Coll 28/112A ‘Persia. Tabriz – Monthly despatches of internal situation in Azerbaijan & misc. reports.’ [‎572r] (1146/1237)

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himself. It can only be concluded that certain official circles here as in Tehran
are still of the opinion, or at least not wholly unconvinced, that we are or were
behind or connected with the troubles in Kurdistan, as was generally alleged last
autumn.
8. The post of Governor of Rezaieh has recently been filled bv the transfer
the second-rate, timid and unpopular Buzurg Khan from Monabad, which
- allows a slipshod policy on the part of the Tehran Government, who apparently
do not even consult the Governor-General here beforehand. The latter says that
an equally poor choice has been made at Ardebil. and that at Maragha the new
Farmandar was such an egregious failure that he had to have him quickl)
removed. At the present juncture Azerbaijan needs the best possible officials to
hold up the shaky prestige of the Central Government, not mere routine transfers
of known misfits or nominees of friends of Ministers in Tehran.
9. I have already reported how conspicuous by their absence have been the
Soviet political officers, who, until about two months ago, infested the countryside.
This improvement was due, no doubt, to our representations in Moscow and
Tehran, coupled with the arrival of a trained and intelligent Soviet Consul-
General here in January. I notice, however, that one of the most persistent, one
Miroslanoff, has just returned to Tabriz after his absence somewhere in the
Caucasus, and learn that the most objectionable of all, a certain Bagharoff, has
been seen again in the Sarab area, where he is said to have expressed himself
most angrily to some village headmen about the restoration of normal conditions
and the virtual annulment of his previous hard work! I have an idea that the
Russians will try again—but very discreetly—to work among the Kurds, whose
leaders fear and dislike communism but like intrigue and personal favours.
It is almost openly said in places like Maragha that the Russians are using Kurds
to go over the mountainous Iraq frontier to work for them in Mosul and other
districts now occupied by our forces; this may be true since their military mission
left Bagdad.
10. A new general officer, Major-General Melnik, has recently arrived to
take command of the Soviet forces in Azerbaijan, which for some months have
been commanded by a colonel only. He is a young-looking cavalryman who has
seen service at the front. The Soviet authorities have asked the Persians to
take steps to see that no supplies leave this district, as they apparently fear
shortage in supplying their own troops here. They are also exporting local cattle
to the Caucasus, whth the unwilling permission of the Persian officials; the latter
prefer sheep to be taken, but the Russians say that these are too poor and lean.
11. The local authorities say that there is enough seed-corn available in
Azerbaijan, except in the Khalkhal district near Ardebil, and asked the Soviet
trade bureau to sell them 500 tons. The Russians offered to provide the wheat
at 1,500 rials per ton (the local price being 1,000 rials), against an equivalent
amount of Persian rice to be sold to themselves at 1.200 rials per ton (the local
price being at least 3,000 rials), and the business naturally broke down. Mean-
! while the Soviet trade bureau is selling in Tabriz quantities of the sugar recently
supplied from India and Java; part is being sold at normal prices through the
I co-operative store they are supposed to foster here, and part is sold in the bazaar
at “ black-market ” rates. After five months they still decline to pay customs
duties on the merchandise imported from the Soviet Union, which means large
profits for them in rials.
12. Unemployment and poverty are somewhat less marked in Tabriz, as
labour is now needed for the gardens in and near the town, and many villagers
who had flocked here during the winter have returned for the spring farm work.
The authorities also continue with their road-making works and with assistance
to small industries.
13. It is reported that the railway construction from Zinjan has now
advanced to the entrance to the Kuflan Kuh gorge, a few miles from Mianeh.
The gorge itself will take a long time to pass, wuth its several tunnels and the
large bridge necessary over the river there. Unfortunately work is entirely
suspended on lots 12 and 13. on the Tabriz side of Mianeh, as the original
contractors are short of funds. Work is said to be going on in lot 14.
14. The Turkish Consul at Rezaieh recently set out for Angora via Maku
and Erzerum, but had to turn back as the road inside Turkey was blocked by
snow and will not be clear until mid-April. This winter has been unusually
severe and prolonged, and it still continues to snow at least one day a week in
Tabriz. The Turkish Consul-General here went specially to Khoi to discuss with