Iran. Therefore, in 1943, in Tehran, as the capital of a country controlled by all the main countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition, the first meeting of their leaders - Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin - took place during the Second World War.

in the community:

Mohammad MAKHDIYAN

USSR AND IRAN DURING AND AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR

The article reveals the role of Iran in the Second World War and, in particular, in the victory over Nazi Germany. Iran's relations with Russian side before the collapse of the USSR and subsequently - with the Russian Federation. The role of Iran in the World War II and in the victory over the Nazi Germany is analyzed in the article. Relations of Iran with the Russian country until the breakup of the USSR and later with the Russian Federation are considered.

Keywords:

Second world war, fascism, Iran, USSR; World War II, fascism, Iran, USSR.

MAKHDIYAN Mohammad Hasan -

senior embassy translator Islamic Republic Iran (IRI) in the Russian Federation

Countless books and articles about the Second World War have been published around the world, in which different angles events related to this period are covered. Here we will talk, first of all, about Iran's relations with the Soviet Union and Great Britain during the Second World War and after it.

It should be noted that the ruler of Iran, Reza Shah, had a number of reasons to shun the Soviet Union. He was disappointed in the position of Great Britain and France, and was wary of the USSR. Great Britain constantly interfered in the internal affairs of Iran, but it acted secretly. France then did not have much influence in the Middle East region. The politics of the USSR, as well as Tsarist Russia, in relation to Iran, as a rule, did not proceed from the principles of equality.

Because of distrust of these countries, Reza Shah chose the path of rapprochement and cooperation with the government of Nazi Germany long before the start of World War II. German specialists provided great assistance in the development of the country's economy: the Trans-Iranian Railway was built, connecting the center and south of the country; the Tehran - Gorgan railway with access to the Caspian Sea; as well as numerous other objects, incl. bridges, elevators, industrial enterprises in Tehran and in many Iranian cities. All this contributed to the formation of sympathy among Iranians for Germany and recognition of its role in the improvement of the country. Immediately after the German attack on the USSR, the Iranian Embassy in Moscow on June 26, 1941 made a statement announcing the complete neutrality of Iran.

The stay of German technical specialists in Iran became the subject of special attention leaders of Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Only in the first 1.5 months after Germany’s attack on the USSR, the governments of these countries sent 3 notes of protest to the Iranian government, pointing out to Reza Shah the negative consequences of the continued presence of German specialists in Iran.

However, Great Britain and the Soviet Union, even before sending the first notes of protest, began preparations for the invasion of Iran, with Great Britain insisting on the invasion to a greater extent than the USSR.

With the entry of troops of the USSR and Great Britain, a period of economic recession began in Iran, the standard of living of the population fell sharply, unrest swept across the country, although some Russian historians believe that “the occupation of Iran by the Anglo-Soviet

troops saved the country from the prospect of military action on its territory.”1

After the Soviet Union entered anti-Hitler coalition, the question of the joint policy of the USSR, Great Britain and the United States towards Iran became the subject of attention of Soviet intelligence. The most attractive for the Soviet Union was the use of Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and Trans-Iranian railway for the purpose of transporting military cargo, food and equipment from the USA to the USSR. Transport routes through Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Pacific Ocean and Siberia were less reliable and not as effective for the timely delivery of aid to the USSR.

It seems that the diplomatic actions of the Soviet Union and Great Britain towards the Iranian authorities were not always fair. Indeed, as with the introduction of Soviet and English troops, and the day before Tehran Conference(from November 28 to December 1, 1943), i.e. in two s more than a year after the occupation of Iran, any loopholes for penetration were blocked in the country German spies. At the same time, thanks to the actions of numerous agents operating in Iran and identifying supporters and accomplices of Germany, a number of representatives of Iranian political forces moderate persuasion, incl. intelligentsia and high-ranking clergy who did not sympathize with Germany, but only objected to the Allied occupation of Iran. Under the pretext of preventing a possible assassination attempt on the leaders of allied countries by German agents, Great Britain and the USSR sent a large contingent of military, security and intelligence forces to Iran. During the Tehran Conference, I.V. Stalin and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR

V.M. Molotov held a meeting with the young Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, which made a favorable impression on the Iranian public.

