Persian Socialist Soviet Republic: Encyclopedia II - Persian Socialist Soviet Republic - Formal declaration of the Republic

Persian Socialist Soviet Republic - Formal declaration of the Republic

In May of 1920 the Soviet Republic of Gilan, officially known as the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic, came into being. Of note is that the Republic did not perform "land redistribution" to peasants which was considered as a conservative position by the more radical forces of the Jangal movement. Therefore, soon disagreements arose between Mirza and his group of advisors on one side and the Soviets and the Iranian Communist Party (evolved from the Baku based Edalad (Justice) Party) on the other.

On June 9, 1920 Mirza Kuchak Khan left Rasht in protest and also to avoid military confrontation (which he had always avoided as much as possible, even while fighting with the central government forces) and opened the way for the Communist (Edalat) party to set a coup d’etat. The new administration, formally under Ehsanollah Khan but actually under the influence of Abukov (the Soviet Commissar) started a series of outragiously radical (with the norms of the society at the time) activities such as anti-religious propaganda, forcing money out of the rich landlords, etc.

Such campaigns were found to be reminiscent of the long history of Russian interference in the region, and the middle-class were antagonized by the level of violence, disrespect for property, and the blatant foreign domination of the Jangali movement. Therefore, the Republic began losing support from the general population due to the exceedingly high number of war refugees who began flooding the urban centers, thus posing a significant economic problem.

Persian Socialist Soviet Republic - Coup d'etat

Mirza's efforts to resolve the bloody disputes by sending a petition through a delegate of two of his men to Lenin[1] did not result in a resolution. By 1921 and particularly after the agreement achieved between the Soviet Union and Britain the Soviets decided not to further support the Soviet Republic of Gilan. Therefore, the Soviet-Iranian Friendship Treaty of 1921 was then signed, ensuring peaceful relations between the two countries and resulting in the withdrawal of Soviet forces.

Reza Khan Mirpanj, who had initiated a successful coup d'etat with Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee several days beforehand, then began reasserting central government control over Gilan and Mazandaran. The Soviet Republic of Gilan officially came to an end in September of 1921. Mirza and his German friend Gauook (Hooshang), left alone in the Khalkhal Mountains, died of frost bite. It is said that his body was decapitated by a local landlord and his head was displayed in Rasht to establish the government’s new hegemony over revolution and revolutionary ideas.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Formal declaration of the Republic", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki