The Soviet Union And Iran

Relations between the USSR and Iran during the period from the overthrow of the Shah and the establishment of the Islamic Republic up to early 1983 are reviewed in this book. It begins with a brief survey of Russian-Persian relations in earlier years, with a focus on the developments that served as a background to the current events. It examines Soviet attitudes and reactions to Iran’s foreign and internal policy and highlights the way in which the Soviets often raise events of which they do not approve in order to draw Iran closer to them. In particular, the book discusses the Soviet response to the Iran-Iraq war and the position of the Tudeh Party and the other leftists within Iran. Iran’s policy towards the USSR is treated at length and it is shown that it is suspicious of a tacit USA-USSR agreement over the fate of Iran. Khomeini’s attempts to isolate Iran from both East and West are also reviewed. This book was one of the first to discuss this crucial dimension in Middle East politics and it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the forces driving the Iranian Revolution.

The Azerbaijan crisis of 1946 represented a landmark in the early stages of the Cold War and played a major role in shaping the future course of Iran's political development. In this book, originally published in 1992, Louise Fawcett presents a comprehensive study of the five-year struggle for control of Iran which culminated in the crisis of 1946. Dr Fawcett examines both the Iranian domestic scene and the role played by the three great powers. She explores the causes, course and consequences of the Azerbaijan crisis from an Iranian perspective. Dr Fawcett then argues that the Iranian crisis was a far more complex affair than was once realised. It brought into play the competitive and often conflicting relationship between not only the United States and the former Soviet Union, but also between Britain and these two superpowers. This study is firmly located within the extensive international relations literature of the Cold War. Iran and the Cold War is an ideal text for students and specialists of both international relations and Middle East studies.

Iranian Azerbaijan--an ideological battle-field between Moscow and Tehran--has been a target for Soviet takeover since the formation of the USSR. The effort gained impetus when the Red Army occupied northern Iran in 1941, bringing with it a special detachment of Soviet Azeri Communist Party activists whose goal was to stimulate a national liberatio

This book presents a comprehensive, systematic analysis of Russia– Iran relations in the period following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It discusses the key areas – such as trade, arms sales, nuclear developments, and potential areas of friction in the Caspian Sea – where co-operation is possible; charts different phases of increasing and declining co-operation; and relates these changes to security considerations and domestic factors in both countries. Throughout, the book argues that the potential for co-operation between the two countries is much greater than people realize, and it concludes by assessing how Russia–Iran relations are likely to develop in future.

Volodarsky (Russian and East European studies, Tel Aviv U.) argues that the new Soviet Union continued Imperial Russia's policy of controlling its southern neighbors through promises and threats.