Coll 28/112A ‘Persia. Tabriz – Monthly despatches of internal situation in Azerbaijan & misc. reports.’ [‎534r] (1070/1237)

orossins the mount In® this fear. Cpinions from uch a quarter'^
carry weight end this one brought gloom to the Moslem majority.
One citizen was heard to declare that this Turkish statement
represented a disaster for Azerbaijan; most people here think that
way.
The poorer classes continue to suffer from the general rise
in prices. They will probably present a problem before the
winter is over.
s Ramadan has mad© no stir, so ftfr. The order thet the feet
\*iall be publicly observed has meant that the tea shops hang a
curtain over their door-way, behind which business goes on much as
usual; the larger cafe® have their customers come in by a side
door. In the poorer quarters there is more sincerity, but
generally speaking religion end it f s observances are matters for
the old folks; and this is another of the deep marks which Beta
Shah has left behind hi®.
The mosquee are used almost exclusively for private prayer,
but the wore religious have gatherings in their houses on Thursday
evenings, with mullahs to address them* It is custosnary, at
these private services, to pray to &l!ah for delivery from tuie
present ,f, nffliction ,, | moaning, of course, the Pussians and ourselves.
The Huasians ore recovering from the depression caused by
the German advance to the Caucasus fountains, but more and more
of them have relatives in the zone of German occupation end
resantwant at the delay in opening a "second” front i» often
ill-concoaled.
The snail British com? unity has remained uninrreased by the
German threat to Azerbaijan. Indeed, as a recent arrival from
England, I find it if anything too much devoted to peace-time
fun and grimea; but that attitude is general in a country 00
relatively little affected by the war.
There are but two women left in the small American comnunity.
They hfvo resir,tod the somewhat vehement pressure of the U.S.
Consul to make thorn leave and intend to await events.
50. Pro pagf mdfc;. The Huaeians have arranged to exhibit their
posters in the foyer of ti local cinema, but otherwise they continue
to show little activity.
Air flee Marshal de Croapigny’s pilot, Flight Lieutenant
Milnes, added to the genar&l usefullnesa of the visit by a good
piece of propaganda. A certain cordiality developed ©round ray \
dinner table and General Kelnik was asked for hammer and sickle
badges. In exchange for one the pilot-officer gave him
?, button, ”ith a written list of many places in Germany
over which ha had carried it in raids. The General seemed deli^tod
and the effect of the list was not lost.
It s&s unfortunate, however, that at the same meal General
Melnik droppedthe bo ?bshell that two British officers had been
detained at Ardabil, whither they had gone without permits.^
Axis propaganda has languished somewhat with the sloping up
of Gaman progress. Moreover, although my Soviet colleague and
I failed to stimulate the Chief of Police (now superseded) into
direct action, w© achieved much by giving him a list of well-known
,pro-Axis propagandists. The contents leaked out at once, ano so e
of the persons left, fahris uur • iadly. he lussl&na say they hetm
intercepted letters from them to their friends, urging th©& to carry
on the work; but the friends her© seem to have had a fright.
Military - Ru s sian . On September 19th General ; elnik called
to say"goodbye”. For some days previously his cavalry had been
moving northward®, to be used presumably for raids such as He executed
last winter behind the German lines. (Actually he did not nroceed far;
on the Elst it was announced that h© was returning to Tabriz).
A Urge-coale replacement of Russian troops is apparently in