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Coll 28/29 ‘Persia. Russia. Russian Refugees in Persia.’ [‎11v] (22/411)

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The record is made up of 1 file (204 folios). It was created in 29 Aug 1931-17 Dec 1940. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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Russians are not permitted to remain in the vicinity of the frontier, for which
reason they are made to choose some town for residence outside Khorassan,
Mazanderan or the Tabriz districts.
All such places are located in the interior of Persia and are not industrial
centres, but exclusively agricultural. It is practically impossible for the majority
of the qualified workers to find employment, and on arrival in such towns the
refugees live for a long time in great need, until they manage somehow or other
to find jobs individually in newly opened-up undertakings.
This system of selection of place for settlement for refugees is exceedingly
unpractical, and in order to save the unfortunate refugees much unnecessary
suffering it is extremely desirable that a special police department for dealing
with this question should be created in Tehran, which would be kept informed
of labour demands of State or other undertakings, and despatch refugees in
accordance with their qualifications to take up such employment.
A great difficulty also exists in the absence of any documents in the possession
of the emigrants on the authority of which temporary residence permits can be
issued to them. The institution of an authority for the issue of Nansen passports
is urgently required for the emigrants in Persia, in the absence of which they
are unable to travel to other countries where they might successfully exploit their
qualifications.
Emigrants have no right to create or organise any form of committees, and
there is no recognised definition of their rights. In any case the living conditions
and state of the refugees are entirely dependent on the attitude of the local
Government servants.
Such a mass of refugees totalling tens of thousands should have some
statutory rights as emigrants and at the same time a representative from the
League of Nations with authority to represent on their behalf to the Persian
EXPLANATORY notes have been added where it appeared desirable to the
text of the document. With regard to the subject-matter of the report:—
1. In substance it is correct. The tabulated particulars refer only to the
Russian element of the refugees, not the Asiatics or the Molokans. As mentioned
in the “Notes," the figures only refer to the numbers registered in Meshed,
presumably by the nazmieh, from whom it is thought the particulars must have
been obtained.
These particulars, though representative of the general situation, certainly
do not give an accurate idea of the total numbers which have arrived across the
frontier during the period in question. It is impossible to arrive at anything
more than an approximate estimate.
It is thought that the actual figures of refugees from Central Asia crossing
into Persia east of the Caspian, during the years 1932-34, might be
approximately :—
2. Regarding the numbers returned by the Persians on the frontier or
caught by the Soviet frontier guards attempting to cross. The figure of 2,000 per
annum, given in the report, may not be an exaggeration. A refugee who was once
handed back by the Persian frontier guards to the G.P.U., but succeeded in
escaping from Askhabad prison in August 1934 and arrived in Meshed without
being rearrested, told me that out of the 300 odd prisoners in the batch with
Enclosure 6 in No. 1.
Notes by Translator.
Turkomans and Kirghiz
Molokans
Russians
Caucasians and others ...
Jews
27,000
2,000
1,000
500
1,000
Total
31,500

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Content

Correspondence and papers collected in response to an influx of refugees arriving in the northern provinces of Persia [Iran] from Soviet Russia, reaching a peak during 1932 and 1933, as a result of a chronic famine affecting parts of southern Russia.

  • Extracts from consular diaries and intelligence summaries, submitted by the British Consulates and Vice Consulates at Meshed [Mashhad] (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett; Major L G W Hamber; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly), Tabriz (Clarence Edward Stanhope Palmer) and Resht [Rasht] (Archibald William Davis).
  • Reports and memoranda on refugees from Russia in Persia (their numbers, condition, treatment at the hands of Russian and Persian authorities, movements) compiled by British officials at Meshed, Tabriz and Resht, and submitted to Government by the British Legation in Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare).
  • Correspondence exchanged between India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and Foreign Office representatives in response to the reports received from Persia, discussing what actions might be taken.

Many of the reports and correspondence provide evidence of British officials’ suspicions of Communist (or Bolshevik) conspirators amongst the refugees, whom they suspect of intending to foment unrest in Persia. The papers also give indication of the various different ethnic groups and peoples comprising the refugees from Russia (including Turcoman [Turkmen], Armenian, Khirgis [Kyrgyz], Bukharan Jewish), and differences in the treatment and movements of these different groups, including, for example, Bukharan Jewish refugees’ attempts to obtain visas for travel to Palestine.

The file contains a single item of correspondence in French, being a copy of a letter from the Secretary General of the League of Nations (f 9).

Extent and format
1 file (204 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 205; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 28/29 ‘Persia. Russia. Russian Refugees in Persia.’ [‎11v] (22/411), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3426, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100042026161.0x000019> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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