Coll 28/112A ‘Persia. Tabriz – Monthly despatches of internal situation in Azerbaijan & misc. reports.’ [‎337r] (676/1237)

2.
bcrupiiloue caiup^i^xi, put the district votes will tell a different
etox'y •
*ii© two principal lists In tiw election have been tne ioiseian
list, the nauee of which were given in para 51 of thia Piaiy, and
tue xudeh ir;^n list* X'he lists have two a&aiee in oomaon, namely
^ishivari and Ipekctiian, whose election the Russians desire at all
^costs to secure# there is an interesting difference, however, between
2 ae> iudeil iraii ii8t 88 posted publicly in iabriss and tne lists handed
wo the voters in iaoria; and tne villa-es* The list splashed over the
hoardings contains six na^es oxily, meMbers of Tudeh Iran and the
associated parties# -Ujc second list contains in addition the n&aes
of imiahi, ourabehi, Xpekchian and M&schinchi, who nave achieved this
honour, it is credibly stated, by %m payment of lb,000, 5,000 , 5,000
and 6,000 tuiaane respectively• The division of the spoil among the
tubers of rudeh Iran is not proceeding entirely peacefully, Ispahanl
aavii%, tor example, retained the share promised to Beria, the local
lampoonist, who now promises to take nie revei%e in verse. The tiiird
xuaeh Iran list, tnat circulated in tiie villages, contains the name
of dadi^i, who also iinures on the Russian list,
i Th«re is reliable Inf ormation that the acting Soviet Consul-
ceneral has himself visited boetan&oad, Asarsudhr and other places to
urge the local authorities to influence the election of candidates on
tne Hmmim list, vtuer members of the hoviet ^onsulate-Oeneral are
i| known to have taken severely to task prominent citizens believed to be
canvassing : or other candidates.
A number of votes have been given for Hassmn Teg hi ladeh,
Rereian ambassador in London, whose candidature has been actively
sup .)rteu by the wha-uber of woauueroe. v.ppsrently Tag hi aleh consented
to et uid following a telegram sent to him by a number of tu© leadimr
Tabriz marchaats# ^
.-tner elections# The routine protests made by rude a Irm in
all cases where their candidates are not elected have meet with no
more success at Lhoi t;*an at Rezaieh and elsewhere. The new deputies
xor 4hoi are >xbbas Teymouri and Jeualedin loiami#
Voting in tiie Ahar election w;8 euspended ior some time to
allow the investigation, of various complaints but uas now finished
s .iuU the election of uadar Lstvat, a local landowner. It ap ears that
the warning given to the former deputy, ur. Kasim chan Ahari, to
absent himself lor reasons of physical safety was not engineered by
the Ruasians but uy political opponents*
A i^cah election Is likely to take place at Khal hal, where
Luka, a local landowner, ueaded the poll, xhe former deputy, Jafar
raxxahi, nas made allegations against tue * armandar, who nas consequent-
iy been transferred, and sudi, tn© former ministry of tne Interior
inspector, uinee the latter left many ouarges nave ceen preferred
against him.
^ nM £lj^i r uwti vl tisLfef Ihe reports oi a considerable increase of
Lovlet troops in Kurdistan ana elsewhere in vzerbaijan can ue largely
discounted. The movements that have tmdottbtedly occurred in recent
wee u t but which htiv-e now ceased, are mostly attributable to reliefs,
although tner© is reliable information of m increase in tae number of
troops stationed at Maku. The character of the troops stationed at
Tabriz and elsewhere remains the same: they consist of youn^ soldiers
being trained, soldiers convalescing and base details of low physical
cate, 3ry•
*he iallowing incident is Uluatrative of the pitfalls that
still await the unwary in intercourse ^ith tha RuBslans. About three
w©s.ke a^o two British officers irom .a. .# visited xabrlz end spent
tu© evening ©t the bale Tars with the two Indian oificerB who arc
station©,! here. In the course of the evening they were joined oy a
convivial hue ian officer, but as the/ had no common language
iruenian, formerly employed by the british et^ineere, attached himself
/as