The Policy of Colonization as a Defense Policy: Russian Resettlement to the Astarabad Province of Iran in the Era of the Great War

Abstract

The article is devoted to the issues of conceptualization and debating the issues of peasant resettlement and land-owning colonization of the Astarabad province of Iran by Russian state officials. Shortly before the outbreak of the Great War, settlements of Russian peasant colonists appeared on the territory of this Caspian region, and also large Russian land ownership arose. The issue was discussed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Resettlement Department etc. According to sources, one of the main motives for encouraging colonization was the desire to form a new boundary de facto and ensure the security of a strategically important region. The influence of the First World War on the ongoing processes and their results is noted.