Eastern Persia as an Arena of Rivalry and Possible Cooperation between Russia and the United Kingdom in the Late 19th – early 20th Centuries

Abstract

In the 19th century after the end of the Napoleonic wars, the contradictions between Russia and the United Kingdom gradually increased both in Europe and in Asia. In Asia, the possessions of both empires gradually approached each other. This happened as the territory of British India grew in the direction of the North-West and the territorial formations in Central Asia joined the Russian Empire. It was about a possible large-scale clash between the two powers, the main theater of which was supposed to be Afghanistan. However, according to the existing plans, the eastern part of Persia (Iran) could become the scene of hostilities, and both sides tried to strengthen their positions in this area. In this regard, Russian military and diplomatic representatives in Khorasan (the northeastern province of Persia) and Central Asia reported on the extraordinary activity of the British in this part of the country, directed against Russian interests. The government was asked to take measures to counter the British expansion, but these calls did not receive support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire. At the same time, Russia had plans to build a railway line to Persian ports in the Persian and Oman Gulfs. Several routes were worked out along which the road could be laid. This would make it possible to take control of a significant part of the trade between Europe and India. The construction of such a route would undermine the monopoly of Great Britain, which owned the Suez Canal, to control the trade of Europe and India, and depreciate the German plan to create a Berlin-Istanbul-Baghdad railway.