Coll 28/112A ‘Persia. Tabriz – Monthly despatches of internal situation in Azerbaijan & misc. reports.’ [‎93r] (186/1237)

x ' Jty * n '4 ,^ pui'ty of fi ^ ivussiaxi 'i'rad& Urxloii r >r^t <jnt-
atlvea visited Tabriz aetween July 3?tb. and August 4th. (8e« last
i>iary, pan, 140). Xheir impact on Tabriz industrial life does not
appear to have been shattering, indeedi some iiiforaantg report that
the auvice they gav^ the local workers was to be more moderate in their
demands, honv of their speeches, as reported, contained a.a'thing
exceptionable, or indeed, anything at all beyond the usual platitudes,
tactics of the delegation have beun different here from what
\ they ^er^ in other to ns, this is not surprising* the Union ie in the
saddle here, its struggle is not to tame the horse but to keep him
going when he v.oulu f&in 11© ciown and die* As for doing anything to
damage the central Iranian Government, it is difficult to'see what they
could uo that the local experts have not already thought of.
^ xne two outstanuixig xaaabera of Ahe delegation were Akhuadov, who ic
chairman of the Oil wor&ers Union at Baku, and Miraa Xbrahimov, ssPd
to be Uoaaiasar for education in the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic. The
latter was spokesman for the delegation at a meeting of the Xrano-So/let
cultural wOciety which was held in their honour on July 39th* For&l m
repre sent stive t-i wei'e not invited to this meeting. The Russians were
aocompanieu to fabri* by tare. Tehran Trade Unionists, Dr. Javid, Agha
iaahrai’i ana Agha dubari. They visited the four principal Tabriz
factories; the Khesrovi aM Iran leather factories and the Oalcuttachi
and raahmineh textile mills. Neither the Iran nor the Paahaiaeh
factory An East India Company trading post. was workings the fran because it has no hides, the rasnmineh
because it hau no monvy, but the full complement of workers was there
to receive the visitors. At th© factories it was remark.d that the
visitors ignored the managers and drank tea instead ^ith the Union
representatives I this no doubt was proper. They do not seem to have
made a very thorough inspection, or asked mere than the obvious
questions. The workers may have bd*m expecting to have all sorts of
grievances t&ktm up by the delegation, but, as one usually acute and
ueli-inio rmed observer remarked, they went quite the wrong way about iti
they borrowed from the proprietors of the Ahoerovi Factory An East India Company trading post. their most
expensive carpets and beet furniture to decorate the Union represent-
ative g room in the factory An East India Company trading post. , they bought sheep and slaughtered thorn in
the visitors * honour and in the simplicity of their hospitable Persian
* hearts, piled the tables high with cakes ana fruit and *ine, giving a
display of aiflucace that must have opened wide a Bakuite eye."
Ihc woman member ox the delegation is said xo ha c shown preat
intei'oat in the condition of woman workers in fabriz. She hel i a ae^t-
ihe, tor them and lor x or fen 1 wives at a Tabriz achool on July P9th.
something in the nature of a second and better organised attempt
at mass migration to the soviet Union seems to be going on* (cf» Xast
biary, par 140). Applications arc now being made for visas at th&"
uoviet bonsulate-Generalx a visitor on August 4th. observed at leaet
Iho pt Ox lc .'.aitlog to hand in their application forma. The Interpreter
of th* Soviet G asulatc-Gencral said he did not know whax would be done
about the applications, thi Qonsulate^General was examining and
classifying thorn, most of the applicants arc ^Kuhajirs**, Armenians
anu others formerly n <; ideal in the Soviet Union.
150 • . in & recent conversation the Soviet
Uoa&ul-General, Mr. Matveev, indicatea whet is presumably the Ruscian
point ox view in this province, lie said he had heard that the B.B.6.
haa announced that British ana Bussian troops were to leave xhe capital
and bald he supposed it must be true* On osiu^ assured that it was
true he looked grave and hinted at toe lack -of security that would'
soilow, out said more cheerfully, out in any case, we shall see what
will happen in Tehran before we go any lurxher. w
The conservatl e Puper ur-1-.^ul alone of the Tabriz press
printed the news, taken from the xearan puper Xt i.ia * According to
a high Persian official, the editor of tne paper was soon a: tervards
arrested by the Busslan military police aa-x has now been expelled from
Tabriz. The news was also printed in the fora ot a handbill and some
traveller from Tehran brought back a quantity of these which Tabriz
newsagents be C; an to sell. Accord la to tne same Persian official,
xvuasian police and Tudeh representatives weut round the newssgente
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