Unfortunately, in the works of Russian historians of both the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, facts concerning the history

1 Aliev S.M. History of Iran: XX century. - M.: Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kraft+, 2004, p. 216-217.

ries of relations between the two countries were not always presented quite objectively and in all details. In a sense, a certain silence extends to the entire 3-century period in the history of relations between Russia and Iran. Meanwhile, two Russian historian managed to destroy this “conspiracy of silence” by objectively reflecting in their works facts related to the historical past. It's about about the books of Saleh Mamedovich Aliyev2 and Jamil Hasanly3.

Attention Soviet authorities State security after the end of World War II was focused on Iranian Azerbaijan and Iranian Kurdistan. I must say that special interest The Soviet Union's attitude towards Southern, or Iranian, Azerbaijan manifested itself already in the first days of World War II. Although on January 29, 1942, a union treaty was signed in Tehran between the USSR, Great Britain and Iran, which guaranteed the territorial integrity of the latter, the USSR pursued the goals of territorial expansion in Iran.

During the difficult period of the Great Patriotic War for the Soviet Union, Iran acquired exceptional importance as a kind of transit corridor for the transportation of military cargo supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease. The problem of South Azerbaijan faded into the background during these years. The workers from the AzSSR who were there were, at the direction of Moscow, recalled back. However, after 1944, when the position of the Red Army on the fronts improved, Soviet leaders again raised the issue of South Azerbaijan. On March 6, 1944, USSR Foreign Minister Molotov announced an increase in economic and cultural assistance to the people of South Azerbaijan. A decision was made to send a group of Soviet party workers to occupy key positions in the area.

During the Tehran Conference on an agreement with the allies, Stalin pledged to withdraw Soviet troops from Iran 6 months after the end of the war, officially recognize and respect its territorial integrity. English

3 Hasanly D. USSR-Iran. Azerbaijani crisis and beginning cold war. 1941-1946. - M.: Heroes of the Fatherland, 2006.

withdrew their troops on time, but the Soviet Union was in no hurry to fulfill its obligations. Soviet troops, in particular, prevented the entry of Iranian troops to suppress the uprising of the communists of Iranian Azerbaijan. Iran's complaint sent to the UN led to increased tension in relations between the USSR, on the one hand, and the USA and England, on the other.

Meanwhile, on March 2, 1946, the official period of stay ended Soviet army in Iran. However, the Soviet news agency TASS published a report that the USSR was withdrawing its troops only from Mashhad, Shahrud and Semnan, and the remaining military units in other regions of Iran remained until the situation was clarified. Jamil Hasanly writes about this: “The military preparations of the USSR in Azerbaijan, the US political-diplomatic statements on this matter, secret decisions of a military nature created the most acute conflict situation since the Second World War."1

On March 5 and 7, 1946, the Soviet Union was presented with 2 notes of protest by US President Henry Truman.

Soviet leaders held long negotiations in Moscow with the Iranian delegation led by Iranian Prime Minister Qavam Os Saltane regarding a concession for the development and exploitation of oil

1 Hasanli D. Decree. cit., p. 282.

ny deposits in northern Iran. After the failure of the USSR in the Azerbaijani issue this condition was considered fundamental for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Iran.

CM. Aliyev notes that immediately after the signing of the communiqué granting the USSR a concession for Iranian oil, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Iranian Azerbaijan was announced. The withdrawal of troops began on March 24 and ended on May 9, 1946.

After the death of I. Stalin in 1953, there was an improvement in relations between the USSR and Iran, but in 1959, after the failure of negotiations in Tehran, a new period of crisis began. The main reasons for the cooling were: Iran's participation in CENTO and the rise to power in Iraq of General Abdulkarim Qasim. Qasim spoiled relations with Iran, while he attached special importance to relations with the Soviet Union. The USSR became the main source of supplies of weapons and military equipment to Iraq.

The instability in relations between Iran and the USSR, characterized by either cooling or some warming, persisted until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Normal partnership relations have been established between Iran and the Russian Federation. It makes sense to emphasize that in the first decade of the 21st century. Our interstate contacts have not only remained at the proper level, but have also received further development.

During the Second World War, joint Anglo-Soviet operation to bring troops of the USSR and Great Britain into Iran under the code name Operation Countenance.

