Stalin, Bagirov and Soviet policies in Iran, 1939--1946

When looking for a time and place to pin down when and where the Cold War began, historians have often selected the Iran Crisis of 1945--1946. Seen from the point of view of Washington, the Iran Crisis was a good starting point from which to trace patterns of Soviet expansion and interference in other countries' domestic affairs. It was not known, however, what the Crisis looked like from Moscow, or how Soviet policies in Iran developed during the preceding years. This dissertation is the first study of Soviet policy in Iran to be based on extensive research in the archives of Moscow and Baku and the first study to cover the entire period of the Second World War. Not only does it present the development of Stalin's policies in Iran in new depth and detail, it also uncovers new aspects of these policies and proposes broader conclusions on Stalin and the beginning of the Cold War.; While the new documents confirm that Stalin did not intend to annex northern Iran, they allow us to trace a long-standing interest on Stalin's part in increasing Soviet influence in Iranian Azerbaijan. It is the merit of this dissertation to reveal the previously unknown role which Mir Bagirov, head of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan, played in fostering Stalin's interest and in helping to define Soviet policies towards Iran. This dissertation follows the rise and fall of Bagirov's dream to create an independent Iranian Azerbaijan, and traces the meandering path of Stalin's changing interests and concerns. Each chapter illuminates a distinct phase in the development of Soviet policy in Iran, showing both how it fit into Stalin's overall foreign policy, and how the vague concept of influence-seeking mutated into the concrete project of creating the Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan.; This study of Stalin's policy in Iran between 1939 and 1946 reveals that Stalin was not following a master plan of world expansion. Stalin's bid for northern Iran in 1945--46 was a trial balloon, a testing of limits, much like what other historians have found in the newly accessible archival resources regarding Soviet policy in Europe and in Asia. A unique feature of Stalin's policy is his recognition of the potential of national liberation movements in a world of crumbling empires. The methods he chose and the international perception of his actions, however, barred him from the achievement of his ultimate dream---a permanent seat at the great power table.