The purpose of the operation was to ensure guaranteed security of the southern supply route of the USSR under Lend-Lease, to take control of Iranian oil fields in order to prevent their capture by Germany, as well as to exclude the possibility of Iran acting on the side of Hitler’s Axis countries. In addition, the introduction of troops into Iranian territory was supposed to fend off possible aggression from Turkey, creating a flank threat for Turkish troops.

Germany's influence in Iran was enormous. Hitler's Germany took part in the modernization of the Iranian economy and infrastructure, the reform of the Shah's army. The Germans firmly penetrated the Iranian economy, and built relations with it in such a way that Iran practically became a hostage of Germany and subsidized its ever-increasing military expenses. The volume of German weapons imported into Iran grew rapidly.

With the outbreak of World War II and Germany's attack on the USSR, despite Iran's formal declaration of neutrality, the activities of German intelligence services intensified in the country. Encouraged by the pro-German government led by Shah Reza Pahlavi, Iran became the main base for German agents in the Middle East. Reconnaissance and sabotage groups were created on the territory of the country, weapons depots were established, including in the northern regions of Iran bordering the Soviet Union.

After Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Moscow and London became allies. Negotiations began on the topic joint action in Iran to prevent the Germans from invading that country. They were led by British Ambassador Stafford Cripps in meetings with Molotov and Stalin. On July 8, 1941, the Directive of the NKVD of the USSR and the NKGB of the USSR “On measures to prevent the transfer of German intelligence agents from Iran” was issued; it was de facto a signal for preparations for the Iranian operation.

The USSR three times - on June 26, July 19 and August 16, 1941 - warned the Iranian leadership about the activation of German agents in the country and proposed to expel all German citizens (among them many hundreds of military specialists) from the country, since they were carrying out activities incompatible with Iranian neutrality. Tehran rejected this demand. He refused the same request to the British.
August 25, 1941 in the morning at 4:30 am Soviet ambassador and the British envoy jointly visited the Shah and presented him with notes from their governments on the entry of Soviet and British troops into Iran.

Legally, the Soviet Union had the right to send troops into the territory of its southern neighbor; this was provided for by the terms of the Treaty between the USSR and Persia (from 1935 - Iran) of February 26, 1921. The sixth article of the treaty stated that Russia could send its troops into Iran if “third countries attempt, through armed intervention, to carry out an aggressive policy on the territory of Persia or to turn the territory of Persia into a base for military actions against Russia.”

The operation of introducing troops into Iranian territory began at dawn on August 25, 1941. Maneuverable groups of Soviet border guards crossed the border, cut communication lines, and took control of roads and other communications of the Iranians. At the same time, he was thrown to the rear airborne assault with the aim of capturing bridges, passes, and railway crossings.

Red Army units were introduced into the northern provinces of Iran, British troops into the southern and southwestern ones. Within three days, from August 29 to 31, both groups reached a pre-planned line, where they united.

From the Soviet side general guidance The operation was carried out by Lieutenant General Dmitry Kozlov, commander of the Transcaucasian Front, which included the 44th, 45th, 46th and 47th combined arms armies. The 53rd also took part in the operation. combined arms army under the command of Major General Sergei Trofimenko, formed in the Central Asian Military District in July 1941. The planning of the operation was carried out under the leadership of the chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District, Major General Fyodor Tolbukhin.

On the British side, three divisions, two brigades and separate regiment. Iran's forces were much inferior to its allies - Tehran was able to oppose the Soviet and British troops with only five divisions.

Despite the superiority of the allies, the operation was not bloodless - in the first days there were battles with Iranian troops, but not too fierce.

Shortly after the start of Operation Accord, there was a change in the cabinet of ministers of the Iranian government. The new Prime Minister of Iran, Ali Foroughi, gave the order to end the resistance, and the next day this order was approved by the Iranian Majlis (parliament). On August 29, 1941, the Iranian army laid down its arms in front of the British, and on August 30 in front of the Red Army.

The total losses that the Allies suffered during the invasion were relatively small: the Red Army lost 40 people killed, and material losses - 3 aircraft. The British lost 22 people killed, 50 soldiers were wounded, and 1 tank was shot down. Iran's losses were 800 killed, more than 200 wounded, 6 tanks and 6 aircraft.

On September 8, an agreement was signed that defined the zones of occupation between the USSR and Great Britain. The Iranian government pledged to expel from the country all citizens of Germany and other countries allied to Berlin, adhere to strict neutrality and not interfere with the military transit of the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition.

The agreement came into force the next day. Shah Reza Pahlavi, who refused to approve the Allied invasion, was forced to abdicate. In 1942, his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, became Shah (with the consent of both the USSR and Great Britain). The former ruler left Iran. In 1944 he died in Johannesburg (South Africa).

Allies assigned roles: the USSR controlled northern part Iran, Caspian ports and the Iranian-Turkish border, UK - southern part, ports of southern Iran and oil fields.

In October 1941, part of the USSR troops was recalled from Iran: all aviation, and then parts of the 44th and 47th armies.

On January 29, 1942, the Treaty of Alliance was signed between the USSR, Great Britain and Iran. The allies pledged to “respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Iran.” The USSR and England also pledged to “defend Iran with all means at their disposal against any aggression from Germany or any other power.” The agreement established that the troops of the USSR and England should be withdrawn from the territory of Iran no later than six months after the cessation of hostilities between allied states and Germany and its accomplices.

Iran's neutrality, ensured by Operation Accord, had a significant impact on the course of World War II. The oil fields of Iran and southern Iraq played a significant role in supplying the Allied forces with fuel, and the Lend-Lease route, which ran from the Iraqi port of Basra through Iran to the north, became the main route along which the USSR received assistance from the Allies during the war. In 1943, one of the main allied conferences was held in the capital of Iran, Tehran - a meeting between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill, during which the most important decisions were made that determined the course of the war at its final stage.

During the occupation, the Allies assisted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in ​​organizing new army. In particular, by decree of the State Defense Committee of the USSR, Yak-7 fighters and Il-2 attack aircraft were transferred to Iran, and relevant specialists were also trained.

The occupation of Iran lasted until 1946, and its completion became one of the first pages of the Cold War - fearing possible provocations from yesterday's allies in World War II, the USSR was in no hurry to withdraw its troops, which led to a long diplomatic confrontation.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

At the end of the thirties of the last century, Germany took Iran under its wing. German ones opened there art schools, Germans were invited to head departments educational institutions, studied in schools German. Iranian students were welcome guests of German educational institutions. Iran, however, itself was not against it - recent years he actively followed the path of “Westernization.”

In the relatively recent past, the state experienced a series of defeats in wars with Russian Empire, having lost the territories of modern Azerbaijan and Armenia, and several decades later it was completely occupied by British troops. Iran gained independence only in 1921, with the coming to power of Reza Pahlavi. The new Shah acted decisively - he carried out judicial reform, adopted the Civil Code and abolished the regime of capitulation, prevented violent land seizures and allowed Iranian women to refuse to wear the veil, enshrining this right in a separate decree.

Reza Pahlavi was generally one of those people who literally went over their heads towards their goal. He received the title of Shah by overthrowing the previous ruler, Ahmad Qajar, who several years earlier had himself appointed him first as military governor and commander-in-chief, and then as minister of war. And it was under Pahlavi that Iran became Iran - before that, as you know, it was called Persia for many centuries.

There is a widespread version that the Germans persuaded the Shah to rename the state, because the name “Iran” comes from the Avestan Airyāna - the country of the Aryans.

Valentin Berezhkov, personal translator Stalin, wrote: “At that time, the Iranian capital was teeming with refugees from war-torn Europe... Among the mass of refugees there were many Nazi agents. Wide opportunities for them in Iran were created not only by the peculiar conditions of this country, but also by the patronage that the old Reza Shah, who openly sympathized with Hitler, provided to the Germans in recent years. The government of Reza Shah created a very favorable environment for German merchants and entrepreneurs, which Hitler’s intelligence took full advantage of by planting its residents in Iran. When, after the outbreak of the war, a wave of refugees poured into Iran, the Gestapo took advantage of this to strengthen its agents in this country, which was playing important role as a transshipment point for Anglo-American supplies to the Soviet Union."

Iran violates the treaty

This state of affairs was not just unprofitable, but dangerous for both the USSR and Great Britain. Firstly, in this situation, the Hitlerite coalition could easily seize the British-Iranian oil fields. Secondly, to block the trans-Iranian route, along which cargo was delivered from Great Britain and the USA to the USSR during the Second World War.

Three times the USSR demanded that Pahlavi expel the Germans from Iran and was refused three times. By the way, he demanded it on completely legal grounds - in 1921, a friendship treaty was concluded between the USSR and Iran, one of the articles of which read:

“Both High Contracting Parties agree that in the event that third countries attempt, through armed intervention, to carry out a policy of conquest on the territory of Persia or to transform the territory of Persia into a base for military actions against Russia, if this threatens the borders of the Russian the Federal Socialist Republic or its allied powers and if the Persian Government, after warning from the Russian Soviet Government, is not itself able to avert this danger, the Russian Soviet Government will have the right to send its troops into the territory of Persia in order to take the necessary military measures in the interests of self-defense. Once this danger is eliminated, the Russian Soviet Government undertakes to immediately withdraw its troops from Persia.”

It was this agreement that gave green light for the entry of troops.

In 1941, after the German attack on the USSR, Stalin and Molotov discussed with British Ambassador Cripps the possibility of jointly opposing the German invasion of Iran. As a result, Directive of the NKVD of the USSR and the NKGB of the USSR No. 250/14190 “On measures to prevent the transfer of German intelligence agents from Iranian territory” was issued, which became the starting point for the preparation of a military operation.

Surrendered almost without a fight

From the side of the USSR advancing from the north, four armies took part, consisting of many mountain rifle, mountain cavalry, fighter aircraft, cavalry, tank regiments, battalions and divisions, a field hospital, a medical battalion and a couple of bakeries. UK on southern fronts helped as best she could, sending several divisions and brigades with the support of the fleet. On the USSR side, the operation was led by Lieutenant General Dmitry Kozlov, who later led the more famous and seriously defeated Kerch landing operation, which resulted in the death of more than 300 thousand Soviet soldiers and more than 170 thousand in German captivity.

However, in the Iranian operation, it is unlikely that anything could go wrong. Iran opposed the entire combined power of the Soviet and British troops with only nine divisions and 60 aircraft. Iranian aviation was destroyed in the first few days. Two divisions voluntarily laid down their arms. The enemy troops did not offer much resistance and surrendered city after city without a fight. Some retreated to Tehran, preparing to defend the capital to the end.

At the same time, he assumed the post of Prime Minister statesman Mohammed Ali Foroughi, removed from this position a few years earlier because his son-in-law's father was suspected of involvement in a rebellion against Pahlavi reforms. With the light hand of the new prime minister, an order was given to stop resistance, which was almost immediately approved by the local parliament.

The casualty rate was low - 64 British killed and wounded, about 50 dead and about a thousand wounded Soviet soldiers, and about a thousand Iranian dead.

On September 8, 1941, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement that determined the location of Soviet and British troops in Iran. The British occupied the oil fields in the south, the USSR occupied the north. Reza Pahlavi abdicated the throne, handing over the reins of power (very conditional, given that the territory of the state was under the control of Soviet and British troops) to his son, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Mohammed became the last Shah of Iran - he was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and a year later he died of lymphoma.

After the war allied powers should have withdrawn troops from Iran. The USSR maintained a presence there until May 1946; unrecognized state entities existed on the territory under its control until the withdrawal of troops -

Kurdish Mehabad Republic and South Azerbaijan.

Strube/The Daily Express Cartoon in the British newspaper The Daily Express, August 28, 1941

"We want compensation"

Of course, Iran did not receive any benefit from the occupation. Historian and political scientist Alexander Orishev wrote in the book “In August 1941”: “The end of the 20th century. Iran was greeted with deep faith in the values ​​of Islamic rule, with hopes of continued prosperity and economic recovery. And few people now remember that at the beginning of the last century everything here looked different. Iran was a country of depressing poverty, representing a typical semi-colonial state, in some respects even more backward than Ottoman Empire. Its economy was in decline: there were practically no factories or convenient means of communication, electricity was available only in major cities. Most Iranians were illiterate, poverty and poor development medical care contributed to high mortality."

Iran is still somewhat offended by the USSR for the occupation. In 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: “You inflicted enormous losses on the Iranians, placed a heavy burden on their shoulders, and became the victors of World War II. You didn't even share anything after the war. If I say today that we want full compensation, know that we will go all the way and get it.” However, in 2013 he was replaced by Hassan Rouhani. This president has not yet made such demands.